Higgs and Hill was a major British construction company responsible for construction of many well-known buildings in London. It was acquired by Hollandsche Beton Groep (later HBG) in 1996, was rebranded as HBG Construction in 1999 and was absorbed into Royal BAM Group in 2002.
History
The company was established in 1874 by the merger of the firm of Thomas Hill (managed by Rowland and Joseph Hill, grandsons of the founder) with the firm of William Higgs.'General introduction', Survey of London: volume 26: Lambeth: Southern area (1956), pp. 1-17. Date accessed: 27 March 2010 It was originally called Hill, Higgs and Hill but changed its name to Higgs and Hill when Rowland Hill retired in 1879. The company was first based at Crown Works in Vauxhall but moved to New Malden in 1967.
Sir Brian Hill, a member of the seventh generation of his family to work in the business, retired in 1992.Sir Brian Hill searches for a trustworthy heir Financial Times, 19 April 2007 In 1994 it announced a rights issue to finance the acquisition of land for housing but the issue was not well subscribed.Higgs & Hill rights meet poor response: Company 'disappointed but not surprised' The Independent, 28 June 1994
In 1996 the company announced poor results arising from re-organisation charges and contract losses. The company was acquired by Hollandsche Beton Groep (later HBG) later that year, and was rebranded as HBG Construction with effect from 1 January 1999. HBG was itself acquired by Royal BAM Group in 2002.BAM Nuttall: History
Major projects Major projects undertaken by the company included:
Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, completed in 1880 Surrey County Hall, completed in 1893A Brief History of County Hall the Tate Gallery, completed in 1897 the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, completed in 1905 the London Fire Brigade Headquarters, completed in 1937 the North and South Blocks of London County Hall, completed in 1939 the BBC Television Centre, completed in 1960BBC Television Centre - History the Queen Elizabeth Hall, completed in 1967Crown Works Vauxhall Civic Society the Hayward Gallery completed in 1968 the South Bank Television Centre, completed in 1972 Hillingdon Civic Centre completed in 1979 Lord's Cricket Ground Mound Stand, completed in 1987Structurae database the restoration of Windsor Castle, completed in 1996Well healed: Windsor Castle is well on the way to recovery, helped by an army of specialist craftspeople Building Magazine, 1996
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