Connaught plc was a company in the United Kingdom, operating in the

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

and compliance markets. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, it went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

in October 2010.

History

The business was founded by William Tincknell (1935–2018) in 1982 as a concrete repair specialist. Four years later, it was awarded its first major

concrete repair contract.

Expansion

During the early 1990s, Connaught expanded its services to include external wall insulation and overcladding and latterly began refurbishing all external elements of social housing including roofs, windows and doors. The business also expanded geographically. The 1990s saw significant corporate changes at Connaught plc, first in 1996 via a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...

funded by HSBC Private Equity and again in 1998 when the business was floated on the

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market, Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in opera ...

. Mark Tincknell headed the business as CEO throughout this period. By 2004, the business had acquired social housing service providers in Scotland and Wales and had revenues in the region of £300 million and negligible net debt. During 2005, Mark Davies was appointed CEO. In 2006, Stephen Hill, formerly at Serco, was appointed finance director. During 2006, Connaught was fully listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

and, by 2007, the company had become a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Having acquired Gasforce in 2002, Connaught appointed Altium Capital to advise on its regulatory obligations and acquisition strategy from 2003. Between 2005 and 2007, Connaught acquired seven other related businesses and became the UK's leading provider of integrated compliance services with the 2007 acquisition of National Britannia. The acquisition of National Britannia cost the company £91 million, which was part funded by £57.9 million raised from investors. During 2009, Connaught acquired the listed environmental services company Fountains plc in exchange for £13 million.

Collapse

Connaught was shaken by a series of events triggered by the abrupt departure of its CEO Mark Davies in January 2010 following the sale of his shares valued at £5.5m. After Connaught issued a positive statement, shareholders were surprised when the business issued a profit warning on 26 June 2010; the company explained that the emergency budget introduced by the new government had damaged the company's profitability. Connaught subsequently warned of a 'material loss' for the year ended 31 August 2010. On 8 July 2010, Mark Tincknell, who had taken over the running of the business again when Davies departed, resigned from the CEO's position, after which point Ian Carlisle took over the post. During May 2010, Sir Roy Gardner was appointed chairman to Connaught's Board. On 8 September 2010, Connaught plc and Connaught Partnerships, the company's social housing arm, were put into administration. That same month, Morgan Sindall purchased the repairs division of Connaught plc, saving 2,500 jobs in the process. During February 2011, Rentokil Initial acquired the Fumigation & Pest Control, Water Treatment & Hygiene and Fire Safety & Prevention businesses of Santia, formerly Connaught plc, for £5.6m.

Regulatory investigation

The preparation, approval and audit of the financial statements leading up to the administration of Connaught plc were investigated by the Accounting and Actuarial Disciplinary Board.

Operations

The Group was organised into three divisions: * Connaught Partnerships * Connaught Compliance * Connaught Environmental

References

{{Authority control Companies based in Exeter Business services companies of the United Kingdom Business services companies established in 1982 1982 establishments in England Defunct construction and civil engineering companies 2010 disestablishments in England Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1982 British companies established in 1982 British companies disestablished in 2010 Construction and civil engineering companies disestablished in 2010