The private equity firm set to buy Lendlease’s UK construction business is looking at expanding its consulting arm, an executive has said.
A senior executive of Atlas Holdings, which announced a £35m sale agreement with Lendlease UK’s parent company this month, told Construction News that Lendlease’s consulting business was a clear target for its plans to “grow where it makes sense”.
They said: “It’s a small business today but an obvious one to try and grow. It doesn’t need factories or lots of capital, just finding the right people and using them properly.”
The executive also signalled that Atlas is set to inject significant investment into its new purchase, leaving it “at least as well capitalised as it was before and significantly better capitalised than some of its competitors”.
They added: “I don’t think this is something you could buy and do a quick flip. For us to make money on this, we’ll have to own it for a decent period and develop it.”
Lendlease’s UK construction arm will become the fourth construction business in Atlas’ portfolio, the largest of which is Italian facade specialist Permasteelisa. Shortly after it acquired Permasteelisa in 2020, Atlas injected £16.5m of capital to help the contractor after years of losses.
Lendlease UK’s Australian parent company Lendlease Group announced it had reached the sale agreement with Atlas Holdings on 2 January, ending nine months of uncertainty over the UK construction business. Lendlease Group previously announced it would pull out of overseas markets in May 2024.
In the sale announcement to the Australian stock market, Lendlease Group wrote that “substantially all” of Lendlease UK’s employees would transfer to Atlas.
The sale has been called in for government scrutiny on national security grounds. Construction News understands it is now being examined by officials under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act. The call-in is not expected to scupper the acquisition but could delay it slightly.
