Loss-making United House to merge with Bullock

Grant Prior 11 years ago
Share

Social housing contractors United House and Bullock Construction are in the final stages of a merger deal.

Talks have been going on for weeks to create a new company with a turnover of £300m.

Confirmation of the deal was due to be made public on Thursday but both sides rushed out a statement following approaches by the Enquirer.

United House managing director Colin Forrest is the first victim of the merger and has left the company with immediate effect.

He has been replaced as United House MD by Stuart Laird.

An email circulated to United House staff said: “Following the recent de-merger from United House Developments, United House is now a true construction business and will be a great fit with Bullock Construction as they both operate in the same market sector.

“By merging with Bullock, United House has the opportunity to expand its current geographical coverage and develop a truly national organisation.”

The merger talks follow a difficult period for the United House Group construction arm, which posted heavy losses in its last set of published accounts for the year ending December 2012.

United House Limited suffered pre-tax losses of £4.5m during the period after an abortive foray into private sector client work to fill the gap left by declining decent homes workloads.

Forrest was brought in to refocus on public sector new build in October 2012.

The decision to abandon this private client strategy and loss-making contracts led to a one-off cost of £5.2m.

The new business to be called the United Living Group will have a more comprehensive national spread.

Bullock covers the North West, Midlands, Wales and the East of England while United House Limited focuses mainly on London.

The current chief executive of Bullock Ian Burnett will become CEO of the new company.

Jeffrey Adams continues his role as chairman of United House Developments and also as chairman of the London region of the new United Living Group.

Burnett said: “This merger brings together two great companies with a strong pedigree for delivering sustainable social housing solutions across the North, Midlands, Wales and London and the South East.

“The focussed geographical presence of each business ensures a neat overlap and which allows us to become a truly national business, integrating a strong management team from both companies to offer best practice, improved operating processes and delivering greater value for money.”

United Living Group will operate from Bullock Construction offices in Aldridge, Walsall, West Midlands, and United House offices in Swanley, Kent.

Bullock and United House will continue to trade as separate companies until full integration is completed in April 2015.

The remaining part of the United House Group – United House Developments – which undertakes large scale mixed-use regeneration and niche residential development will become independent.

How they shape up
United House Ltd Bullock Construction
Turnover £164m £127m
Profit -£4.5m £663,000
Staff 324 499
Op margin N/A 0.7%
Information from last published accounts
 
 
 

Latest news

Six guilty of £2m bribery over Devon housing site deals

Corrupt building bosses and E.ON project chief and QS sentenced
3 days ago

1,650 former ISG staff launch legal claims

Redundancy Payment Service facing payout of more than £9m
3 days ago

Plans lodged for £1bn cancer research centre in Sutton

London Cancer Hub will deliver around 1m sq ft of lab and research space
3 days ago

London Met Uni seeks firm for £284m estate revamp

Contractor wanted to deliver capital works and FM
3 days ago

Delayed £2bn estate rebuild back on as Berkeley signs deal

Birmingham council development agreement paves way for 2028 Ladywood start
4 days ago

Tilbury Douglas boosts margin to 2.1% as profits double

Firm targets 3.5% margin by 2029 under new business plan
4 days ago

Subbies battle for fastest bricklayer title

Winchmore management team go back on the tools
4 days ago

Green light for revised McLaren Reading revamp

Mixed-use plans to transform Broad Street Mall site
3 days ago

Three arrested in Blu-3 and Mace bribery probe

Serious fraud office swoops over alleged £3m bribes to former Mace associates
4 days ago

Scotland’s most complex A9 dualling job heads to market

Market testing starts for £205m Pitlochry to Killiecrankie 6.4km upgrade
4 days ago

Unite signs £390m student beds JV with Manchester Met

Construction at Cambridge Halls site to start next year
4 days ago

Turkish contractor Limak to build new Luton Town stadium

Construction to start this summer on 25,000-seater venue
4 days ago

Kitchen fitter crushed to death by concrete blocks

House builder goes into liquidation before court case
4 days ago

Mears clinches £230m renewal for key Milton Keynes housing deal

Housing upkeep contractor achieves 100% renewal rate in bust rebid period
4 days ago

Murphy on board at new £32m rail station

Construction to start next year at Golborne station
4 days ago

HS2 engineers finish UK’s heaviest bridge slide early

A46 Kenilworth Bypass reopens 30 hours earlier than planned
4 days ago

Bowmer + Kirkland to build £190m Oxford science scheme

Work to start at end of next month on 180,000 sq ft Fabrica scheme
5 days ago

New BAM leisure centre pool springs a leak

Contractor investigating "technical issues" delaying new £36m green leisure centre
5 days ago

United Living lands £250m HyNet pipeline deal

Firm wins deal to design and build over 34km of pipework to collect CO2
5 days ago

Hydrogen diggers get green light to use roads

JCB hails historic decision for advance of hydrogen-fuelled plant on sites
5 days ago

Go-ahead for McAleer & Rushe Glasgow student job

£100m funding deal paves way for 591-bed student tower
5 days ago

Fly-tippers to get their vehicles crushed

Drones will be used to identify cowboy construction waste operators
5 days ago

Green light for £150m West End office revamp

Shaftesbury Avenue office retrofit retains 75% of original building
6 days ago

Morgan Sindall lands £30m Brunswick Wharf scheme in Bideford

North Devon waterside project will provide 100 flats
5 days ago

Former Keltbray managers jailed after corruption trial

Jail sentences following bribery probe on jobs including Battersea Power Station
6 days ago

Lidl pumps £500m into store and logistics expansion

Discounter plans 40 new stores this year as expansion ramps up
6 days ago

JJ Rhatigan UK profit jumps as turnover tops £150m

Irish contractor's expansion in England gathers pace
6 days ago

Driverless digger to be used on Taylor Woodrow site

Autonomous excavator to work at Manchester Airport after successful trial
6 days ago

MCS Build lands Basingstoke warehouse scheme

Construction starts this month after £26m funding deal
6 days ago

Leeds United unveil stadium revamp design

Club has still to set a timeframe for staged Elland Road upgrade
6 days ago

Contractor services