Deborah acquired in £48m deal
A YORKSHIRE construction support services company which has supplied scaffolding for work on Big Ben and the Forth Road Bridge has been bought in a deal worth £48m.
Wakefield-based Deborah Services, which has a turnover of £81m, has been acquired by Irish group Siteserv which operates in the construction and civil engineering services sectors.
The deal sees Dublin-based Siteserv, which is listed on the AIM market and the Irish Stock Exchange, paying £43.2m up front plus up to another £5m depending on Deborah's performance over the next three years.
Deborah's managing director Chris Neate and finance director John Neal, who bought the company in a management buyout (MBO) in 2000, will stay on in executive roles following the acquisition.
The group, which made operating profits of £7.5m in the year to September 30, is a specialist in contract scaffolding, scaffolding hire and sales, asbestos removal, safety netting and temporary roofing systems and operates from 32 depots across the UK.
It has worked on projects including the restoration of the Houses of Parliament and Salisbury Cathedral as well as residential and commercial building contracts and rail work as well as in the petro-chemical and power generation sectors including the Sizewell nuclear power station and Drax power station.
Siteserv's chief executive Brian Harvey said: “The acquisition will provide Siteserv with a significant and immediate presence in the UK where Deborah Services is one of the market leaders. The acquisition is consistent with our stated strategy of continuing to grow by acquisition and particularly continuing to acquire businesses which are market leaders and which have strong management in place.
“The acquisition is also consistent with Siteserv's strategy of replicating its existing business in the UK market,” he added.
Siteserv has a market capitalisation of 56m euros and has profits of around 7m euros on sales of 45m euros. It has six main divisions specialising in utilities services, scaffolding, fencing, crash barriers and temporary buildings.
Deborah was founded as a contract scaffolding business in 1967 by Joe Whitlam who named it after his daughter.
The company floated on the stock exchange in 1976 as Deborah Services and was acquired by BET in 1987.
Following the acquisition of BET by Rentokil in 1996 Deborah was re-named Initial Deborah Services but was bought in an MBO led by Mr Neate and Mr Neal four years later.
