M&A

Galliford Try’s construction chief executive Bill Hocking (pictured) will take over as group chief executive if the sale of Linden Homes to Bovis goes through. Current Galliford Try CEO Graham Prothero will move to Bovis and take up the chief operating officer position under CEO Greg Fitzgerald. The pair worked…

Tata Steel has announced proposals to close South Wales plant Orb Electrical Steels, which could see up to 380 jobs lost. After failing to sell the business, the firm announced today that it is proposing its closure instead. A further 26 jobs could also go at the firm’s Wolverhampton Engineering…

Systra has bought British Steel’s engineering subsidiary TSP Projects for an undisclosed sum. The French consultancy, the majority of which is owned by French state rail company SNCF and Paris public transport operator RAPT, is to double the size of its UK and Ireland operations through the acquisition, it said…

John Wood Group is to sell its nuclear business to Jacobs for £250m in an attempt to drive down its debt. The firm's nuclear business designs, delivers and maintains nuclear assets, primarily in the UK. John Wood chief financial officer David Kemp said the move marks “a significant step” towards…

Henry Boot has acquired a majority share in housebuilding and retro-fit specialist Starfish Commercial. The Chesterfield-based contractor was founded in 2009 and has worked on projects alongside Yorkshire Housing, East Midlands Housing and Magenta Living to deliver homes across the Midlands and North England. Henry Boot has acquired between 50-75…

Cementation Skanska is no longer for sale, its parent company has revealed. Skanska UK has ended its attempts to offload the ground engineering specialist after it failed to find a buyer willing to meet its price. Chief executive Gregor Craig said: “We have been clear that we would only sell…

US real-estate giant CBRE has submitted a £267.4m bid to buy Telford Homes, a price that has been agreed with the firm's directors. CBRE revealed the move in a stock-market announcement this morning. The California-based firm has made a 350p per share cash offer, which is a 21 per cent…

UK consultant Hurley Palmer Flatt Group has been bought out by US-based firm HDR. The acquisition will help the American outfit expand into the UK, HDR managing director Paul Flatt said in a statement. “This is a cultural fit of two firms, with the strategic geographic fit of Hurley Palmer…

Barratt has acquired a Scottish timber frame manufacturer. Headquartered in the Scottish borders town of Selkirk, Oregon Timber Frame Engineering claims to be one of the UK's largest independent timber frame manufacturers. The business, which also has a facility in Staffordshire was specialises in the design, manufacture and erection of structural…

United Living and Fastflow Group have merged to form a new group. United Living’s housebuilding and maintenance business will complement Fastflow Group’s utilities and maintenance capabilities, according to Fastflow chief executive Neil Armstrong (pictured above, right), who will head up the new group as CEO. United Living CEO Ian Burnett (pictured…