Connaught wins £100m deal with Hackney

Connaught shares surged 11.5p to a fresh high of 475p after the property services firm landed a £100m contract to refurbish 8,000 council houses in Hackney, east London.

Connaught shares surged 11.5p to a fresh high of 475p after the property services firm landed a £100m contract to refurbish 8,000 council houses in Hackney, east London.

That values the Exeter-based Connaught at about £88m - more than a sevenfold increase in less than six years.

The firm has soaked up cash from a Government committed to heavy spending on social housing, an area that accounts for three-quarters of Connaught's order book.

Connaught was one of five companies favoured by Hackney Council yesterday to modernise its 20,000 homes over six years at a total cost of £236m. Connaught has already worked on external repairs for Hackney for the past 18 months. Work inside will start in December.

Mark Tincknell, the chief executive of Connaught, said: "This is another excellent contract and further demonstrates our credentials in the social housing market."

Separately, he revealed that Connaught will snap up the Glasgow-based property services outfit Maginnis for £2.5m in cash and paper. The deal gives Connaught a toe-hold in Scotland and allows the firm to chase a slice of a £4bn project to upgrade the country's social housing to European standards by 2015.

"Scotland is an area where substantial growth in this type of work is expected," Mr Tincknell said.

Maginnis has 162 workers and turned over £13.4m last year. A buyer has been found for its £2.2m Glasgow head office, which Connaught plans to lease back.