Top 100 Construction Companies 2018
Carillion’s collapse at the beginning of this year left a gaping hole in the list of Top 100 construction firms. But while other companies have stepped in to fill the space at the top, damage further down the supply chain has been extensive. Steve Menary assesses the prospects for the sector and reviews the financial performance of the new Top 100
A list of the Top 100 contractors without Carillion on it seems strange. A year ago, turnover of £5.2bn easily made Carillion the UK’s second-biggest contractor. But we all know the old stock market adage that “turnover is vanity; profit is sanity” and Carillion failed to heed it. The company imploded spectacularly at the start of this year and is now gone.
The shockwaves from Carilion’s collapse continue to reverberate and while, at a glance, the results of this year’s Top 100 suggest steady trading at the top end, the underlying picture is more complicated.
| Latest Rank By Turnover | Latest Rank By Profit | Company | Reporting Period | Latest Turnover (£m) | Previous Turnover (£m) | Change (%) | Latest Pre-tax Profit (£m) | Previous Pre-tax Profit (£m) | Change (%) | Latest Margin | Previous Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Balfour Beatty plc | Dec-17 | 8,234 | 8,215 | 0.2 | 165 | 62 | 166.1 | 2 | 0.8 |
| 2 | 17 | Kier Group plc | Jun-17 | 4,282.2 | 4,082.3 | 4.9 | 25.8 | -34.9 | 173.9 | 0.6 | -0.9 |
| 3 | 100 | Interserve plc | Dec-17 | 3,250.8 | 3,244.6 | 0.2 | -244.4 | -94.1 | -159.7 | -7.5 | -2.9 |
| 4 | 6 | Galliford Try plc | Jun-17 | 2,820 | 2,670 | 5.6 | 58.7 | 135 | -56.5 | 2.1 | 5.1 |
| 5 | 4 | Morgan Sindall | Dec-17 | 2,793 | 2,562 | 9 | 64.9 | 43.9 | 47.8 | 2.3 | 1.7 |
| 6 | 99 | Amey UK plc | Dec-17 | 2,581.3 | 2,591 | -0.4 | -189.8 | -43.9 | -332.6 | -7.4 | -1.7 |
| 7 | 3 | Keller Group plc | Dec-17 | 2,070.6 | 1,780 | 16.3 | 110.6 | 73.9 | 49.7 | 5.3 | 4.2 |
| 8 | 22 | Mace Ltd | Dec-17 | 2,036.9 | 2,041.1 | -0.2 | 23 | 10.7 | 114.4 | 1.1 | 0.5 |
| 9 | 98 | Laing O’Rourke plc | Mar-17 | 2,034.2 | 1,629.7 | 24.8 | -80.8 | -267.2 | 69.8 | -4 | -16.4 |
| 10 | 35 | Skanska UK plc | Dec-17 | 1,802.7 | 1,650.6 | 9.2 | 13.5 | 23.6 | -42.9 | 0.7 | 1.4 |
| 11 | 10 | Costain Group plc | Dec-17 | 1,728.9 | 1,658 | 4.3 | 38.9 | 30.9 | 25.9 | 2.2 | 1.9 |
| 12 | 48 | ISG plc | Dec-17 | 1,708.8 | 1,329.3 | 28.5 | 9.1 | 4.8 | 89.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| 13 | 13 | Wates Group Ltd | Dec-17 | 1,622 | 1,531.9 | 5.9 | 32.9 | 32.9 | 0.1 | 2 | 2.1 |
| 14 | 11 | Willmott Dixon Holdings Ltd | Dec-17 | 1,296.4 | 1,223 | 6 | 33.5 | 28 | 19.8 | 2.6 | 2.3 |
