THOSE WHO CAN,REACH

摘要

What does French contracting giant Bouygues see in the UK regional construction market that Britain's number one, Balfour Beatty, reportedly doesn't? While Balfour has supposedly warned its 12,000 UK staff that they risk losing their jobs, amid reports that it may dispense with its regional Mansell brand, Bouygues has added a further acquisition to its growing stable of UK regional firms. Bouygues, which has worldwide construction turnover of €24.4bn (£19.9bn) and a market value of €6.7bn (admittedly in large part due to its activities in sexier sectors such as mobile phones and media), last month paid an undisclosed sum for Thomas Vale, a £200m-turnover contractor whose global reach does not extend much beyond the Midlands. But it is the third regional firm that the French group has acquired, joining Portsmouth-based Warings, bought in 2007, and Oxford-based Leadbitter, in 2011.