Interserve was a British construction and support services business based in Reading, Berkshire, which went into administration in 2019 and was formally wound up in 2022. In 2019 the group generated revenue of £2.2 billion and had a workforce of 34,721 people.
The company was founded in 1884 as the London and Tilbury Lighterage Company Limited. From 1991, it was known as Tilbury Douglas following a merger with RM Douglas, but in 2001 it rebranded as Interserve plc. The name change partly reflected a shift in focus during the 1990s towards maintenance and facilities management services sectors, and this continued in the 2000s, buoyed by further acquisitions.
However, financial issues including problem contracts in Interserve's energy-from-waste business led to profit warnings in 2017. The company was forced to restructure and refinance in March 2018. After its financial situation worsened in late 2018, debt holders discussed further financial restructuring of the business. A debt-for-equity plan was rejected in March 2019, and Interserve plc went into administration owing creditors over £100m. In a pre-pack deal, the rest of the group was immediately sold to a newly incorporated company owned by lenders, Interserve Group Ltd, and a break-up of the company followed. Interserve's facilities management business was sold to Mitie in December 2020, and RMD Kwikform was sold in October 2021 to France's Altrad.
In March 2021, Interserve resurrected the Tilbury Douglas brand for its construction and engineering services businesses. Interserve plc was formally wound-up in the High Court in January 2022. In June 2022, Tilbury Douglas fully separated from Interserve Group and became a standalone construction contracting company. Some smaller assets are expected to be sold before Interserve Group is finally shut down in 2024. In October 2022, Interserve was fined £4.4 million for a breach of data protection law in May 2020.
History
Maritime origins – 1880s–1945 Interserve could trace its origins to 1884, when the London and Tilbury Lighterage Company Limited was formed to transfer goods by sailing barge to and from ships on the River Thames, London, England.Interserve History Company website Retrieved 11 March 2013 In 1888 the company expanded into dredging, securing a contract with the Port of London (PLA) to remove dredged ballast. The company changed its name several times, eventually operating for 56 years as Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company Limited (TCDC) from 1908. Several of the company's vessels were requisitioned for war duties during World War I where they took part in various military campaigns including in the Dardanelles, Archangel and the Persian Gulf.Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company Limited Thames Tugs History Website Retrieved 7 March 2013 Lightering gradually declined due to the increase of road traffic, and dredging became the mainstay of the company.List of Companies company profile Retrieved 7 March 2013 In 1938 the company's lighterage fleet was amalgamated with vessels owned by W H J Alexander Limited and Tate and Lyle Limited to form Silvertown Services Limited and TCDC severed its links with its original business activity.
In World War II, many of the company's fleet of tugs were again requisitioned, controlled by the Royal Navy examination service, where they were used to patrol harbour and river entrances.BBC WW2 People's War - An Archive of World War Two Memories BBC History Website 11 June 2005 Retrieved 17 March 2013 TCDC tugs and barges were also represented within the merchant marine fleet that took part in Operation Dynamo, commonly known as the Dunkirk evacuation. In June 1944, company tug Danube VI"Despatch submitted to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force on the 16th October, 1944, by Admiral Sir Bertram H. Ramsay, K.C.B., M.V.O., Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief, Expeditionary Force" Published in the London Gazette Tuesday 28 October 1947, Retrieved 17 March 2013 participated in Operation Neptune, the D-Day invasion of Normandy, known as the Normandy landings by towing the 'Phoenix' (mulberry harbour breakwater units) and 'Whale' (floating roadway units that connected the mulberry harbour pier heads to the landing beaches),Mulberry Tugs Thames Tugs History Website Retrieved 17 March 2013 as well as ammunition barges from Littlehampton across the English Channel to the Normandy beachhead. Company tug Danube V took part in pipelaying activities during July 1944, as part of Operation Pluto, which brought together British scientists, oil companies and the armed forces in the construction of undersea oil pipelines under the English Channel between England and France to transport fuel supplies to Allied forces on the European continent.
Post-war civil engineering and contracting – 1945–1990s As the UK sought to rebuild infrastructure after World War II, the company established a civil engineering capability in the 1940s to participate in this activity; together with building these had become the company's focus by the 1960s. In 1964, a Port of London Authority dredging contract ended, 76 years after it was first awarded, and the company ceased to operate as a dredging contractor in the UK. In 1965 the remaining fleet of dredging vessels was sold to Westminster Dredging Company Limited. The company, by then named Tilbury Contracting Group Limited, applied for admission of its shares onto the London Stock Exchange and trading commenced on 12 October 1966.
