9 January 2012
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has given the green light to the merger of social housing maintenance businesses Keepmoat and Apollo Group.
A statement by the OFT said the proposed merger would not be referred to the Competition Commission.
The new group will have a turnover approaching £1 billion and “will benefit from numerous cross-selling opportunities with little geographical overlap”, according to a joint statement by Keepmoat and Apollo issued last July.
The combined business, which will be based in Doncaster, will allow a sharing of resources and expertise.
“Apollo will help to strengthen Keepmoat's maintenance capabilities in the north and Keepmoat will boost Apollo's new build offering in the south,” the statement noted.
Both companies are owned by Cavendish Square Partners, a special-purpose vehicle that is majority owned by private equity firm Coller Capital.
The deal comes after the social housing maintenance sector saw two major upheavals last year – the collapse of ROK and Connaught.
Keepmoat chief executive David Blunt will become chief executive of the new business.
Peter Warry, non-executive chairman of Apollo, will be non-executive chairman of the group, branded as the 'Keepmoat family of companies', with Apollo retaining its own brand within this format.
Keepmoat and Apollo will operate as separate divisions with regional focus.
Allen Hickling will be responsible for the northern regions and Dave Sheridan, currently chief executive of Apollo, will be in charge of the southern regions. Tom Allison, who has chaired Keepmoat for the past three years, will remain in position until the merger is complete.
Other news for Monday, 9 January 2012
OFT clears Keepmoat and Apollo merger
Joint venture takes on Woking housing
FM World launches readership survey
Liverpool Uni appoints Integral in M&E deal
Bournemouth goes ahead with Mouchel deal
NG Bailey wins shopping centre deal
Contracts round-up
FM World Blog: Use rule of thumb to get results
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