| 15 | 66 | Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd | Dec-17 | 1,155.4 | 1,035.9 | 11.5 | 4.2 | 16 | -73.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 |
| 16 | 28 | BAM Construct UK Ltd | Dec-17 | 957.5 | 1,072.2 | -10.7 | 19.3 | 26.2 | -26.3 | 2 | 2.4 |
| 17 | 95 | Sir Robert McAlpine (Newarthill Ltd) | Oct-17 | 942.5 | 869.6 | 8.4 | -20.2 | -43.2 | -53.2 | -2.1 | -5 |
| 18 | 5 | Bowmer & Kirkland Ltd | Aug-17 | 928.3 | 930.7 | -0.3 | 64.4 | 61.5 | 4.8 | 6.9 | 6.6 |
| 19 | 15 | Mears Group plc | Dec-17 | 900.2 | 940.1 | -4.2 | 26.5 | 29.4 | -9.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
| 20 | 2 | Homeserve plc | Mar-18 | 899.7 | 785 | 14.6 | 123.3 | 98.3 | 25.4 | 13.7 | 12.5 |
| 21 | 23 | Vinci plc | Dec-17 | 870.7 | 948.8 | -8.2 | 22.4 | 4.6 | 391.3 | 2.6 | 0.5 |
| 22 | 19 | VolkerWessels UK Ltd | Dec-17 | 870.4 | 876.8 | -0.7 | 23.6 | 22.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| 23 | 9 | Lendlease Europe Holdings Ltd | Jun-17 | 800.4 | 898.7 | -10.9 | 41.5 | 66.7 | -37.8 | 5.2 | 7.4 |
| 24 | 37 | John Graham Holdings Ltd | Mar-18 | 767.6 | 565.9 | 35.6 | 13.1 | 16.1 | -18.3 | 1.7 | 2.8 |
| 25 | 39 | J Murphy & Sons Ltd1 | Dec-17 | 712 | 613.9 | 16 | 12.3 | 23.3 | -47.2 | 1.7 | 3.8 |
| 26 | 24 | Eurovia UK Ltd | Dec-17 | 701.4 | 732.8 | -4.3 | 22.2 | 16 | 38.8 | 3.2 | 2.2 |
| 27 | 12 | ENGIE2 | Mar-17 | 682.1 | 802.7 | -15 | 33.5 | 36.1 | -7.3 | 4.9 | 4.5 |
| 28 | 38 | BAM Nuttall Ltd | Dec-17 | 673.8 | 637 | 5.8 | 12.8 | 14.3 | -10.7 | 1.9 | 2.2 |
| 29 | 74 | McLaren Construction Group plc | Jul-17 | 600.3 | 480.5 | 24.9 | 3.2 | 4.4 | -27 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| 30 | 16 | Robertson Group (Hodlings) Ltd | Mar-17 | 579.9 | 453.7 | 27.8 | 26.1 | 21.4 | 22.2 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| 31 | 32 | Renew Holdings plc | Sep-17 | 560.8 | 525.7 | 6.7 | 16.3 | 19.4 | -16 | 2.9 | 3.7 |
| 32 | 97 | Bouygues (U.K.) Ltd | Dec-16 | 555.6 | 349.6 | 59 | -78.5 | -19.4 | -303.9 | -14.1 | -5.6 |
| 33 | 29 | Carey Group plc | Mar-17 | 549.2 | 430.7 | 27.5 | 19.1 | 17.3 | 10.4 | 3.5 | 4 |
| 34 | 30 | NG Bailey Group Ltd | Feb-17 | 500.3 | 407.5 | 22.8 | 18.6 | 6.3 | 195.2 | 3.7 | 1.5 |
| 35 | 14 | Winvic Group Ltd | Jan-17 | 462.7 | 417.7 | 10.8 | 28.5 | 21.9 | 29.9 | 6.2 | 5.2 |
| 36 | 31 | Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd | Dec-17 | 423.1 | 408.3 | 3.6 | 16.7 | 13.8 | 21 | 3.9 | 3.4 |
| 37 | 94 | John Sisk & Son Ltd | Dec-16 | 419.4 | 343.8 | 22 | -17.8 | 0.9 | -2,169.6 | -4.2 | 0.2 |
| 38 | 21 | Keltbray Group (Holdings) Ltd | Oct-17 | 417.5 | 369.4 | 13 | 23.4 | 23.6 | -0.8 | 5.6 | 6.4 |
| 39 | 86 | M Group Services Ltd3 | Mar-17 | 416.7 | N/A | N/A | -0.2 | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A |
