BUILDING jobs have been secured by the sale of an award-winning firm, according to its former owner. Roger Dawe, chairman of Crispin and Borst, based in Wateringbury, Chatham and Sittingbourne, has sold his controlling stake to Norwest Holst Construction for an undisclosed sum.

He told his 500 staff that the sale would secure the group's future.He said: “I will remain a non-executive director of C & B Holdings Ltd for the time being and believe that the acquisition by Norwest will secure the future of the Group and give our employees greater opportunity in the future.

For myself after nearly 33 years, it is with some sadness that I relinquish control but I am sure I leave the Group in safe hands.”

Norwest Holst Construction, part of the multinational Vinci construction group - builders of the Stade de France in Paris - bought Crispin and Borst, a group of four companies based at The Oasts, Wateringbury.

Crispin and Borst was founded in 1938 and also has offices in Khartoum Road, Gillingham, and St George’s Enterprise Centre, Sittingbourne. It moved to Kent in the 1980s after winning a contract for defence work in Chatham. It also provides building services for Swale Housing Association.