Centrica cleans up with Dyno-Rod

BRITISH Gas owner Centrica has snapped up the Dyno-Rod draincleaning empire in a £57.6m deal that hands its American founder Jim Zockoll a near-£50m retirement windfall.

The deal comes just weeks after Zockoll pulled the plug on talks with a buyout team hoping to float the company on Aim. Centrica, which wants to create a huge home services division and already has more than 1.2m plumbing and drains cover customers, said the deal would help it win more residential business.

British Gas development director Ian Peters said: 'This is a combination of two powerful brands in the home service market. We see strong growth potential.'

All the 131 staff at Dyno-Rod's Surbiton headquarters are being kept on for at least a year and Dyno-Rod's distinctive bright orange vans will also be safe.

'We are buying the leading brand in the market. To kill it off would be a strange thing to do,' Peters said.

Dyno-Rod already works as an emergency contractor for the British Gas drains and plumbing business. It has 12% of the ondemand market and 89 drains franchises covering the whole of the country.

Zockoll, 74, founded the business in 1963 after offering to clear the drains of a London hotel where he was staying. He had an 85% stake in the group and recently took it into new areas such as pest control.

News of talks with Centrica emerged almost immediately after Zockoll pulled out of buyout talks with former British Gas services executive Kevin Mahoney. He would have kept a 10% stake in the public company.

Dyno-Rod marketing director Clive Smith said Zockoll preferred Centrica's full cash deal.