Mouchel is to be taken over by Kier in a deal worth £265M and the acquisition is expected to complete in June. The news marks a remarkable turnaround for the consultant which went into administration in 2012 and was rescued by a consortium of three banks.

 

The Mouchel Board says that the combined company will be “a sector leader in the growing UK highways management and maintenance market” serving Highways England, Transport for London and several local authorities.

 

Mouchel’s performance over the last three years has transformed, with revenues for the three months ending 31 December 2014 having increased by 38% compared to the same period the previous year. Underlying operating profit stood at £27.7M on a turnover of £617M in the financial year ending 30 September 2014.

 

Mouchel was ranked number four by Transportation Professional’s 2014 Consultants Directory in terms of transportation turnover (£305M) and number one in terms of roads (£244M).

 

Kier has a turnover of £3Bn and acquired support services provider May Gurney in 2013. Recently, Kier has been helping to deliver tunnelling on Crossrail as part of the BFK joint venture and Kier Infrastructure is a contractor on Highways England’s Collaborative Delivery Framework lot 3a.

 

Mouchel chief executive Grant Rumbles, who is to stand down on completion of the transition, described Kier and Mouchel as “an excellent fit”. He added that the deal is “testimony to the successful turnaround of Mouchel following its 2012 restructuring”. 

 

Kier chief executive Haydn Mursell said: “The combination of Kier and Mouchel, particularly in the provision of UK highways maintenance services, creates a leader in a growing marketplace.”

 

One senior transportation figure told TP Weekly News that there are “obvious parallels” between this new deal and Balfour Beatty acquiring Parsons Brinckerhoff several years ago. But he thought that Kier and Mouchel would be more likely to stand the test of time.