Conservative peer Richard Harrington has resigned as chairman and director of Manchester-based contractor Intelligent FS, just three months after joining.
The company said the former construction minister, who was appointed late last year to advise on governance, growth and strategy, would instead be focusing on other commitments.
When Harrington joined in November, the firm was set to launch a growth plan based on the remediation of dangerous cladding on high-rise buildings. It planned to increase its cladding work across the UK in 2023.
Intelligent FS’ recent work includes projects in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. At the end of last year, the firm, which was set up in 2016, was expecting to turn over £32m as it “broadened its scope” across the health, infrastructure and facilities sectors. The company’s co-founders, Rob Williams and Adam Gallagher, said in November that they were “on a mission to solve Britain’s cladding crisis”.
Harrington was construction minister at the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from June 2017 until March 2019. He was the Conservative MP for Watford from 2010 until the 2019 general election, in which he did not stand, and became a life peer in March 2022.
Commenting on his departure, Harrington said: “Additional business commitments mean that I no longer can commit the time required to the role with Intelligent FS and I have therefore decided to step down from my position. I wish the business well for the future.”
Harrington is still a shareholder in developer Harvington Properties, as well as real estate fund Secure Income REIT Plc, according to the House of Lords register of interests.
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Jonathan Knott