24 Facts About Kier Group

Kier Group plc is a British construction, services and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services, and the Private Finance Initiative.

Kier Group was listed as a public company on the London Stock Exchange from 1963 until it was acquired by Beazer in 1986.

Olaf Kier Group sought to retain family leaders at the head of the organisation.

The Kier Group family retained a significant majority of the holding.

In 1993 Kier Group decided to re-enter the housing market with the £30m acquisition of Twigden Homes.

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In July 2017 Kier Group acquired McNicholas Construction, another UK infrastructure services provider.

However, because Kier Group shared characteristics that contributed to Carillion's collapse – problem contracts, rising debts, and use of reverse factoring supply chain finance – City hedge funds began to 'short' Kier Group's shares; 10.

On 15 November 2018, Kier Group announced the £24m sale of its Australian road assets business KHSA to joint venture partner Downer, saying sale proceeds would help reduce net debt – £624m at 31 October 2018.

On 11 March 2019, Kier Group revised its average net debt for the six months to December 2018 by over £50m from £130m to £180.

Kier Group highlighted "volume pressures" in its highways, utilities and housing maintenance markets.

In October 2019, Kier Group announced it was selling its Tempsford Hall headquarters in Bedfordshire to raise cash from its property assets.

The sale of Kier Group Living was in progress, as was the process of closing Kier Group's Tempsford Hall head office, set to complete in June 2020.

Kier Group closed its Reading office with the loss of up to 40 jobs.

On 1 July 2020, Kier Group announced it was considering a further rights issue to raise cash as average net debt had risen due to COVID-19 impacts; average month-end net debt was up from £395m in December 2019 to £440m, and could rise to £485m.

On 6 April, Sky News reported that Kier Group Living would be sold to Terra Firma, for £110m, subject to agreement at a meeting of Kier Group shareholders in early May, with completion of the sale by mid-June 2021.

Kier Group Living was bought by a new company owned by Terra Firma founder Guy Hands, and was rebranded as Tilia Homes.

On 13 May 2021, Kier Group launched a £241m fund raise, with shares offered at 85p .

Also in January 2022, Kier was reported to be in advanced talks to acquire rival contractor Tilbury Douglas, the remaining contracting arm of the former Interserve group, with speculation it might pay around £50m for the almost-£500m turnover business.

Kier Group is involved in HS2 lots C2 and C3, working as part of a joint venture with Eiffage, due to complete in 2031.

Kier Group was revealed as a subscriber to the UK's Consulting Association, exposed in 2009 for operating an illegal construction industry blacklist, and was among 14 issued with enforcement notices by the UK Information Commissioner's Office.

Subsequently, Kier Group was among eight businesses involved in the 2014 launch of the Construction Workers Compensation Scheme, condemned as a "PR stunt" by the GMB union, and described by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee as "an act of bad faith".

In December 2017, Unite announced it had issued high court proceedings against four former chairmen of the Consulting Association, included Danny O'Sullivan of Kier Group, alleging breach of privacy, defamation and Data Protection Act offences.

Kier Group was the main contractor in the failed DG One leisure centre in Dumfries.

In May 2022, Kier Group was criticised by councillors for quoting "unaffordable" prices for simple highway maintenance roadworks in Suffolk.