J Murphy buys Carillion's UK power business

The privately owned construction and infrastructure contractor did not disclose how much it paid for the business, which became available after Carillion collapsed in January.

Murphy said it would work on National Grid's electricity overhead lines, substation and underground cable contracts and that it would have the opportunity to work on the transmission network for England and Wales.

The London-based company will also replace Carillion as a joint venture partner with Eltel, a Nordic overhead line specialist, on projects such as a 20km line in Kent from Richborough to Canterbury that will connect Belgium and the UK, allowing the countries to trade electricity.

John Murphy, chief executive at Murphy, said Carillion's employees would join his company and that combining forces would allow the former Carillion business to sell more infrastructure services to power companies.

Murphy said: "This represents an excellent strategic fit for the business, allowing us to bring a full range of services across the power sector for our customers both in the UK and internationally".