Listed engineer buys family-owned Scottish contractor QTS
AIM-listed engineering firm Renew Holdings has bought Scottish rail contractor QTS Group for £80m, financing part of the deal with a £45m share placing.
Leeds-based Renew said the acquisition of QTS, which has a longstanding relationship with Network Rail operating under long-term framework positions, would boost its own rail activity and increase its market share.
The Strathleven-based QTS employs around 300 staff and was founded by its current managing director Alan McLeish in 1992, helped by a £300 loan from his mother. Last year it turned over £71.8m and generated a pre-tax profit of £8.8m, working on rail, earthwork and drainage projects across the UK.
Renew chief executive Paul Scott said: “QTS has grown to become a leading and well respected brand in the rail sector.”
In 2017 Renew reported pre-tax profit of £16.3m on turnover of £561m.
The firm is due to release its interim results for the six months to the end of March on 22 May.
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