Bovis Construction

Bovis Construction

Formerly	C. W. Bovis & Co
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Construction
Founded	1885
Founder	Charles Bovis
Defunct	1999
Successor	Lendlease
Headquarters	London , England
Area served	Global
Key people	Frank Lampl (Chairman)
Services	Construction Project management
Revenue	£874 million (1998)
Net income	£16 million (1998)
Parent	P&O

Bovis Construction (formerly C. W. Bovis & Co.) was a major British construction business. A subsidiary of P&O since 1974, it was acquired by Lendlease in 1999.

History

The Lloyd's Building in London, which was completed in 1986.

Bovis Construction was founded as C. W. Bovis & Co by Charles Bovis in London in 1885.^[1] In 1908 it was acquired by Samuel Joseph and his cousin, Sidney Gluckstein.^[2]

Bovis was one of the few construction companies to go public in the 1920s, during which time it developed an extensive retail clientele, by far the most important and long lasting of which was Marks & Spencer. Central to the relationship with Marks & Spencer was the pioneering Bovis System contract, designed to bring the interests of the contractor and client together. The Bovis System paid the builder the prime cost of the work plus an agreed fee to cover overheads and profit. The client received any savings during construction instead of the contractor.^[3]

During the Second World War, Bovis' activities were dominated by the British war efforts; amongst other projects, it constructed the munitions factory at Swynnerton and worked on Mulberry harbour units.^[3][4] At the end of the war, Bovis resumed its work in the private sector. In the early 1950s, the company moved into house construction. Following the acquisition of Frank Sanderson's business in 1967, Bovis Homes expanded rapidly and became one of the largest housebuilders by the early 1970s.^[5]

Frank Sanderson was to change radically the future of Bovis. He was appointed managing director of Bovis Holdings in January 1970, and chairman and chief executive in August 1972. After a number of acquisitions within the housing sector, Sanderson attempted to obtain control of P&O by means of a reverse takeover. An initial agreement was followed by a boardroom and shareholder rebellion at P&O which led to the merger effort failing in late 1972. Boardroom dissension broke out at Bovis, forcing Sanderson out in September 1973.^[5]

In 1971, Bovis acquired Twentieth Century Banking. Two years later, the secondary banking crisis broke out, resulting in a run on deposits at the Bovis banking subsidiary. The crisis came to a head in December 1973 when National Westminster Bank refused to provide the necessary funds. P&O stepped in and purchased Bovis in March 1974.^[3] Bovis, which had been valued at £160 million two years prior, was taken over for £25 million.^[2]

From 1985, the company was led by Frank Lampl; who was credited with its transformation from a British-centric concern into an international contractor.^[6][7] As a part of these change, it acquired the United States contractor McDevitt & Street in September 1990.^[8] Further acquisitions occurred during the 1990s.^[9] The company also pursued opportunities in the Asian market,^[10][11] becoming one of only five international contractors licensed to work in South Korea.^[12]

In 1997, Bovis Homes was spun off and floated on the London Stock Exchange.^[13][14] Around this time, Bovis was often regarded as the largest construction company in Britain, although this position was hotly contested by competing firms.^[15][16] One such competitor was Mace, which was founded and initially led by a former Bovis employee.^[17][18]

After discussing a sale to Hochtief and selling via a stock exchange listing,^[19][20][21] in October 1999 a £285 million offer from Lendlease was accepted.^[22] Bovis merged with Lend Lease Projects and was rebranded as Bovis Lend Lease.^[23][24] Senior figures, including Lampl, retained key positions within the business.^[25][26] In 2011, the Bovis brand was retired.^[27]

Major projects

Major projects involving Bovis Construction included:

• Queen Elizabeth II Centre completed in 1986^[28]
• Lloyd's Building completed in 1986^[29]
• Meadowhall Shopping Centre completed in 1990^[30]
• Disneyland Paris completed in 1992^[31]
• Trafford Centre completed in 1998^[30]
• Bluewater Shopping Centre completed in 1999^[30]
• Scottish Parliament Building completed in 2004^[32]

References

1. "Company life: What's going on within Bovis Lend Lease". BIW Technologies. 16 August 2006. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009.
2. Clarke, Peter (19 July 2001). "The Antagoniser's Agoniser". London Review of Books. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009.
3. Cooper, Peter (2000). Building Relationships: The History of Bovis. Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-297-82533-X.
4. Bebbington, Graham (2018). ROF Swynnerton - Bullets, Bombs & Roses. Leek, Staffordshire: Churnet Valley Books. ISBN 978-0-99560-398-1.
5. Wellings, Fred (2006). Dictionary of British Housebuilders. Troubador. ISBN 978-0-9552965-0-5.
6. "End of 30-year era as Sir Frank Lampl retires". Building. 10 August 2001.
7. "UK foreign legion a match for the French". Construction News. 14 September 1995.
8. "Bovis buys McDevitt & Street and adds £480M to work in hand". Construction News. 21 September 1990. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
9. White, Dominic (6 August 1999). "Bovis kicks off new push with biotech buy". Building.
10. "Rehkopf leads Bovis Asia push". Construction News. 12 January 1995.
11. "The presence of Roger Mabey in Bombay last week was easy to understand. The managing director of Bovis International was pursuing the massive potential for Britain's construction industry by attending". Construction News. 25 November 1993.
12. "Bovis gains key to South Korean work". Construction News. 17 October 1996.
13. Guerrera, Francesco (16 March 1999). "Bovis runs rule over merger candidates". The Independent.
14. "Bovis Homes' profit up 20% to £45m". Building. 19 March 1999.
15. "Bovis hangs on to monthly number one spot". Building. 8 January 1999.
16. "Laing beats Bovis to 1998 number one". Building. 29 January 1999.
17. "Our Story". Mace. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
18. Marshall, Jordan (15 July 2019). "Mace co-founder dies". Building.
19. P&O in talks on pounds 350m sale of Bovis The Independent 15 September 1998
20. Macalister, Terry (24 March 1999). "P&O turns back to the sea with plan to float Bovis". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016.
21. "P&O set to float Bovis subsidiary in London". Building. 11 June 1999.
22. "Lampl: Lend Lease is the very, very best deal for Bovis". Building. 8 October 1999.
23. Builder spreads its wings Australian Financial Review 19 January 2001
24. The risks for Lend Lease Australian Financial Review 2 March 2001
25. White, Dominic (17 December 1999). "Lampl to stay at Bovis Lend Lease helm". Building.
26. "Lend Lease pays £285M for Bovis". New Civil Engineer. 7 October 1999.
27. Gilbert, Helen (17 February 2011). "Lend Lease confirms Bovis name drop". Construction News.
28. "United Kingdom". Arcadis. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
29. "Richard Rogers Partnership" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2009.
30. "Bovis' reputation is cornering the shopping market". Contract Journal. 17 September 1997. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016.
31. "Outdoor Theatre: A spectacle in Progress". Daily Press. 11 May 2005. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012.
32. Peter Fraser (15 September 2004). "Some key dates in the history of the Holyrood Project" (PDF). Holyrood Inquiry. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 December 2006. Retrieved 16 December 2006.