Chief executive Andrew Davies says company not interested in collapsed company鈥檚 private sector work

Kier has been sounded out about taking on some former ISG jobs left stalled by the firm鈥檚 collapse nearly eight weeks ago.

The FTSE 250 firm鈥檚 chief executive Andrew Davies also told 好色先生TV it had taken on around 70 former ISG staff as well.

Davies said they were project-based employees and added the firm had been asked about taking over some ISG jobs in the public sector.

andrew davies

Andrew Davies said Kier was being asked about taking on some of ISG鈥檚 contracts in the public sector, adding it was not interested in its private sector jobs

But he said: 鈥淎bsolutely no private. We will not touch the private ones, it鈥檚 not our strategy.鈥

Jobs up for grabs include schemes for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and schools work.

鈥淚t鈥檚 up to the clients to reallocate them. It鈥檚 a case by case discussion. If these contracts are in flight, we have to discuss with them how we complete them and the terms. These contracts are going to have to be relet by government per their procurement policies and practices and that鈥檚 up to them to decide.

鈥淭he only thing I would say is the quicker they do it, the better because what happens is the teams on these contracts quickly dissipate so you lose the practical and operational IP and also they deteriorate because of the weather.

鈥淭he lessons after Carillion [which collapsed in 2018] are that it takes a long time to resurrect some of these projects if they lay redundant for months and months.鈥

Last month, it was revealed the MoJ had opened up negotiations with Laing O鈥橰ourke about carrying out ISG鈥檚 new build prison scheme in Buckinghamshire.

Along with Kier, Laing O鈥橰ourke and Wates, ISG was one of four firms appointed to the New Prisons Programme that is intended to create 6,000 new places.

But ISG鈥檚 collapse into administration last month has meant that its appointment to build a 1,500 space category C 鈥渞esettlement鈥 jail near Aylesbury, next to the existing category B Grendon and category D Springhill prisons, will need to be to be carried out by another contractor.