Lovell, currently non-executive chairman of Safestyle UK, will join on July 15. Barker will step down after leading the debt-laden company since March 2016.

Lovell was previously named a non-executive director and chairman of the restructuring committee of Carillion as part of an attempt to put together a rescue package for the company in its final 10 weeks of trading.

His appointment comes months after Interserve was placed in administration following a rescue plan that was rejected by its shareholders.

Britain's construction industry has been under intense pressure particularly since the collapse of Carillion, which forced regulators to tighten rules for private companies operating in the public sector.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Bernard Orr)