One of the biggest names in Midlands construction has been acquired by a huge French conglomerate.

Bouygues Bâtiment International - a subsidiary of Bouygues Construction which is part of the Bouygues Group that includes companies such as Alstom - has signed a deal with Thomas Vale subject to European approval.

The acquisition of the Stourport-based firm, which is predicting a turnover this year of up to £250 million, is part of Bouygues Bâtiment International’s expansion programme in the UK which has already seen it add Warings, Leadbitter, Denne and ETDE to its portfolio.

Olivier-Marie Racine, deputy chief executive of Bouygues Construction and chairman of Bouygues Bâtiment International, said: “Thomas Vale is a company with an impressive performance history, solid strategic partnerships and a strong heritage in the Midlands. This is an important region of England for the Bouygues Group and a great addition to our UK portfolio.”

Tony Hyde, group managing director of the Thomas Vale Group - which made around £4 million profit last year, added: “This is a very exciting time for the Thomas Vale Group, its employees, clients and other stakeholders.

“The resources that are now available to us through the Bouygues Group will allow us to continue to increase our market share in our key industry sectors.

“This move will allow the business to capitalise on additional emerging markets and opportunities which complement our skills and experience.”

Mr Hyde said the companies had known each other for several years through projects and the potential deal had started to be talked about over the past 12 months with it accelerating in the past three.

“It was not something we were actively seeking but since the management buyout in 1992 we have had regular approaches but you don’t get the calibre of a company like Bouygues every day,” he said.

“At the moment the deal has got to go to Europe to be ratified and it will be business as usual in the interim and we will be having lots of dialogue with clients to put them in the picture. It will also be the same management team running the company with me as managing director. We are all Midlands people and I don’t see this deal changing our ethos or vision that we have always had for the company.

“I started with Thomas Vale in 1971 and was part of the MBO in 1992 and we’re very proud of the brand which is well recognised in the industry as a forward looking company and I just think this deal will help us take it to another level.

“I think our focus will be on new projects but within the existing area we cover from Oxfordshire up and Manchester down. Hopefully there will be bigger projects and different types of projects where we can bring the backing of Bouygues into play.”