Keller Group plc () is a geotechnical engineering company. It is 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 is a constituent of the

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. The company is the world's largest geotechnical specialist contractor.

History

The company was established in the 1950s as the ground engineering division of

GKN plc GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It was a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 ...

. In 1960, it expanded into a stand-alone piling and ground improvement company and, in 1975, it acquired the German company Johann Keller and took on that name. In 1984, Keller bought Hayward Baker Inc., a US ground engineering business. In 1990, it was the subject of a

management buy-out 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 High-net-worth individual, individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts bec ...

from

supported by Candover. During May 1994, the company was listed on the

for the first time; three months later, it was awarded a £7.5 million contract for a German customer; at the time, it was the company's largest single order. In early 1995, Keller Group announced it has recorded £9.4 million in pre-tax profits, a 33 percent rise over the previous year; this was in part attributed to deals made in the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n market. In 1997, Keller Group's fiscal performance dipped somewhat, which was attributed to external factors such as the strengthening of the

Sterling Sterling may refer to: Currency * The English penny, historically known as the ''sterling'' * Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom * Sterling silver, a grade of silver Places United Kingdom * Stirling, a Scottish city whose al ...

and an economic downturn in Germany. Six months later, profits rose to £13.8 million, which was up 10 percent from the previous year; a large portion of these gains were from its international projects. During 1998, the company elected to expand its British-based concrete repair subsidiary ''Makers'', as well as acquire the Australian foundation specialist Franki for £3.5 million. In August 1999, Keller Group stated that two-thirds of its pre-tax profits were derived from Makers. Throughout the early 2000s, the American market would be a consistent source of profits for the company. During 2003, Keller Groups underwent restructuring, which included 50 job losses, due to overcapacity and industry-wide changes; profits declined sharply by 46 percent while its subsidiary Makers was marked down by £7 million. However, by the start of 2005, Makers had returned to profitability and Keller Group was once again considering its expansion. During 2006, Keller Group acquired Anderson Drilling, the creators and owners of the

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drilling rig, along with several British specialist firms, amid stronger than expected fiscal results. In September 2007, the company sold its

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division for nominal consideration; later that same year, the company acquired the American piling specialist HJ Foundation in exchange for £24.5 million. During 2008, Keller Group was impacted by the start of the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

and a major downturn in the housing market; in an effort to reduce its dependence upon the US market, it turned towards other markets, such as India and eastern Europe. One year later, the company achieved over £1 billion in turnover for the first time. In 2011, it was awarded contracts worth £30 million for grouting, structural monitoring and surveying works on

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Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

programme. Two years later, Keller Group doubled its profits, which its management was attributed to its international growth. During 2015, the company's performance dipped due to a downturn in Australia; while lower revenues were recorded for that year, profits actually rose. Nevertheless, in 2018, Keller Group issued a profit warning and dropped out of the

. In January 2023, Keller Group published a profit warning after a "deliberate and sophisticated financial reporting fraud" at Austral Construction. The estimated impact was £6m related to the first half of 2022, and £8m to £10m relating to prior years. Two directors were dismissed as investigations continued, and the company's shares fell 10%. The fraud was described by ''The Times'' as "apparently sophisticated". Keller's pre-tax profit for 2022 fell by 17% as a result; it made £56m profit across the year, from a turnover of £2.9bn.

Operations

Keller operates under three divisions and is supported by its group head office: * North America: Bencor, Case Foundation, Hayward Baker, HJ Foundation, Keller Canada, McKinney Drilling, Suncoast, Moretrench. With effect from 1 January 2020, these businesses were all branded as Keller and operate as regional parts of a single company. * Europe, Middle East and Africa: Central Europe, North-East Europe, North-West Europe, South-East Europe, Franki, French Speaking Countries, Middle East, Iberia and Latin America, Brazil * Asia-Pacific: ASEAN, India, Keller Australia and Austral Construction. The company has been involved in laying foundations for complex projects including

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a Spur line, branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to ...

in the UK and the Spirit Tower in Australia. Spirit Tower in Iluka

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in the City of Westminster Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies in the FTSE 250 Index Construction and civil engineering companies of the United Kingdom Geotechnical engineering companies 1950 establishments in England British companies established in 1950 Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1950

History

Operations

See also

References

External links