Contractor spends £19m on outsourcing specialist for industrial firms

Costain Group has acquired construction support services firm Promanex, paying £16.4m, plus £2.4m worth of debt, it was announced today.

Promanex, which employs more than 800 people over 10 offices in the UK, provides outsourcing services to the industrial sector, and Costain is aiming to use the acquisition to strengthen its presence in specialist markets, such as water and nuclear power – where Promanex currently operates.

For the year ended 30 September 2010, Promanex reported revenue of £56.2m, with profit before interest, tax and amortisation of £2.4m, and an operating profit of £1.8m. Gross assets at the time were £20.8 million. Costain plans to retain the existing management team, integrating it into its infrastructure business.

The takeover, which is predicted to increase Costain’s profit this year, will broaden the group’s existing consultancy operations, according to chief executive Andrew Wyllie.

“The acquisition will significantly enhance our existing ability to provide operations and maintenance support services to our major customers and reinforces Costain’s position as a leading Tier One engineering solutions provider,” he said.

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