The sale by Tarmac of troubled civils contractor Alun Griffiths Contractors to its eponymous former owner has been confirmed.
The Welsh civils firm was acquired by Alun Griffiths – who founded the business in 1968 – this week, operating through a company he controls, Grosmont Ventures, which was set up earlier this year.
The sale price has not been disclosed.
“Tarmac will continue to work closely with Alun Griffiths Contractors Ltd, to ensure there is a smooth transition on a business-as-usual basis,” a Griffiths spokesperson said.
“The intention is to refocus the company as a privately owned entity with an emphasis on its established strengths of safety, customer service, engineering excellence and a local geographic presence.”
Two former senior Alun Griffiths employees appear to be returning to the firm along with the former owner.
On LinkedIn, the firm’s former rail director Tim James has updated his profile with the title of managing director at Alun Griffiths Contractors. He is listed on Companies House as a director of Grosvenor Ventures.
James left last year, spending a year as director at Cambrensis Civil Engineering, another firm set up by Alun Griffiths two years ago.
Cambrensis director Simon Dunn, Alun Griffiths’ former pre-construction director is listed as the third director of Alun Griffiths Contractors.
Alun Griffiths Contractors had been consulting staff on plans to restructure earlier this year after reporting its fifth consecutive pre-tax loss.
It last turned a profit in 2018, the year it was acquired by Tarmac for £36m.
A week after the announced restructure, it withdrew from a £1.8m flood defence scheme at Severn Stoke, Worcestershire, leaving the future of the project in the balance.
Last March, it unexpectedly walked away from the £89m Banwell Bypass job in Somerset after enabling works were already underway.
The contract was eventually taken up by Galliford Try in September.
According to its most recent financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2023, the firm’s headline performance had been impacted by “significant losses” on certain large fixed-price contracts entered into before the economic disruption arising from the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
It recorded turnover of £262.7m – a 13 per cent drop on the £301m it made the previous year.
Alun Griffiths was ranked 61st in the CN100 2024 index of top UK contractors by turnover, slipping two places year on year.