Laing shareholders this week formally approved the sale of the group's construction arm to subcontractor Ray O'Rourke for 拢1.
The sale, which cost Laing 拢30m, and a 拢76m rights issue, was approved by 99.9% of those who voted after a revolt from angry shareholders failed to materialise at an emergency general meeting on Monday.
While there was opposition from several smaller investors, an analyst said major shareholders just wanted to move in the hope that Laing's share price would improve. Shares have been floundering around 100p since the scale of the firm's construction losses were revealed at the end of last month. The construction division has lost 拢195m in the past three-and-a-half years and threatened to bring down the rest of the company if it was not sold.
Laing Construction also announced this week that it had won a 拢40m residential project in Birmingham. Laing will build 387 homes in a 20-storey block of flats for developer KingsOak.
