DEAN and Dyball (D&D), one of Hampshire's largest remaining independent builders has been sold to national giant Balfour Beatty in a £45m deal.

One of two developers behind Southampton's massive Woolston Riverside scheme, D&D is a major regional employer, with 1,200 staff including 300 at its Ringwood headquarters.

Reports said the company was put up for sale to avoid looming changes in the tax law, which would have seen the taxman grab an additional eight per cent of any sale price.

Established by John Dean and Peter Dyball in Burley in the New Forest in 1970, D&D's first big project was Southampton's Shamrock Quay, quickly followed by other marina villages including Hythe Marina and Ocean Village in Southampton.

D&D made profits of £4.4m last year on sales of £262m and its key customers include the Environment Agency, Thames Water, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and the Ministry of Defence.

It's the second buy-up by Balfour that affects Hampshire in eight months, after it snapped up Cowlin Construction, which has a major regional office in Eastleigh, for £52m in August last year.

Balfour said the deals were part of a move to build up a strong presence in the south of England.

Chief executive Ian Tyler said: "The acquisition of Dean and Dyball is the latest stage in Balfour Beatty's strategy of building leading positions in regional UK civil engineering and building markets following the successful acquisition and integration of Mansell, Birse and Cowlin.

"This transaction establishes a strong civil engineering base in an area."