In 1991 Tilbury acquired RM Douglas, another construction and civil engineering business, the combined business becoming known as Tilbury Douglas. Although both groups had a UK-wide presence, the rationale of the acquisition was that the two companies complemented each other. Tilbury Group was headquartered in Reading and predominantly involved in building work in the South of England and in Scotland, while R M Douglas was headquartered in Birmingham and its strongest regional presence was in the Midlands and the North of England with a strong bias towards civil engineering projects. In common with many major national and regional contractors in the post-war period, R M Douglas successfully bid for work in the construction of airfields and motorways where it completed various UK motorway building projects in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The acquisition of Douglas also brought with it the construction equipment company Rapid Metal Developments (RMD) a formwork and falsework manufacturer incorporated in 1948, together with joint ventures in Oman (Douglas OHI)Douglas OHI > Home and United Arab Emirates (Khansaheb), both of which were initially established by Douglas in 1981. This expanded the geographical coverage of the company to the Middle East and this presence was further strengthened by the establishment of a joint venture in Qatar (Gulf Contracting Company).
A series of acquisitions and disposals in the late 1990s and 2000 moved the group's focus away from property development and housebuilding, as it sought to build presence in the maintenance and facilities management sectors, though it retained a strong presence in traditional construction contracting. Acquisitions included electrical engineering contractor J R Williams in 1997,Tilbury eyes growth with mechanical & electrical move Construction News, 2 October 1997 the facilities management and engineering services business How Group purchased for £46m in 1998,Big plans for maintenance and M&E if £46 million takeover offer is accepted Tilbury to launch FM giant from How deal Construction News, 21 May 1998 the £75m takeover of industrial and equipment services specialist Bandt Group in 1999Group strengthens its support services position with agreed £75m takeover offer Tilbury Douglas tunes to FM with Bandt deal Construction News, 15 July 1999 and, in a £75m purchase, facilities management company Building and Property, responsible for providing accommodation and property services to government departments.Tilbury Douglas in £75m acquisition Citywire Money 15 December 2000
During this period the company disposed of its Scottish housebuilding business to Persimmon plc, diminishing the significance of revenues from traditional construction contracting workstreams, with the newly diversified group now earning significant revenue through its facilities management and maintenance capability, which are otherwise known as support services provision. To reflect this change in the company's business profile, it successfully applied in 2000 to the London Stock Exchange to relinquish its listing within the construction sector of the market, but to re-list within the support services sector on the FTSE market list.Contractors queueing up to take a supporting role Construction News, 12 April 2001 To reflect this change it renamed itself Interserve in 2001.
Interserve expansion – 2000s On 2 May 2006 Interserve acquired MacLellan, another support services business for £118m.Interserve's smart move sets pace for future expansion The Daily Telegraph 3 May 2006 After re-structuring to accommodate the acquisition, Interserve announced it had discovered accounting irregularities in its Industrial Services business - an announcement that saw its share price fall by 14%.Interserve shares hit by accounting woes Financial Times 14 August 2009 Retrieved 12 March 2013 This decline led to threats of legal action by former MacLellan shareholders, who had accepted shares in Interserve as part of the acquisition and saw the value of their holdings dramatically drop.Shareholders consider suing Interserve over accounts error The Daily Telegraph 18 August 2006 Retrieved 12 March 2013 The company was also forced to delay the official publication of its interim results to investors, so as "to verify the adjustment needed" as it sought to reconcile the misstatements.Inquiry forces Interserve results delay Financial Times 26 August 2006 Retrieved 12 March 2013
In 2007 the group acquired a 49% stake in the Qatar-based Madina Group.Interserve to buy Madina Group The Birmingham Post 15 May 2007 In 2008 Interserve expanded into markets in Abu Dhabi and Northern Europe.
Further acquisition activity – 2010s Interserve announced in November 2010 that it had acquired the US formwork and shoring business CMC Construction Services in a deal worth £22 million.Interserve expands in US with £22m deal Construction News, 24 November 2010 On 25 February 2011 the company emerged as a bidder for fellow support services provider, Mouchel, as Interserve aimed to "target the rapidly growing market for fully integrated outsourcing services." Interserve had approached the target with an offer believed to be in the region of £191m, or 170p per share; Mouchel had previously rejected two bids from Costain.Interserve expected to disclose Mouchel tie-up Financial Times 25 February 2011 Retrieved 12 March 2013Interserve (IRV.L) is in advanced talks with Mouchel MCHL.L over a tie-up that would create one of Britain's biggest public sector outsourcing companies, the Financial Times said on Friday Reuters website 25 February 2011 Retrieved 12 March 2013Mouchel moves higher as Interserve confirms bid talks The Guardian Market Forces Live Blog 25 February 2011 Retrieved 12 March 2013Interserve in Advanced Talks With Mouchel About Possible Bid Bloomberg website 25 February 2011 Retrieved 12 March 2013 However, after conducting due diligence on the consulting group, Interserve reduced its indicative offer to a reported £151m, or 135p per share, and this was subsequently rejected. Interserve did not progress the bid and no formal offer was tabled.Mouchel plunges as it rejects takeover offers The Daily Telegraph 29 March 2011 Retrieved 12 March 2013Interserve lowers Mouchel offer Financial Times 29 March 2011 Retrieved 12 March 2013Mouchel shares slump as takeover bids rejected BBC News website 17 October 2011 Retrieved 12 March 2013