Mouchel, the outsourcing company that manages a third of Britain’s roads, has received a £400 million takeover approach from Kier, the builder.
Kier, which collects rubbish for 3.3 million households, repairs 900,000 council homes a year and maintains 35,000km of roads, confirmed that it had made an approach but said there was “no certainty that an acquisition will be completed”.
Analysts said there could be strong logic for a combination of the two groups as Kier’s water, environmental and highways business would fit in well with Mouchel’s work in maintaining roads, water mains and running councils’ back offices. Kier would also benefit from Mouchel’s expertise in the Middle East, they said.
Mouchel was a darling of the outsourcing market in the first decade of the