History
The company was founded as C. W. Bovis & Co by Charles William Bovis in London in 1885. [1] It changed hands in 1908 when 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 was the pioneering Bovis System contract, designed to bring the interests of the contractor and client together: “the Bovis System pays the builder the prime cost of the work plus an agreed fee to cover overheads and profit. The client receives 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 hostilities, Bovis resumed its work in the private sector. During 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 near during late 1972. Furthermore, boardroom dissension broke out at Bovis, to the extent that Sanderson was forced out in September 1973. [5]
During 1971, Bovis completed the acquisition of Twentieth Century Banking; two years later, the secondary banking crisis broke out, resulting in a run on deposits at the Bovis banking subsidiary. This crisis came to a head in December 1973 when National Westminster Bank refused to provide the necessary funds. A rescue of Bovis was inevitable and, ironically, the rescuer proved to be P&O: during March 1974, Bovis became a subsidiary of P&O. [3] The company, which had been valued at £160 million only two years prior, was taken over at the modest price of £25 million. [2]
From 1985, the company was led by Sir Frank Lampl; he has been credited with its transformation from a British-centric concern into an international contractor. [6] [7] As a part of these change, it acquired the US contractor McDevitt & Street in September 1990. [8] Further acquisitions would occur throughout 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]
During 1997, Bovis Homes was demerged 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]
During March 1999, P&O announced that, as part of a £2 billion disposal plan to refocus the company on its maritime roots, it intended to divest itself of Bovis Construction, possibly via a floatation. [19] [20] Amongst other figures, the announced divestment was approved of by Lampl. [21] [22] However, by September of that year, the general attitude of prospective investors has soured, making it unlikely that a flotation would raise the desired sum of £300 million. [23] [24]
During October 1999, the envisioned flotation had been abandoned; in its place, an offer from the Australian real estate company Lendlease to acquire Bovis was under consideration. [25] Following the acceptance of Lendlease's offer of £285 million, the company was rebranded as Bovis Lend Lease; numerous senior figures, including Lampl, retained key positions within the business. [26] [27] During early 2011, use of the Bovis brand by Lendlease was discontinued. [28]
