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WYG sells AKT in about turn

1 Apr 11 Consulting engineer WYG, formerly White Young Green, has sold Adams Kara Taylor (AKT) for £3.75m just six years after buying it for £10.5m.

AKT has been bought by AKT2 Ltd, a company backed by AKT management and Swedish planning consultant Tyréns AB.

WYG bought AKT from its founders, Robin Adams, Hanif Kara and Albert Williamson-Taylor in November 2006 to develop its then UK engineering business unit. AKT had a reputation for cutting edge design and did a lot of work for international architects and academic institutes.

Since then, AKT has operated under WYG's ownership as a near stand-alone entity, WYG said.  WYG has now decided that AKT no longer fits with its “globally integrated capability led business model”.

AKT employs about120 people, having shed about 50 in the past year or two. In the year ended 30 June 2010 it generated revenues of £12.3m, with profit before tax of £600,000m.  AKT's gross assets as at 30 June 2010 were approximately £2.1m.

Tyréns AB is one of Sweden's leading consultants within urban and rural planning with approximately 1,000 employees operating from more than 20 offices in Sweden.

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WYG chief executive Paul Hamer said: "AKT has been a valued member of the WYG Group over the past four years, particularly in contributing to delivering technical excellence to global clients. WYG and AKT2 will continue to collaborate on projects of mutual interest in key global regions and I wish the management of AKT every success in taking the business forward. 

"Looking ahead, our ambition is to continue on our journey which will see us offering technical expertise across our chosen markets to capture market share by serving our existing and new clients well."

WYG has also reported its results for the six months to 31 December, which show a fall in revenues to £83.7m compared to £115.2m for same period in the previous year.

Adjusted loss before tax, before exceptionals and other items, was £2.6m, down from a profit of £1.6m. Operating profit before exceptional and other items was just £100,000 compared to £3.7m the previous year.

The business has net debt of £38.5m.

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