Deborah bought for £48m

The offer is worth £43.2m, although another £5m may be payable depending on Deborah’s performance over the next three years.

In the year ended 30 September 2007, Deborah turned over £81m and made an operating profit of £7.5m. In the 12 months to 30 April 2007, Siteserv turned over £44.9m and made a pre-tax profit of £5.3m.

Siteserv provides a range of services, from modular buildings to scaffolding.

Brian Harvey, chief executive of Siteserv, said: “The acquisition is consistent with our stated strategy of continuing to grow by acquisition and particularly continuing to acquire businesses that are market leaders.”