Hills sold to SEC for just £1

Southern Electric Contracting has acquired Hills Electrical and Mechanical for £1.

Hills was hit by extensive losses on six school Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts in Scotland and northern England before the sale took place, former chief executive officer David Hill revealed to EMC sister magazine Building.

Difficulties in meeting the performance criteria set out by main contractors on the £45 bn Building Schools for the Future scheme lost the firm millions.

The purchase forms part of SEC’s UK expansion plan, which focuses on the Midlands, the south-east and Wales.

Adrian Pike, SEC managing director, said: “This acquisition will complement our existing businesses while strengthening our position as the m&e contractor of choice.

“It expands our number of branch offices from 57 to 64, and now provides us with a national business.”

SEC has already sold on the Hills London business, which did not fit in with its overall vision, to Lowe & Oliver for an undisclosed sum.

The London business will now operate as part of the Lowe Holdings group under the name Hills Building Services. It has a turnover in excess of £16 m and employs 40 people.

Lowe & Oliver’s managing director, Steve Lee, said: “We’ve always wanted to break into the London commercial side of things and this seemed like the best way of achieving that.

“We’re always on the look-out for acquisitions.”

Hills was one of the UK’s largest family-owned building services companies, with an annual turnover of £70 m. It operated from bases in Gatwick, Cardiff, Nottingham, Walsall, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London.

David Hill admitted to Building that the company would not have been put up for sale if the BSF initiative had gone well, and suggested that people were still finding their way with the scheme.

The firm’s existing management team, led by managing director Eddie Molnar, has not been kept on as part of SEC’s strategy.

David Hill, who has been with the company since 1976 and whose parents founded the firm back in 1967, will not be staying on in any capacity.