| 40 | 7 | Henry Boot plc | Dec-17 | 408.5 | 306.8 | 33.1 | 55.4 | 39.5 | 40.3 | 13.6 | 12.9 |
| 41 | 65 | Northstone (NI) Ltd | Dec-16 | 375 | 261.4 | 43.4 | 4.3 | 4.4 | -0.3 | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| 42 | 34 | Ardmore Construction Ltd | Sep-17 | 370 | 302.9 | 22.2 | 15.5 | 10.5 | 47.5 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| 43 | 82 | Imtech* | Dec-17 | 368 | 332 | 10.8 | 0.9 | -0.1 | 1,000 | 0.2 | 0 |
| 44 | 93 | Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Ltd | Dec-16 | 364.4 | 262.3 | 38.9 | -12.1 | -13.1 | 7.9 | -3.3 | -5 |
| 45 | 73 | Geoffrey Osborne Ltd | Mar-17 | 348.1 | 342.2 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 3 | 20 | 1 | 0.9 |
| 46 | 42 | Integral UK Ltd | Dec-16 | 343 | 323.2 | 6.1 | 11.8 | 12.2 | -2.7 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
| 47 | 36 | McAleer & Rushe Contracts UK Ltd | Dec-17 | 334.1 | 242.9 | 37.5 | 13.4 | 10 | 33.5 | 4 | 4.1 |
| 48 | 90 | SSE Contracting Ltd | Mar-17 | 330 | 353.9 | -6.8 | -5 | 14.7 | -134 | -1.5 | 4.2 |
| 49 | 78 | Byrne Group plc | May-17 | 321.6 | 329.3 | -2.3 | 1.7 | -11.9 | -113.9 | 0.5 | -3.6 |
| Latest Rank By Turnover | Latest Rank By Profit | Company | Reporting Period | Latest Turnover (£m) | Previous Turnover (£m) | Change (%) | Latest Pre-tax Profit (£m) | Previous Pre-tax Profit (£m) | Change (%) | Latest Margin | Previous Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 55 | T Clarke plc** | Dec-17 | 311.2 | 278.6 | 11.7 | 7.1 | 3.7 | 91.9 | 2.3 | 1.3 |
| 51 | 18 | OHOB Holdings Ltd | Mar-18 | 306.8 | 247.8 | 23.8 | 25.6 | 21.2 | 20.4 | 8.3 | 8.6 |
| 52 | 8 | Watkin Jones plc | Sep-17 | 301.9 | 267 | 13.1 | 43.3 | 13.3 | 225.6 | 14.3 | 5 |
| 53 | 88 | Lakehouse plc** | Sep-17 | 299.5 | 321.2 | -6.8 | -3 | -35.5 | -91.5 | -1 | -11.1 |
| 54 | 81 | North Midland Construction plc | Dec-17 | 291.8 | 250.5 | 16.5 | 1 | 2.1 | -51.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 55 | 59 | Higgins Group plc | Jul-17 | 290.6 | 260.4 | 11.6 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 12.9 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| 56 | 20 | FM Conway Ltd | Mar-17 | 290.2 | 294 | -1.3 | 23.5 | 17.9 | 31.2 | 8.1 | 6.1 |
| 57 | 49 | RG Carter Group | Dec-16 | 286.4 | 267.6 | 7 | 8.2 | 7.5 | 10.7 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| 58 | 63 | Ogilvie Group Ltd | Jun-17 | 274.4 | 219.8 | 24.9 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 18.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| 59 | 25 | Severfield plc | Mar-18 | 274.2 | 262.2 | 4.6 | 22.2 | 18.1 | 22.7 | 8.1 | 6.9 |
