Bupa chief executive Stuart Fletcher (pictured) is stepping down after a disappointing set of results for the struggling private healthcare giant.

Bupa chairman Alexander Leitch said that “current growth plans do not match our expectations, and so we have agreed that the time is right for [Fletcher] to step down”.

Chief financial officer Evelyn Bourke will be appointed as acting chief executive and Bupa said the board will conduct an internal and external search for a successor “in due course”.