Balfour Beatty acquires OPL
Global infrastructure specialist Balfour Beatty has acquired an office fit-out company in a deal announced to the stock exchange this morning.
Balfour Beatty has invested £8m in the acquisition of Office Projects Group Ltd (OPL), a company specialising in the UK office fit-out market. OPL, with a London-based head office and a regional office in Birmingham, has previously worked on office projects for Balfour Beatty. OPL has annual sales in excess of £40m and typically works with a blue-chip client base including BAA, B&Q and Virgin Group.
In announcing the deal, Balfour Beatty reported: “The acquisition represents a strategic fit with Balfour Beatty’s existing capabilities, further extending the company’s skill base within the [office] fit-out market.”
OPL was co-founded by ex-SAS soldier Neil Laughton and his business partner Andrew Russell in the mid 1990’s. Laughton has been involved in the commercial interiors business since 1984.
OPL has recently completed a £4.3m interior fit-out project for City-based Ignis Asset Management at offices in 150 Cheapside.
Ignis had taken 32,000 sq ft of floor space of the BREEAM ‘Excellent’, landmark building based opposite St Paul’s Cathedral and tasked OPL with providing an environment that would unify teams relocating from two existing City offices.
Commenting on the 15-week project, Joyce Hardie, Head of Facilities at Ignis, said: “Our offices in Marylebone and St Paul’s had no brand consistency and the very fact that we had employees on two different sites meant that the team felt very fragmented and disparate. Our new premises are a true reflection of our business and offer visitors a first-class business lounge environment.”
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