Electrical contractor expands into Scotland with purchase of 170-employee firm.
Electrican contractor T. Clarke has acquired M&E contractor Smith Contracting Services for £4.2m.
SCS is the largest electrical contractor in the private housing sector in Scotland and has 170 employees. In the year to March 2004, SCS reported turnover of £10.894m and a pre-tax profit of £338,000.
Chief executive Pat Stanborough said: “This is our first acquisition in Scotland and SCS will form the backbone of our Scottish operations. We have always placed a strong emphasis on broadening the base of our regional operations and this acquisition fits our strategy perfectly.”
T. Clarke will issue £1m of new shares to help pay for SCS.
In a trading update T. Clarke said that results for the year ended 31 December 2004 will be in line with market expectations.
The firm said its order books were improving and that it had won a number of large projects that extend into the next trading year and beyond.
Stanborough said: “We are pleased with current trading, which remains in line with our expectations.”
He added: “Our core markets in London and the South East are continuing to show significant signs of recovery. Our regional businesses are also reporting encouraging progress and we are hopeful of reporting further major project wins in March.”
