Venture capitalist Henderson is believed to have considered acquiring PPP and PFI contracts held by Jarvis, but it decided against the move. Rumours persist that Alfred McAlpine is interested in the company but sources close to the company have denied this.
Several companies have been linked with a bid for the £60m stake that Jarvis has in the Tube Lines. These include Skanska, French contractor Bouygues and Spanish contractor Dragados. Tube Lines consortium, which also includes Amey and Bechtel, runs about half of London Underground. Jarvis recently said it was willing to sell half its stake to improve its cash flow.
Ferrovial, Amey's Spanish parent, had been tipped as a potential buyer, as it holds a one-third stake, but sources at the company said it was not interested in increasing its holding.
Jarvis has become a takeover target after rapid falls in its share price this year.
So far, it has issued three profit warnings. The latest, announced last week, wiped 24% off the value of the shares. In its statement to the stock exchange, the company said its accommodation services division would make a loss of about £5m. It had been expected to make an operating profit of about the same amount. The loss was attributed to overruns on refurbishment contracts.
Jarvis has sold some of the equity stakes in its PFI portfolio, resulting in a loss of about £6m.
Robert Kendall, Jarvis' finance director, has resigned. He has been succeeded by Alistair Rae, the director of strategy and corporate affairs.
Kevin Hyde, the company's chief executive, said: "I am pleased that Robert has agreed to assist in an orderly handover of the finance function to Alistair."
On a positive note, Jarvis announced that it has been awarded preferred bidder status on two schools in Manchester and another two at Bangor in Northern Ireland.
It has also been appointed preferred bidder by the University of East London to provide 1500 student rooms.
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