Construction group to make 拢40m profit from sale of 2,000-strong business

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Kier has sold its Mouchel Consulting business to WSP for 拢75m in cash.

It comes after Kier announced in July that it was undertaking a review of Mouchel Consulting and was considering selling it.

The firm bought the engineering consultancy business in June 2015 as part of its 拢275m acquisition of the Mouchel Group.

Mouchel Consulting has around 2,000 employees, mainly in offices across the UK and Ireland, as well as a presence in the Middle East.

It reported revenue of 拢125m and a 拢5m pre-tax profit for the year ending 30 June 2016. The gross assets of the company, the subject of the disposal, were 拢29m at 30 June 2016.

The disposal is expected to result in an immediate profit of approximately 拢40m for Kier.

Kier chief executive Haydn Mursell (pictured) said: 鈥淗aving completed the integration of Mouchel, we are well progressed with the simplification of our portfolio of businesses.

鈥淭he disposal of Mouchel Consulting continues this process and provides increased capital to focus on the opportunities across our core businesses which will underpin the group鈥檚 future growth.鈥

Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Naysmith, managing director of WSP in the UK, said: 鈥淭ogether, we will now be a top-tier player for local and national government transportation projects, as well as in local authority markets.鈥