10th Feb 2006 10:30
Scottish & Southern Energy PLC10 February 2006 ACQUISITION OF HARRISON SMITH (BATLEY) LIMITED AND JOINT VENTURE COMPANYAPPOINTED PREFERRED BIDDER FOR LEEDS CITY COUNCIL STREET LIGHTING The contracting subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Energy plc (SSE), SouthernElectric Contracting, has completed the acquisition of Yorkshire-based plumbingand heating contractor, Harrison Smith (Batley) Limited. In addition, SSE'sjoint venture with The Royal Bank of Scotland plc ("RBS"), Tay Valley Lighting,has been appointed by Leeds City Council as preferred bidder for its streetlighting PFI (Private Finance Initiative). Harrison Smith, based in Batley, West Yorkshire, is a well-establishedcontractor employing almost 50 members of staff. Over half its £4m turnovercomes from industrial/commercial work, such as office and residentialrefurbishments. It is particularly active in the hospitality and cateringindustry, with blue-chip customers including Premier Lodge and The Spirit Group.Its remaining income comes from social housing refurbishments for localauthorities, mainly partnering contracts under the Government's Decent Homesscheme. The acquisition will give SEC the scope to offer a more comprehensive range ofelectrical, heating and plumbing services to its customers in the North ofEngland. The transaction has a total value of around one million pounds. It follows theacquisition by SEC in 2005 of Eastern Contracting, the former contractingbusiness of Eastern Electricity. That business has been successfully integratedinto SEC. It is shortly to open a sixth regional office in Norwich and is takingthe first steps in its strategic expansion plan with a recruitment drivecovering the whole of the Eastern region. SSE's presence in Yorkshire has been further strengthened following the decisionby Leeds City Council to select the joint venture between SSE and RBS aspreferred bidder for its street lighting PFI. The first five years of the 25-year contract would see the majority of the110,000 street lights, illuminated signs and bollards in the city replaced,other than those recently installed. Its completion would result in it becomingthe largest street lighting PFI in the UK. If confirmed, SEC Lighting Services,part of the SSE Contracting Group, would be responsible for all replacement,repair and maintenance work. Tay Valley Lighting has established itself as one of the leading players in thestreet lighting PFI field and is already successfully carrying out a similarscheme in Stoke-on-Trent, as well as in Newcastle and North Tyneside. The finalagreement on this important deal would result in SSE more than doubling itsincome from this market sector. Ian Marchant, SSE's Chief Executive, said: "The acquisition of Harrison Smith is an important step forward in our plan togrow incrementally the scope and scale of SEC's activities. Securing preferredbidder status for the Leeds PFI is another significant milestone in thedevelopment of the business. Our key priorities now are to complete theintegration of Harrison Smith into SEC and to secure the formal award of theLeeds PFI contract. "SEC is an important part of SSE and complements activities in areas such asEnergy Supply and Energy Services and maintaining its long-term growth is animportant part of our plans going forward." Enquiries to: Scottish and Southern Energy Alan Young, Director of Corporate Communications 0870 900 0410 Penny Porter, Corporate Communications 0870 900 0410 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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