Well known Midlands constructor name disappears as parent restructures

THE name of one of the Midlands’ best known construction companies is set to disappear following a restructuring by its parent group.

French group Bouygues has said it intends dropping the Thomas Vale brand – a move which heralds the closure of the firm’s head office at Lombard House, Stourport-on-Severn and its office in Aston.

Both are set to close within weeks and the operation centred on a new office in Birmingham. An operation in Stoke-on-Trent will remain.

All but 12 staff have opted to transfer to the new city-based operation.

Thomas Vale, which recently completed the new university hub at the Innovation Birmingham Campus and was appointed by the West Bromwich Building Society to contruct its new headquarters, was purchased by Bouygues four years ago.

However, the acquisition has proved a troublesome one for the group with the constructor making a £400,000 loss for the year ending December 2015 as it struggled to attract projects in a competitive marketplace.

Craig Tatton, Bouygues UK managing director for the North and Midlands said: “Thomas Vale’s investment in relocating to Birmingham builds on the work we have been doing with the Bouygues Group over the last two years to maximise the strengths of our combined businesses in the Midlands and the North.

“We have worked hard to increase our presence in these regions and this is reflected in the portfolio of high profile projects we are now undertaking in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

“Following our relocation to Birmingham at the beginning of November, Thomas Vale will be branded as Bouygues UK. Both the move and the rebrand form a natural conclusion to the integration process put in place following the company’s acquisition by Bouygues Construction subsidiary Bouygues Bâtiment International in June 2012, and following the feedback we have received from our partners and clients.”

Clarifying the group’s position in a post-Brexit economy, he said the UK continued to be a “key strategic market” for Bouygues.

At the time of acquisition in 2012, Thomas Vale employed around 700 people. This has now declined to around 300.