| 60 | 83 | Clancy Group plc | Mar-17 | 270.2 | 257.1 | 5.1 | 0.7 | 3.3 | -78.8 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| 61 | 68 | McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd | Dec-17 | 267.7 | 247.2 | 8.3 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 55.1 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| 62 | 84 | Midas Group Ltd | Apr-18 | 267.4 | 213.6 | 25.2 | 0.7 | 1.6 | -57.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 63 | 52 | Emcor Group plc | Dec-17 | 264.7 | 240.6 | 10 | 7.5 | 3.2 | 136.4 | 2.8 | 1.3 |
| 64 | 96 | SPIE Limited4 | Dec-16 | 263 | 278.3 | -5.5 | -24.6 | -13 | 89.2 | -9.4 | -4.7 |
| 65 | 71 | Esh Holdings Ltd | Dec-16 | 242.7 | 275.5 | -11.9 | 3.8 | 8.6 | -55.8 | 1.6 | 3.1 |
| 66 | 50 | United Living Group Ltd | Mar-18 | 240.1 | 180.7 | 32.9 | 8 | 6.4 | 26.1 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| 67 | 56 | Colas Ltd | Dec-17 | 239.9 | 221.4 | 8.4 | 6.9 | 9 | -23.4 | 2.9 | 4.1 |
| 68 | 43 | J Reddington Ltd | Dec-17 | 239.8 | 160.1 | 49.8 | 10.6 | 6.1 | 73.7 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| 69 | 41 | MV Kelly Ltd | May-17 | 233 | 173.2 | 34.5 | 12.1 | 7.7 | 56.9 | 5.2 | 4.5 |
| 70 | 44 | Cruden Holdings Ltd | Mar-17 | 230.2 | 187.3 | 22.9 | 10.5 | 7.5 | 38.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| 71 | 47 | Rydon Group Ltd | Sep-17 | 230.1 | 249.2 | -7.7 | 9.2 | 7.8 | 18.8 | 4 | 3.1 |
| 72 | 91 | City Building (Glasgow) LLP | Mar-17 | 219.2 | 208.4 | 5.2 | -5.6 | -11.2 | 49.7 | -2.6 | -5.4 |
| 73 | 58 | Michael Lonsdale Ltd | Sep-17 | 216.8 | 186.9 | 15.9 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 4 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| 74 | 27 | FP McCann Group Ltd | Dec-17 | 215.8 | 227 | -4.9 | 19.5 | 19.1 | 1.7 | 9 | 8.4 |
| 75 | 64 | Seddon Group Ltd | Dec-17 | 215.7 | 208.9 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
| 76 | 77 | Dawnus Group Ltd** | Dec-17 | 210.5 | 196.8 | 7 | 1.8 | 3.6 | -50.7 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| 77 | 33 | Otis Limited | Nov-16 | 206 | 198.5 | 3.8 | 15.8 | 14.1 | 12 | 7.8 | 7.1 |
| 78 | 40 | Forth Holdings Ltd | Aug-17 | 204.6 | 186 | 10 | 12.3 | 6.7 | 82 | 6 | 3.6 |
| 79 | 53 | Eric Wright Group Ltd | Dec-16 | 201.4 | 177.4 | 13.5 | 7.4 | 9.9 | -25.3 | 3.7 | 5.6 |
| 80 | 67 | Briggs & Forrester (UK) Ltd | Oct-17 | 181.7 | 115.1 | 57.9 | 4.1 | 1.9 | 119.6 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| 81 | 72 | Tolent plc | Dec-17 | 178.4 | 173.2 | 3 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 239.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 |
| 82 | 87 | Clugston Group Ltd | Jan-18 | 175.4 | 118.2 | 48.4 | -0.5 | 1 | 145.1 | -0.3 | 0.9 |
