UPDATE 1-UK outsourcer Serco appoints Rupert Soames as chief executive

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By Neil Maidment

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Embattled British outsourcer Serco SRP.L named Rupert Soames as its new group chief executive on Friday as it focuses on rebuilding a business rocked by high-profile government contract failures and profit warnings.

Soames, the grandson of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, is joining Serco from British temporary power provider Aggreko AAGK.L where he served as CEO for 11 years.

He replaces Chris Hyman who quit Serco after 11 years last October following contract problems such as overcharging for tagging criminals that led to a UK government ban on new work and profit warnings. News Search ID:nL5N0IF1WQ

Serco shares jumped 10 percent in early trade on Friday to 454 pence.

Soames said he had always admired the services delivered by Serco which he will join on June 1. The company will continue to be led in the interim by Ed Casey.

"I am aware that the company has experienced significant recent difficulties but the work that Serco does is important to the lives of millions of people and I believe that we can find a way through to a bright future," Soames said in a statement.

Serco, which employs over 100,000 staff in some 30 countries running services from London's light railway to air traffic control towers in the United States and immigration centres in Australia, said it was confident in the group's ability to realise its full potential under Soames' leadership.

While analysts agree a turnaround is achievable, almost all expect more bad news before good, with Soames facing the challenges of restructuring, repairing reputational damage, handling underperforming contracts and a poor spell of winning new work.

The company's woes were compounded by related police inquiries, allegations of fraud on a prisoner-escorting contract, a review of all its government contracts and warnings on 2013 and 2014 profit.

Much like G4S, the world's biggest security firm, who last June named Ashley Almanza as the man to turn it around after high profile disasters such as failing to fully staff the London 2012 Olympics, Serco have turned to Soames for a fresh start.

(Additional reporting by Li-mei Hoang, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

((limei.hoang@thomsonreuters.com)(020 7542 6513)(Reuters Messaging: limei.hoang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: SERCO