AMID THE doom and gloom surrounding our property and construction sectors comes a modicum of good news for one Irish-backed group.
London-based civil engineering company the McArdle Group, owned by low-profile Mercier Private Equity in Cork, has won a three-year, €100 million contract to work on the M25 widening programme around London.
The road works are being timed to coincide with the London 2012 Olympics. McArdle will undertake site clearance and earthworks on three sections of the M25.
This will be the biggest project to date for McArdle. Others have included the redevelopment of the M1 motorway in Britain, the Terminal 5 baggage handling tunnel at Heathrow airport, and the Limerick Southern Ring Road Tunnel. McArdle also has a joint venture business in the Caribbean.
Mercier, which is run by Marcus Spillane (ex-Deloitte) and Martin Dooney (ex-Barclays Capital), acquired McArdle last year for an estimated €20 million.
The deal was backed with funds raised from a number of parties, along with a loan from Allied Irish Bank (GB) corporate banking. A number of senior managers at McArdle took an equity interest in the business.
