News on 23 March 2001
Construction company Alfred McAlpine is to buy Proby Ltd,
the parent company of Kennedy Utility Management which provides distribution
asset management services to the utilities sector.
The £52.2m purchase price comprises £34.6m in cash and loan
notes, £3.0m in shares, and £14.6m of debt taken on.
McAlpine says the acquisition is a further significant step into the
growing support services market. Kennedy, which operates nationally
from its base in Manchester, offers a complete asset management service
to customers in the electricity, gas, water and telecommunications sectors.
Services offered include design, local authority liaison, specialist
asset replacement and maintenance services, materials procurement and
testing.
Major customers include Transco, MEB, Severn Trent Water, Energis, Norweb,
Northumbrian Water, West of Scotland Water, Yorkshire Electric, Scottish
Power and some of the telecommunications network operators.
Kennedy has 2,200 employees, turned over £131.5m in 1999/2000,
has an order book of some £400m and made pre-tax profits of £7.6m.
