Three Leading QS Firms Merge And Float

Three quantity surveyors have joined forces in order to float on the London Stock Exchange. The new group will be called Baqus. Shares will start trading in November.

The three privately-owned QS practices are:

• Boxall Sayer – offices in Chichester, St Albans, London and Manchester.
• Denley King – offices in Poole, Winchester, Canterbury and London
• Fletcher McNeill – offices in Liverpool, Manchester, Lichfield and Oxford.

The plan is to raise turnover to £20m within three years through acquisitions. They will be funded by money raised at flotation and from future profits. Baqus says that it will not expand by taking on borrowings.

They have 110 employees in all. Their combined turnover runs to £7m and latest results show a combined pre-tax profit running to £1m.