Ground engineering contractor Van Elle has acquired Scottish piling and drilling specialist Albion in a deal worth up to £3.5m.
London Stock Exchange-listed Van Elle said the acquisition, announced today, would strengthen its presence in Scotland and extend the group’s technical capabilities.
The purchase of Albion follows Van Elle’s acquisition last year of Galliford Try’s specialist piling business Rock & Alluvium in a transaction worth up to £3.8m.
The latest deal will see Albion managing director Jim King and the firm’s 31-strong workforce become part of the Van Elle Group while continuing to operate under the Albion brand.
King is expected to assume a wider role as Van Elle’s director for Scotland, reporting to chief operating officer Malcolm O’Sullivan.
Van Elle reported a modest rise in pre-tax profit this year while revenue dropped by 6 per cent in what the firm described as challenging market conditions.
Chief executive Mark Cutler said the acquisition of Albion represented an “exciting and important step” towards the delivery of the firm’s growth strategy in the energy sector.
“It also broadens the group’s range of specialist capabilities and customer base,” he said.
Van Elle is already “delivering two energy infrastructure schemes in Scotland and expects to mobilise further, larger schemes in early 2025”, the firm said in a stock exchange statement.
Stirling-based Albion provides a range of specialist piling, technical drilling and geotechnical engineering including quarry and close-proximity blasting, marine drilling, ground stabilisation and rock anchoring.
For the year ending 31 January 2024, the £5.5m-turnover firm made a pre-tax profit of £800,000.
