Gurney buys Turriff

May Gurney is paying an initial cash consideration of up to £8.6M, with a further £5M payable over three years dependent upon several key performance indicators being met, including future revenue targets and key employee retention. Also, May Gurney is assuming about £9.4M

of debt.

The addition of Turriff further strengthens May Gurney’s position in the utilities maintenance market. May Gurney also gains entry to the £2.4B support services market in Scotland, with opportunities in local government and rail, and gains access to the UK’s regulated £1.7B gas marketplace, which is displaying strong and sustained growth with dependable, long-term income streams.

May Gurney chief executive, Philip Fellowes-Prynne, said: “This transaction meets with our strategy of developing wider services with existing clients and increasing our geographical spread. Turriff will provide access to the power and gas maintenance sectors, the Scottish support services market and consolidates our position in water.

“These are all key growth markets with dependable, sustainable income streams which will provide us with significant opportunities to develop long-term relationships with new clients.”

Turriff’s acquired order book is about £90M, with available extensions worth up to an additional £70M. Its key long-term clients include Scotia Gas, Scottish Water and Scottish & Southern Energy.

Based in Aberdeen, Turriff has more than 550 employees and is one of Scotland’s largest utility infrastructure maintenance companies with market-leading positions in gas, water, electricity and multi-utility services.

For the year to December 31, 2010, based on unaudited management accounts, Turriff’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were £2.5M on revenues of £41M.