John Allan is to step down as chairman of Barratt Developments next month after allegations about his behaviour. The Leicestershire housebuilder said it was bringing forward the date when chair designate Caroline Silver would replace him - moving it from September 6 to June 30.
Tesco had also announced on Friday that Mr Allan would be standing down as chairman of its board next month, saying allegations of misconduct by the businessman "risk becoming a distraction". Mr Allan – who was also previously president of business group the CBI – has blamed "anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations" of misconduct against him for the decision by Barratt to end his position early.
Barratt said it had not received any complaints about Mr Allan during his tenure at the company.
It said: "At the request of the board, John Allan will step down as chair of the board and as a director of the company on June 30.
"The board believes it is in the best interests of Barratt to accelerate the planned transition to the new chair of the board to prevent the ongoing impact of the allegations against John from becoming disruptive to the company."
Barratt director Jock Lennox said: "The board is grateful to John for his nine years of service to Barratt. He leaves the company in a strong financial and operational position, continuing to perform well in challenging market conditions."
It comes after Mr Allan faced four allegations in the media in relation to his personal conduct, three of which he "vehemently" denies. He also said he "unreservedly apologised" for inappropriate comments made to a woman.
In a separate statement to the Barratt board announcement, Mr Allan said: "It is with regret that, at the request of the board, I am stepping down as chairman of Barratt Developments as of June 30, ahead of finishing my tenure in early September as planned.
"My early departure from Barratt is a result of the anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations made against me, as reported in the Guardian which I vehemently deny."
Tesco has said it made "no findings of wrongdoing" against Mr Allan who has been its chairman for eight years and whose tenure was coming to an end anyway.
