Staff were told yesterday that they had new owners following months of turmoil at the demolition and decommissioning specialist.

OCS – which has a global turnover of £840m and 85,000 staff –  has acquired Silverdell subsidiaries Euro Dismantling Services, EDS Plant Solutions and EDS Group Holdings  from administrators at BDO.

The acquired business units comprise the decontamination, access & insulation and nuclear trading divisions operated by EDS.

The move gives OCS a presence in the  asbestos removal and decontamination markets in high hazard areas and nuclear sites.

Silverdell’s financial problems forced it to delist from the AIM market after its shares were suspended last July.

OCS declined to confirm how much it had paid for the Silverdell firms.

Martin Gammon, chief executive officer for OCS Group UK and Europe, said: “The specialist services provided by the acquired business units will complement our core facilities management offering.

“This acquisition once again demonstrates our unique ability to move swiftly to secure deals in distressed circumstances.”

“OCS and Silverdell are already serving the same market sectors and, in some cases, the same clients.

“This acquisition means we will be able to offer both sets of clients a broader set of associated services to help manage their assets and environments from a single point of contact”.

The decommissioning business operated within the Silverdell Group has not been sold to OCS.

One supplier told the Enquirer: “With such a big name taking over we should hopefully get the money owed to us now.”

OCS declined to comment on the future of the EDS management team.