Private equity deal rescues Bank of England builder

The 130-year-old construction firm that built the Bank of England and the Old Bailey was saved from collapse by private equity group Privet Capital, it has emerged.

Construction industry journal Building reported that Holloway White Allom avoided being wound up in December, when Privet put money into the business in exchange for a majority stake. Holloway, like many construction firms, has struggled through the downturn and was unable to make interest payments on a loan from Lloyds TSB. The group had a turnover of around £60m pre-credit crunch, but times had become so bad that Holloway had to make 60 of its 197-strong workforce redundant at the end of last year.