Consultant hopes to raise £30m from City to invest in PFI bids and takeovers.
CONSULTANT MOUCHEL has pledged to use £30m of the funds it raises from listing on the stock exchange on PFI bids and acquisitions.

The £71.5m-turnover firm, a specialist in infrastructure work, announced its intention to float on Monday. The move will lead to a listing in the support services sector.

Mouchel said some of the funds raised would be used to mobilise contracts awarded to it recently by the Highways Agency. Staff are expected to buy one-third of the offering, with City fund managers taking the remainder.

Mouchel business development director Stuart Black said the initial public offering, due in June, would value the firm at £90m.

Black said the summer listing would come at the right time for the firm. He said: "The contracts we are pursuing are getting larger. We need more working capital so we can get involved in PFI or look at more acquisitions."

Black said he was not worried by the disappointing performance of other recent offerings. Punch Taverns and HMV Group failed to reach their float price after going public two weeks ago.

He argued that the environment for infrastructure firms was not the same as that for consumer firms. "We are quite confident the time is right for us, especially with the increasing spending promised on infrastructure," he said.

Black added that the firm would still retain a degree of independence – rival Mott MacDonald said it was not looking to float last week after its merger with Franklin + Andrews.

He said: "We will not lose control. The majority of the business will still be employee-owned."

  • Mouchel this week won a £70m contract with Hertfordshire council to oversee its highway infrastructure. The deal could last up to 10 years.