Jarvis has had its share of trouble in recent years but never, one suspects, anything to compare with its current crisis. The firm that grew rich working for the post-privatised rail network, and the one most closely associated with the fall of Railtrack, is now under fire on multiple fronts; from health, education and university PFIs to local authority outsourcing and the rump of its rail operations. The danger for Jarvis is that it will enter that vicious circle in which a company's poor reputation leads to critical scrutiny and headlines that damage its reputation and lead to further, more hostile, scrutiny ... The knock-on effects, in terms of future work, could be ruinous. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Building understands that in the wake of last week's profit warning, together with the public criticism the ￡1.2bn-turnover firm has received for its payment practices, management changes are afoot. A source close to Jarvis predicted the imminent stepping-down of chief executive Kevin Hyde, who only took up the post last May after being chief operating officer. It is understood that Jarvis will look for an external candidate to replace Hyde if he does go.
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