BT Group is scouring for a new finance chief to succeed the veteran executive who joined the FTSE-100 telecoms company nearly a decade ago.

Sky News has learnt that Simon Lowth, who joined from BG Group in 2016, is preparing to step down in the next 12 months.

Industry sources said that Allison Kirkby, who became BT's chief executive last year, had begun meeting candidates to succeed Mr Lowth.

An appointment could come later this year, they added.

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The identities of the contenders to replace Mr Lowth were unclear on Monday.

Mr Lowth's retirement will come with Deutsche Telekom and the Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal collectively holding more than a third of BT's shares.

Their respective intentions towards their stakes may help shape the company's medium-term future, with Openreach - BT's infrastructure arm - accelerating its rollout of full-fibre broadband across the UK.

BT said: "As part of its business-as-usual activity, the BT board undertakes regular succession planning to ensure it is preparing appropriately for the future."

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The company declined to comment on details of the process to identify Mr Lowth's successor.

On Monday morning, shares in BT were trading at about 198.7p, giving it a market value of about £20bn.