The share placing, which is fully underwritten by Numis Securities and Peel Hunt, will be the final part of its turnaround strategy.

The firm is offering 284,049,829 new ordinary shares at an issue price of 85 pence.

The capital raise, which together with the recent sale of Kier Living Limited, will raise approximately £351.4m of gross proceeds, providing the group with the financial and operational flexibility to continue to deliver on its strategic objectives.

Kier intends to split the net proceeds as follows:

• £144.4m to prepay a portion of the balance outstanding under the 2017 RCF Facility and associated fees pursuant to the RCF Stage 3 Amendment;
• £43.5m to repay balances outstanding under the Second Schuldschein Loan Agreement and the Fourth Schuldschein Loan Agreement and associated fees pursuant to the 13 April 2021 amendments thereto;
• £16.5m to make payments to holders of the 2012 Notes and 2014 Notes;
• £6.8m to pay other fees associated with the Principal Debt Facilities Amendments;
• £0.7m to pay an additional contribution to the trustee of the group’s pension schemes; and
• the balance of £16.9m will be retained within the group’s cash reserves.

Andrew Davies, CEO, said: “Today’s proposed capital raise represents the final milestone in the group’s strategy to simplify the group; to improve cash generation; and to strengthen our balance sheet. This capital raise will provide Kier with the financial and operational flexibility to continue to pursue our strategic objectives, within our chosen markets, and to facilitate investment in the business to help drive sustainable, profitable organic growth and the achievement of our medium-term financial targets.”