| 83 | 75 | Gilbert-Ash Ltd | Dec-17 | 165.5 | 148 | 11.9 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 50.2 | 1.3 | 1 |
| 84 | 76 | SDC (Holdings) Ltd | Sep-17 | 164.8 | 165.7 | -0.5 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| 85 | 60 | One Group Construction Ltd | Dec-17 | 162.6 | 135.5 | 20 | 6.4 | 7.6 | -15.8 | 3.9 | 5.6 |
| 86 | 89 | Hochtief (UK) Construction Ltd | Dec-16 | 155.1 | 130.1 | 19.2 | -3.2 | 0.9 | -453.7 | -2.1 | 0.7 |
| 87 | 45 | Erith Holdings Ltd | Sep-17 | 152.9 | 150 | 1.9 | 10.2 | 9.9 | 3.6 | 6.7 | 6.6 |
| 88 | 51 | Caddick Group plc | Aug-17 | 152.4 | 148.6 | 2.6 | 8 | 18.8 | -57.7 | 5.2 | 12.7 |
| 89 | 92 | Enserve (RG Schultz LLP) | Apr-17 | 152.4 | N/A | N/A | -10.5 | N/A | N/A | -6.9 | N/A |
| 90 | 69 | BW Interiors Ltd | Dec-17 | 151 | 100.5 | 50.2 | 4.1 | 2 | 98.8 | 2.7 | 2 |
| 91 | 54 | Lindum Group Ltd | Nov-17 | 149.9 | 127.9 | 17.2 | 7.3 | 5 | 45.3 | 4.8 | 3.9 |
| 92 | 62 | Novus Property Solutions Ltd | Dec-17 | 148.6 | 130.3 | 14 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 25.5 | 3.7 | 3.3 |
| 93 | 61 | Mulalley (Sherrygreen Ltd) | Mar-18 | 140.2 | 144.1 | -2.9 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 10 | 6 | 5.3 |
| 94 | 79 | RGCM Ltd | Dec-16 | 147.4 | 165.2 | -10.8 | 1.4 | 1.6 | -12.6 | 1 | 1 |
| 95 | 80 | Gratte Brothers Group Ltd5 | Mar-17 | 146 | 104.4 | 39.8 | 1.1 | -0.9 | 217.9 | 0.7 | -0.9 |
| 96 | 70 | EW Beard Ltd | Dec-17 | 144.1 | 136.4 | 5.6 | 3.9 | 4 | -4.2 | 2.7 | 3 |
| 97 | 57 | Shaylor Group plc | Sep-17 | 143.8 | 100.8 | 42.7 | 6.9 | 4.7 | 46.8 | 4.8 | 4.7 |
| 98 | 85 | William Hare Ltd | Dec-16 | 143.7 | 132.2 | 8.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | -58.3 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| 99 | 26 | Marshall Holdings Ltd | Dec-16 | 141.5 | 113.7 | 24.4 | 20.8 | 13.9 | 49.6 | 14.7 | 12.2 |
| 100 | 46 | Durkan Holdings Ltd | Nov-17 | 140.5 | 141.1 | -0.4 | 9.2 | 10.2 | -9.6 | 6.6 | 7.2 |
| Totals | 70,015.6 | 64,786.7 | 8 | 948.6 | 833.8 | 13.7 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
Data for latest financial year from latest available accounts at August 9 2018
1. Based on press release
2. Figures based on 2017 accounts for Keepmoat Regeneration. Profit adjusted earnings before interest & tax.
3. Period 4/7/16 to 31/3/17
4. SPIE claims that: “Publicly available accounts are for statutory entities, not consolidated for SPIE UK, and therefore offer only a partial view of the company rather than being representative of the UK business as a whole.”
5. Profit after tax
6. N/A = Not applicable
* Based on management accounts
** Continuing operations only
*** % change comparison between 98 companies to publish profits in 2017 and 2016