{"id":501935,"date":"2024-07-05T13:17:40","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T12:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=501935"},"modified":"2024-07-05T13:56:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T12:56:15","slug":"isg-very-near-to-being-sold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/financial\/isg-very-near-to-being-sold-05-07-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"ISG ‘very near’ to being sold"},"content":{"rendered":"

ISG\u2019s parent company Cathexis is set to sell the sixth-biggest UK contractor<\/a> after eight years, amid worries about the London-based firm’s finances.<\/p>\n

ISG<\/a> chair and Cathexis chief operating officer Matt Roche told stakeholders that the buyer, whose identity he did not disclose, would make a significant investment in the business.<\/p>\n

He wrote that Cathexis was \u201cvery near\u201d to closing the sale, in an email sent to suppliers, clients and employees, and seen by Construction News<\/em>.<\/p>\n

CN<\/em> understands more details will be provided within the next week or two.<\/p>\n

Roche wrote: \u201cI am unable to share details of the buyer until the deal has been signed, which is likely to be within the coming days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you will have lots of questions, but I would ask that you bear with us as we work to close the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your patience over the past few months. I know there has been a period of uncertainty<\/a> and am pleased we are now nearing a position where ISG can move forward with confidence for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Directors at one of the firm\u2019s subcontractors told CN<\/em> that it had not received any information about the sale.<\/p>\n

Many have speculated about the firm\u2019s financial health following delays to some of its biggest jobs, forcing the contractor last November to release a statement denouncing the claims as \u201cunsubstantiated, wholly inaccurate and false\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rumours grew in February<\/a> as the firm\u2019s chief executive and chief financial officers unexpectedly stepped down on the same day. Matt Blowers was replaced as chief executive by Zoe Price, who promised to \u201cfundamentally reset\u201d the business. Days later, Blowers\u2019 predecessor Paul Cossell stepped down as a non-executive director, ending his 26-year career with ISG.<\/p>\n

The contractor reported subdued revenue and pre-tax profit figures<\/a> for the 2022 calendar year. Its pre-tax profit dropped by \u00a37m to \u00a311.5m, while revenue stayed flat at \u00a32.2bn. It also reported \u00a3104.7m in net cash, down \u00a313m from the year before.<\/p>\n

Mani Singh, senior account manager at surety provider Tryg Garanti, said: \u201cThe new owners have a real job to not only improve the financial profile of the UK business but also returning confidence for supply chains and clients alike moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis won’t be a quick fix and any new owner will have their own strategy in mind \u2013 the immediate concern is the commercial sector if they decide to scale back their fit-out presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

News of the sale comes amid a flurry of high-profile contractor failures, including Buckingham Group last summer and Osborne in April.<\/p>\n

Singh added: \u201cWith Lendlease\u2019s decision to leave UK construction and now this ISG news, the pool of companies available to tender the larger projects, such as the skyscrapers in London\u2019s pipeline, is really shrinking, which only adds to the cost pressures in play.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISG\u2019s parent company Cathexis is set to sell the sixth-biggest UK contractor after eight years, amid worries about the London-based firm’s finances. ISG chair and Cathexis chief operating officer Matt Roche told stakeholders that the buyer, whose identity he did not disclose, would make a significant investment in the business. He wrote that Cathexis was …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141524,"featured_media":487561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[552,535,553],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n