Kier Group Plc confirms Mouchel acquisition

Acquisition will help Kier grow into the UK highways market.

Kier Group Plc has confirmed that its acquisition of road maintenance group Mouchel is now complete.

The move, which was announced at the end of April, will see Kier become the ‘sector-leading’ company within the UK highways market.

The acquisition has been helped in no small part by the fact that Mouchel, the international infrastructure and business services group, has transformed its performance throughout the last three years, with the underlying operating profit up to £27.7M on turnover of £617M in the financial year ended 30th September 2014.

In addition, revenues for the three months up until the end of last year shot up by 38% when compared to the last three months of 2013.

These factors, in addition with margins being at historic levels and growth continuing in the same vein after the end of period have led to the £265M purchase.

Kier will add a further string to its bow which already includes expertise as a property, residential, construction and services group that operates across a whole range of sectors.

When the acquisition was announced, Mouchel’s Chief Executive, Grant Rumbles, described the combination of both companies as an “excellent fit.”

He said: “The enlarged company will enable us to improve our offer to customers and to enhance the career opportunities of our employees.

“The deal is testimony to the successful turnaround of Mouchel following its 2012 restructuring. Refocusing the business on its core strengths and targeting profitable growth has brought us to a position where our order book is now more than £2.8Bn.”

The two companies together is entirely in line with Kier’s future strategy and the Company will be able to grow even further in the infrastructure sector.

Haydn Mursell, Chief Executive at Kier, explained how the acquisition will help push the Company’s road development plans forward.

He added: “The successful acquisition of Mouchel now positions Kier as a sector leader in the growing UK highways maintenance and management market.

“In particular, the acquisition enables the Group to capitalise on £17Bn of investment in the strategic road network to be delivered through Highways England over the next five years, whilst also accelerating the delivery of Kier’s “Vision 2020” strategy.”

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