History
Alfred McAlpine was one of the sons of 'Concrete' Bob McAlpine and he ran the operations of Sir Robert McAlpine in the north west of England. In 1935, following the death of Sir Robert and his eldest son, Alfred ran the north west independently, although the legal separation was not completed until 1940, when Sir Alfred McAlpine & Son was formed. Under a non-compete agreement with its former parent company, Sir Alfred McAlpine confined itself to civil engineering and to the north west of England.[2][3]
After the death of its founder, his son Jimmie McAlpine became chairman of the business. During 1958, the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange under the name Marchwiel Holdings, changing its public name to Alfred McAlpine PLC only in 1985.[4] This move came two years after the decision to end the non-compete agreement with Robert McAlpine, allowing the firm to expand geographically.[1] However, some terms agreed by between the two companies were allegedly still in effect, a matter that would lead to legal action being taken into the 21st century.[5][6]
McAlpine's status as a civil engineer was enhanced during the 1960s by its participation in the motorway building programme and the company became one of the country's leading civil engineers. There had been some limited diversification, including the purchase of Penrhyn Quarry, the country's largest slate works. This slate was occasionally used in the business' other activities.[7][8] As the civil engineering market declined in the 1970s, McAlpine sought to diversify further into private housebuilding. Acquisitions included Price Brothers in 1978, Frank Sanderson's Finlas in 1982 and Canberra in 1988. Investments had also been made in the US housing industry. By the end of the 1980s, private housebuilding was contributing the major part of the group's profits.[9]
During 1985, Jimmie retired, and handed over chairmanship of the company to his son Robert James "Bobby" McAlpine.[10] In 1991, Bobby brought in an outside chief executive and resigned as chairman one year later, by which time the family no longer owned a controlling shareholding in the business. Under new management, there was further concentration on private housebuilding, including the acquisition of Raine Industries. By the late 1990s, McAlpine was building over 4,000 houses per year and was one of the industry's top ten.[9][11]
During the mid-1990s, rival British construction firm Amec Foster Wheeler made an all-share offer to merge with Alfred McAlpine; however, the latter's board voted against the move.[12][13]
By the turn of the century, there was increasing speculation over the future of the company and, in August 2001, Alfred McAlpine sold its housebuilding operations to rival company George Wimpey in exchange for £461m, after which McAlpine announced plans to return in excess of £100m to its shareholders during the following years.[14][15] Later that same year, it acquired Kennedy Utility Management for £52m.[16] In 2002, the business acquired Stiell, a facilities management and information technology network systems business, for £85m.[17][18] In May 2006, Alfred McAlpine commenced its largest ever facilities and building management services contract for Mapeley's entire UK property portfolio; by this point, 75 percent of the company's activities was in the private sector.[19]
During February 2007, the company took a £13m hit after serious accounting irregularities were discovered that were later attributed to the deliberate collusion of several managers at its slate business across multiple years.[20] Several former managers later admitted to charges of fraud related to this incident.[21] It was speculated that Alfred McAlpine may have to part with its slate activities entirely.[22]
During October 2007, reports emerged that two takeover bids made by rival company Carillion had been rejected by Alfred McAlpine.[23][24] In February 2008, Carillion acquired the company in exchange for £572m, even though this amount was less than Carillion had originally offered for the firm.[25][26] The move, which made Carillion the biggest support services company in Britain, quickly led to the selling off various parts of the former company being initiated that same year.[27][28]
