M&A

Australia’s largest privately-owned civils contractor BMD has made its first UK acquisition with the takeover of consultant The Ultimate Solution Partnership (TUSP) for an undisclosed sum.  Brisbane-based BMD became the controlling shareholder of TUSP last month, according to Companies House records.  The 44-year-old Australian firm said the acquisition was part…

Portakabin has bought modular healthcare builder that turned over £80m in 2022. Portakabin, which specialises in modular building, did not disclose how much it paid the Telford-based Darwin Group, but said the acquisition will help it to expand into the healthcare sector and offer “significant benefits to healthcare providers across…

OCU Group, the parent company of Stockport-based contractor O’Connor Utilities, has acquired London-based multi-utility specialist Modus for an undisclosed sum. Modus Utilities focuses on building power networks and substations, including solar farms and battery storage facilities. Its clients include UK Power Networks, British Land and Ampyr Energy. For the year…

Foundations specialist Abbey Pynford has been saved from administration after being bought by Wiltshire-based contractor Conlon Ltd. Abbey Pynford, which is located in Luton, filed a notice to appoint administrators last month. But the firm’s new managing director Robert Mitchell confirmed to Construction News that Conlon has since bought the…

Britishvolt, the start-up electric vehicle battery manufacturer behind a £3.8bn gigafactory in Northumberland, went under owing around £160m, it has emerged. A new report from administrators at EY shows that those owed money by the company included mechanical and electrical (M&E) giant NG Bailey, which is out of pocket by…

Osborne chief executive Mark Hoyland is to exit the role after less than six months, with former interim boss Dave Smith returning to the helm of a slimmed-down group. The Surrey-headquartered development and contracting giant announced that Hoyland, who only took the top job last November, would step down to…

Severfield has bought a Dutch steel contractor as it seeks to expand its European operations. The North Yorkshire-based steel fabrication firm spent €24m (£21.2m) on the acquisition of Voortman Steel Construction Holding B.V. (VSCH), which is based in Rijssen, in the east of the Netherlands. The acquisition will give Severfield…

A Sunderland contractor is taking over Tolent’s Teesside operations, re-employing up to 150 former Tolent staff. Brims Construction could see its headcount more than double after agreeing to take over projects with Tolent’s Teesside clients. Tolent was a Gateshead-based contractor that had an annual turnover of £200m before collapsing last…

Troubled Britishvolt could sell a majority stake to an Indonesia-linked private equity firm, it has been reported. According to The Guardian, negotiations with London-based DeaLab Group could lead to a takeover of the UK electric-car-battery manufacturer and means construction work could resume on a £3.8bn battery cell gigaplant in Blyth, Northumberland.…

The sale of Amey to a pair of private equity firms has been completed, with updated financial results showing the relevant operations making a profit of £82m in 2021.   US-based One Equity Partners and the UK’s Buckthorn Partners announced on 30 December that they paid former owner Ferrovial £264.6m for…