Strabag UK's £58.8m court-sanctioned scheme to acquire ground engineering firm Van Elle expected to complete 15 June

Strabag UK's £58.8 million takeover of Van Elle, the UK-listed specialist ground engineering and geotechnical contractor, cleared its final court hurdle on 11 June after the court granted the Scheme Court Order sanctioning the scheme under section 899 of the Companies Act. The scheme record time — the cut-off point at which shareholders must be registered to receive the acquisition consideration — is set for 6pm on 12 June 2026, with the scheme becoming legally effective upon delivery of the Scheme Court Order to the Registrar of Companies, expected on 15 June 2026. The deal, structured as a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement rather than a conventional offer, gives Strabag UK a cleaner path to 100% ownership without the need to satisfy a minimum acceptance threshold in the way a traditional takeover offer would require. Van Elle noted that adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to 30 April 2026 would come in below its earlier forecast due to a prolonged challenging trading environment — a backdrop that likely made the all-cash terms more attractive to shareholders. Strabag UK had described the rationale in April as strengthening its vertically integrated construction offer and adding specialist geotechnical capability to its UK platform.