By Dave Rogers2021-04-21T13:15:00+01:00
Plenty left to do but encouraging results from Andrew Davies’ turn-around strategy mean debt-free future is in sight
For a man who used a cricketing analogy to end his interim results meeting with analysts this morning, Kier chief executive Andrew Davies is reluctant to say whether the firm’s balance sheet problems have been hit for six after an encouraging few days.
“We can draw stumps there,” Davies said after a 45 minute presentation capped off a five-day period that has seen the firm finally reach a deal to sell its housing business, Kier Living, for £110m. He was also able to boast a return to profit and, perhaps most revelatory, unveil a plan to wipe out the firm’s debt pile – which Kier watchers will know has hung around its neck for a long time – returning it to a net cash position within three years.
Kier Group plc ( Kier or the Company ) today announces that it has entered into an agreement for the cash sale of Kier Living Limited ( KierLiving ) to Foster BidCo Limited (the Buyer ), a newly formed company, ultimately owned by Guy Hands, the Founder, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Terra Firma (the Transaction ). The Transaction is conditional on Kier shareholders ( Shareholders ) approval at a General Meeting expected to occur in early May. The consideration payable by the Buyer for Kier Living is £110 million, payable in cash on completion of the Transaction ( Completion ), which is expected before mid-June. There will be additional payments made on completion to cover, among other things, Kier and its subsidiary and associated undertakings (the Group ) providing working capital