Yorkshire advisers on Bullivant deal

YORKSHIRE advisers have played a key role in the sale of one of the UK’s leading piling and foundation specialists to a rival firm.

Richard Moran and Rachel Dean of law firm Clarion, Jonathan Steed of Grant Thornton and lawyers from the Sheffield office DLA Piper advised on the deal which saw French company Soletanche Bachy Enterprise SAS buy Roger Bullivant.

Bullivant, established in 1971 by chairman Roger Bullivant, is based in Burton on Trent with seven regional bases including one at Normanton.

The company recently revealed turnover had halved since 2008 and it had been forced to reduce staff numbers by 300.

Mr Moran said: “This deal sees one of the UK’s construction success stories stabilised in a really tough climate, gain massive opportunities overnight, and offers the potential for the business to grow from its current position within the structure of an international group.

“That the Yorkshire dealmaking community was so centrally involved in a deal that was headquartered in the Midlands speaks volumes for the standing of our professional services offering in this region.”

The new French owners operate Bachy Soletanche in the UK but its thought the two companies will remain as separate trading subsidiaries.

Mr Steed said: “Bullivant has retained strong market share in certain aspects of ground engineering that made it very attractive to Bachy Soletanche. 

“It is a good strategic fit which takes Bachy Soletanche into a new market segment and so enhances its overall offering.”

Bullivant’s client list includes landmark construction projects for clients including Tesco, Vodafone, Pizza Express and many other household brands.