THE company that took over the work of several Bournemouth council departments has become a takeover target.

Business service company Mouchel is being eyed by the construction firm Kier, although the builder insisted there was no certainty a deal would be completed.

Mouchel employs several hundred people in departments previously run by Bournemouth council, including ICT, facilities management, revenues and benefits.

It was seized by its lenders in a pre-pack administration in the summer of 2012 after shareholders failed to back a last-ditch restructuring which would have wiped out much of its £140million debt.

The episode marked the final chapter in a huge decline in value for the group, which previously turned down takeover offers from rivals Costain and Interserve for more than £150m.

Since coming out of administration, the firm has restructured, losing around 1,500 staff in two years to currently employ around 6,500 nationwide.

A deal to buy Mouchel would boost Kier's civil engineering unit.

The news came on the same day the government announced a £15billion programme of road-building, one of Mouchel’s major activities.

Mouchel is valued at £400m and reported pre-tax profits of £20.8m last year on revenues of £55m.