Staff at the Bristol office of regional contractor Stradform are said to be concerned for their jobs amid speculation that Vinci is poised to buy it.

Vinci is understood to be carrying out due diligence on the 拢45m-turnover Cardiff company, and the 30 staff are reportedly worried about its overlap with Norwest Holst, a Vinci subsidiary that has 45 staff in Bristol.

One source close to the deal said: 鈥淪tradform is strong in south Wales and this deal only makes sense for Vinci if it is looking to push into that region. It is already strong in Bristol.

鈥淭he real fear is that Bristol will close if the deal happens because of the doubling up of ops and commercial managers.鈥�

It is not known how much Vinci is willing to pay but one industry expert put the price tag at about 拢7m. It is understood that delegations from France have paid several visits to Stradform鈥檚 Cardiff office.

Stradform, which has offices in Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham and Reading in Berkshire, is part of the 拢68m Fifehead Group.

Ken Haines, Fifehead鈥檚 chairman, refused to comment on the speculation over Vinci but said: 鈥漌e always treat approaches with the seriousness they deserve.鈥�

Postscript

Norwest Holst refused to comment.

Vinci made two acquisitions in 2006: TCL Granby, an office interior fit-out business and PEL, a retail fit-out business.

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