Van Elle Holdings PLC acquires Screwfast

PLC (), the geotechnical and ground engineering group, has acquired ScrewFast Foundations for £3.68mln.

Although it sounds like a company made up for April Fool’s Day, Screwfast is a helical piling and steel modular foundations company, formed in 2000.

Van Elle will pay £1.76mln upfront in cash with up to a further £1.92mln in cash to follow by August 2023 depending on how the acquired company performs.

The engineering group said the acquisition would moderately enhance its earnings in the first full year of operation.

“This is a very exciting, complementary acquisition focussed on our higher-margin, specialist piling activities which strengthens our leading position in growth markets such as highways and rail,” said Mark Cutler, the chief executive officer of Van Elle.

“ScrewFast has an established client base and proven track record of highly specialist services and will support the Group in the delivery of its medium-term strategic objectives. The two businesses have a similar culture and ethos which is very important to us, and we look forward to working with the ScrewFast team as we welcome them into the group,” he added.

“We continue to be encouraged by the group’s progress, with expectations for the year unchanged from those set out in January. Whilst we remain cautious, given that the recovery in some of our markets is still at an early stage, we are very confident that the group is well-positioned to benefit from the continued execution of our growth strategy,” Cutler said.

Shares in Van Elle were up 6.4% at 41.5p in mid-morning trading.

Van Elle are delighted to announce it has been accepted as a member of the @railindustry

This will help our Rail team increase their market presence and influence within the sector.#railway #engineering pic.twitter.com/mNF2zYukiz

— Van Elle (@VanElleplc) April 1, 2021