The process of consolidation in the UK construction industry took a step forward on Monday when three deals went through.

Galliford Try completed the acquisition of Morrison Construction, Atkins bought consultant MSL Engineering and Amec acquired a French maintenance and mechanical services business.

Galliford Try, a contractor and housebuilder, will now split its construction business into two after buying Morrison Construction from Anglia Water Group for £42m. Ken Gillespie, the former managing director of Morrison's construction services, will sit on the Galliford Try board as director in charge of the infrastructure division. Andy Sturgess, previously head of the whole of Galliford Try's construction division, will now lead the building division.

The combined turnover of the two construction businesses will be £950m.

The takeover gives Galliford a bigger PFI portfolio and a greater presence in the Scottish market. The company is expecting to make annual cost savings of £2m.

Galliford Try financed the deal by issuing 46.8m extra shares at 107p each, raising £50m.

Atkins bought consultant MSL Engineering for £6.8m. MSL specialises in integrity management of offshore oil and gas installations, with contracts in Houston and the Gulf of Mexico.

The firm said on Monday that the acquisition strengthened its integrity management business, which has been focused on the North Sea.

MSL employs 70 staff in Houston, Texas, Egham, Surrey, and Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Support services group Amec has also bought the maintenance and mechanical services division of the Quercus Group. The division is made up of five companies employing 180 people in France. It has an £8.1m turnover.

The businesses will be added to Amec Spie, the French electrical services business that Amec is trying to sell before it breaks the rest of the group into two separate companies - UK infrastructure and international energy.