Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain announces the acquisition of Motherwell Bridge

Originally founded over 100 years ago, Motherwell Bridge is not new to the region, having worked on many oil, gas and petrochemical projects in the past.

In particular, its specialist engineering, design and project management expertise in the large storage tank sector provides a strong platform for its growth plans in the region.

Making the announcement, Mr Abdulhakeem Alkhayyat, Managing Director and CEO of Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain, said:

"We are delighted to add Motherwell Bridge to our portfolio of investments. We are backing a proven management team who we believe are capable of delivering significant growth by acting as specialist engineering sub-contractors in the oil, gas & petrochemicals sector. In particular, the opportunity in the Middle East is significant and we will work with management by utilising our presence and network in the region to convert this opportunity into a reality. We are looking forward to what we believe will be an exciting time for the development of the business."

Hugh Hayes, chairman of Motherwell Bridge Ltd, said: "We increased our emphasis on the international business two years ago, and took the decision last year to split our engineering contracting business into two separate companies, one concentrating on the UK and one overseas. Although it is early days, we can see the momentum building in the region, and I won't be surprised if within three years from now we are earning as much from outside the UK as we are from within. That is certainly our intention, and having KFH-Bahrain as a majority shareholder can only help us achieve this goal."

Lloyd Williams, Head of Private Equity at KFH-Bahrain added "It was extremely satisfying to lead this transaction, which was structured as a secondary management buyout and was supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland by way of a Sharia compliant acquisition finance facility. We were able to structure a solution which was both tax efficient and provided strong incentives for both KFH-Bahrain and the management team to successfully grow the business in the future. I am looking forward to working with Hugh and his management team and to help them deliver the business plan."

KFH-Bahrain is currently actively pursuing deals in a range of sectors from industrial, oil & gas, utilities through to healthcare, telecoms and infrastructure.