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Consultant Mouchel has said the outlook for the UK business is improving in a trading update and has appointed a new finance director.

David Tilson, who has previously held financial management posts at firms including SABMiller, Balfour Beatty, Amec and Atkins will join Mouchel on 13 September.

The 52-year-old chartered accountant will replace Kevin Young who left the company on 31 August after 12 years.

In a trading update released this morning, Mouchel says it is confident in terms of future outlook, despite public sector spending cuts: 鈥淭he medium and longer-term outlook is becoming increasingly positive as the new government鈥檚 policies are implemented by organisations across central and local government.鈥�

The firm added that is has won new work in Australia and Abu Dhabi and that it expects to save 拢25m of costs in the full-year.

The update follows a turbulent period for the firm. Shares in the consultant fell 5% last month. The firm also reported at the time that it had incurred additional restructuring costs of 拢10m-拢15m which would have to be factored into expected earnings.

In April this year Mouchel鈥檚 chief executive, Richard Cuthbert, was forced to dismiss takeover talk after rumours emerged that private equity firms may be looking at the company following engineering support services firm, VT Group鈥檚, 拢276m bid in December.

In the six months to 31 January, turnover at Mouchel fell 12% from 拢366m to 拢312m and the company made a pre-tax loss of 拢3.5m.