Rok continues growth with Llewellyn buyout

Rok Property Solutions has bought the family-owned Llewellyn Group for £16m. The move marks a further step in the transformation of Rok since the arrival of Garvis Snook as chief executive in June 2000.

Llewellyn's construction business had not been making money for years, and although the gross margins were healthy, the profits were wiped out because overheads were too high, said its new owner this week.

Llewellyn Group made £800,000 in the year to September 2001, but with a property sale accounting for half this sum. Turnover stood at £180m.

In the previous two years there was a small profit of £500,000 followed by a loss of £1.1m. Snook said the latest figures, for the six months to 31 March, show a loss of £2.7m. "Our due diligence processes showed the need for an adjustment of £3.1m to bring accounting policy in line with Rok's," said Snook. "In other words, construction was still losing money."

Llewellyn's staff might be fearful of job losses, but Snook's record gives room for optimism. When he arrived at EBC and started the group's transformation into Rok, staff numbers initially fell from 750 to 650, but have subsequently risen to 850 as Rok has prospered. Since then, 90% of the initial group that lost their jobs were re-employed within three months after back-up assistance from their former employer.

Those remaining in Rok have enjoyed a 29% pay increase over the past two years. "When you are over-staffed and underperforming, salaries are held down," said Snook. "Llewellyn staff working at the front-end are generating good margins and their careers will now hold greater potential."

The acquisition was announced as Rok revealed its latest interim results (six months to 30 June) that show a turnover of £67m, 20% higher than in the comparable period last year. Rok's pre-tax profit moved ahead to £1.8m from a previous figure of £1.2m.