£310m Bid for Mowlem also gets backing of Carillion's shareholders.

The Office of Fair Trading has cleared Carillion's proposed takeover of Mowlem.

The news comes as Carillion's now unchallenged £310m bid for Mowlem won the overwhelming support of its shareholders. More than 99% of the votes cast at Carillion's extraordinary general meeting on Monday were in favour of the deal.

Mowlem shareholders get their opportunity to vote on the deal next Monday (30 January).

Carillion will sell two of Mowlem's divisions on to Balfour. Charter, a construction management firm with a strong presence in education projects in Texas, will dovetail neatly with Balfour's US Heery division. And Edgar Allen, the UK rail track products manufacturer, will be added to Balfour Beatty Railtrack Systems.