Barratt Developments' London boss held in contracts probe

Housebuilder Barratt says police have arrested its London boss following an internal probe into the awarding of contracts.

Barratt Developments (Frankfurt: 859551 - news) said it had suspended Alastair Baird, its regional managing director in the capital for the past five years, pending the outcome of the police inquiry.

The FTSE 100 company said it had called in officers in April following the initial findings of an internal investigation which related to "possible misconduct in the process for awarding and managing certain material & sub-contract supply contracts in the London region".

A second person - a former member of staff - was also detained by police, according to the firm.

Barratt said it began its own investigation in August 2015 which also led to civil legal action against an employee, who was sacked in February this year.

Chief (Taiwan OTC: 3345.TWO - news) executive David Thomas said: "We have acted decisively, launching our own thorough and comprehensive investigation and referring the matter to the Metropolitan Police."

He added: "We will continue to cooperate fully with the Metropolitan Police and to conduct our own investigation into these matters.

"We will take whatever action is required to ensure our values and standards are upheld."

Barratt said it did not expect a material financial hit to arise from the misconduct inquiry.