The move means more than 50% of Renew’s turnover will now come from specialist civil engineering and M&E work.

Barnsley-based Amco was Formed in 1970 and originally operated under the name of Amco Construction Limited as an underground contractor in the UK coal industry, working on tunnelling, roadways and shafts.

The firm moved into the rail, engineering and energy sectors as the coal industry declined and now has a string of  long-term clients including Network Rail, Magnox Electric, E.ON, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy and The Environment Agency.

Amco’s revenue and operating profit for the 9 month period ended 30 September 2010 were £59.8m and £4.2m respectively with 52% of turnover coming from the rail industry.

Renew Chief Executive Brian May said: “We are delighted to welcome the staff and management of Amco to the Renew group.

“The acquisition of Amco allows Renew to increase and broaden the scale of its specialist engineering operations, as well as adding to the range of services we can provide to our customers.

“Amco has a strong and highly experienced management team and I look forward to working with them in the future.”

The deal is expected to be rubber-stamped by Renew shareholders at a meeting on February 23.