The management team at Morris & Spottiswood has acquired Livingston Mechanical Services in a move to drive Mechanical & Electrical growth in line with its ambitious group strategy.

West-Lothian based Livingston Mechanical Services formed in 1992 delivering heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and plumbing services across Scotland. It will now be managed by the Morris & Spottiswood Group which has offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth, Leeds and Warrington.

Morris & Spottiswood CEO Jon Dunwell said the buy-out will increase its stronghold in northern regions and enhance the firm’s rapidly expanding M&E division.

“We have been searching for a partner to strengthen our M&E division for some time as it remains a major growth market across the UK,” said Mr Dunwell. “Our M&E division is growing quickly with a turnover of £20m in 2017. Historically we have always performed better in the ‘electrical’ element of this market, so we have been focusing specifically on bolstering our mechanical team.

“Livingston Mechanical Services has developed an excellent reputation over the last 25 years, initially serving the Livingston and Edinburgh regions before branching out across Scotland. It is a firm we know well and which shares our company values and ethos. It is an ideal fit and we believe the integration of our teams will be a seamless and enjoyable transition.

“We will continue to work closely with our trusted mechanical subcontracting network which will now benefit from additional skill and resource from the Livingston team. The move increases our capacity and will allow us to target more projects to grow our mechanical portfolio.

“We believe the news will also come as a major boost to Livingston Mechanical Services’ existing clients who are set to benefit from our broader range of services across electrical, fit-out, housing and Facilities Management divisions. Meanwhile, the acquisition will give the Morris & Spottiswood Group an even greater presence across Scotland as we look to drive turnover past the £100million barrier for the first time in the coming years.”

Morris & Spottiswood has an £80 million turnover employing circa 410 people. It targets projects ranging from £10,000 to £10m across many sectors including education, retail, financial, housing, leisure, health and commercial. Its projects include multi trade modernisation programmes, extensive external fabric upgrades, complex M&E services installations, new build developments and Facilities Management Services.

Fred Jamieson, Livingston Mechanical Services MD, said: “We have devoted our lives to building a first-class engineering business renowned for its high quality and reliability. It’s a very proud moment to be joining an industry leader like Morris & Spottiswood, and this in itself is a firm endorsement of our services. We have worked with the Morris & Spottiswood team for many years and already benefit from a sound professional relationship. Our workforce is without doubt one of our greatest assets and all of our staff will be retained within the M&S group, where they will have a terrific opportunity to further enhance their career development.

“Our greatest commitment and responsibility, however, remains with our loyal customer base who have supported us over many years and helped us to build the business we have today. We feel energised by the prospect of being able to offer them even more with greater resource, services and scope. It’s a tremendously exciting time to be joining forces with a team so focussed on taking their business to the next level. We believe the energy and passion which M&S is investing in Livingston Mechanical Services will be felt strongly by our valuable client base.”