WBHO acquires stake in the British market

WBHO, the JSE-listed construction and engineering group, has expanded its operations into the UK market through the acquisition of a 40 percent interest in Byrne Group for £12 million (R196.66m).

The company said on Friday that it had been prompted to seek access to new geographies and explore a possible entry into developed markets in Europe and the UK because of limited growth prospects within its local sectors and the potential to build for existing clients in Europe and the UK.

“After due consideration, the UK market was identified as offering the most potential at acceptable levels of risk,” it said.

WBHO said the Byrne Group, established in 1969, was one of the leading frame constructors within the Greater London area as well as a smaller main contractor.

It said there was a strong strategic and cultural fit between the two companies that would benefit the growth prospects of both groups.

The expansion in the UK market coincided with WBHO reporting a 10.7 percent growth in its total order book to R44.4 billion at end-April from R40.1bn at end-December.

However, the group’s building and civil engineering order book declined in this period by 14.2 percent to R6.95bn from R8.1bn.

WBHO said local building markets were showing signs of tapering, particularly within the retail and commercial office sectors.

Together with a lower order intake, this was reflected in the 14 percent decrease in the overall building and civil engineering order book at end-April, it said. The group’s roads and earthworks order book grew by 17.7 percent to R6.87bn at end-April from R5.84bn at end-December while its Australian order book increased by 16.8 percent to R30.6bn from R26.2bn.

WBHO said the roads and earthworks division had performed well to date and attributed the almost 18 percent increase in the order book to a marked improvement in the value of secured work across a wide range of sectors, with activity levels in West Africa improving and new mining projects secured in Guinea, Burkina Faso and Ghana.

Shares in WBHO rose 0.45 percent on Friday to close at R137.55.