Rok has bought Tulloch Construction for £31m. The move will treble Rok’s Scottish presence, taking its annual turnover north of the border to close on £200m.
Tulloch Construction is based in Inverness and has eight branch offices between Thurso in the north down to Glasgow.
Its main activities are construction and building as well as various support services operations including maintenance, plumbing, heating and M&E. There are also smaller divisions covering civil engineering and plant hire.
Tulloch Construction’s latest financial results (12 months to 31 December 2005) show turnover of £110m (previous year’s figure: £90m) with operating profit running to £3.3m (previous year: £2.5m).
Tulloch was formed in 1989 as the result of a management buy-out led by David Sutherland of Alfred McAlpine’s former Scottish operations.
Sutherland is now aged 57 and his number two, George Fraser, is 52.
“This was a natural progression,” said Rok's chief executive, Garvis Snook. “Tulloch’s style suits Rok. Within a few minutes of sitting down with David it was clear that we have similar attitudes to construction and building services.”
Sutherland will take a non-executive post on Rok’s main board while Fraser, who has run the Tulloch business for the past six years, becomes managing director of Rok’s entire Scottish operation. He is also on Rok’s main operating board.
Tulloch’s turnover is budgeted to jump to £130m in the current year and operating profits are likely to be more than £5m.
Rok has not taken on the entire Tulloch group – the housebuilding division has been left behind.