Midlothian services firm acquired by English rival

ARTHUR McKay has agreed to be acquired by rival building services and facilities management group Servest in a deal likely to have triggered multimillion-pound windfalls for its owners, Paul McKay and Callum Herd.

Servest described the Midlothian-based firm as a good strategic fit for its existing building services division.

Mr Herd, managing director of Arthur McKay, said: “I hand the business over to Servest with the greatest of confidence. I know that being part of such an established and industry renowned organisation our clients will be in safe hands. We look forward to seeing Servest build on Arthur McKay’s success.”

The business was founded in 1958 and has grown into one of the UK’s leading providers of building support services.

For the year-ending October 31, 2015, Arthur McKay made a pre-tax profit of £5.4 million, up 54 per cent on the previous year, as its turnover grew 10 per cent to £111m.

It has about 940 staff, with 270 working in office and management, 400 in installation and repair, and 264 in other operational staff.

Bury St Edmonds-based Servest posted revenue of £240m last year. It employs more than 23,000 staff.

Rob Legge, group chief executive, UK and Europe at Servest, said: “The acquisition is part of our growth strategy to become one of the top five facilities management service providers in the UK. I’m delighted to be able to offer new and existing customers a wider range of services through the new combined entity.”

Servest said the senior management team will remain in place to facilitate a smooth transition.