Steve Norris to join acquisitive Driver Group

DRIVER Group, the international construction consultancy headquartered in Lancashire, has acquired a construction management firm, Initiate Consulting, in a £5.3m deal.

The Haslingden-based group, which is listed on the AIM market, is paying £3.1m in cash and shares with the balance deferred over a two-year period.

One of Initiate’s shareholders is the former Conservative MP and London mayoral candidate Steve Norris who will now join Driver’s board.

The group has also posted figures for the year to September which show the group increased pre-tax profits by 3.4% to £3m on revenues of £39m, up 6.5%. It saw a 6% increase in revenues in Europe, its biggest market accounting for 50% of income. The Middle East was up by 7% and trade in the Asia Pacific region doubled to 9% of turnover.

Driver said the Initiate deal would give it development and project management capabilities on aviation, highway and rail projects across the UK.

In the year to April 30, Initiate made an operating profit of £730,000 on turnover of £7.48m. It has net assets of £1.2m. The acquisition takes Driver’s staff numbers to 440.

Driver’s chief executive Dave Webster said: “I am delighted with this acquisition as it provides a tremendous opportunity to provide a broader offering in the very important infrastructure market both in the UK and overseas.

“I would like to welcome Initiate’s CEO, David Law, to our executive board and Steve Norris to the group board and very much look forward to working with them to grow Initiate’s services across the global footprint we have established in Driver Group.”

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