Top 100 Construction Companies 2019
Workloads among the Top 100 UK contractors continue to edge upwards, but at a slower rate and with diminishing profit margins. Life is definitely getting tougher for construction firms in the UK, and next month’s impending Brexit deadline doesn’t make it any easier. Steve Menary reports. [n.b. this article was written before Kier filed a pre-tax loss of £245m for the past year and data is correct as of August 2019.]
At a glance our latest Top 100 suggests an industry in fine fettle. Overall orders and profits at the leading contractors are up on a year ago, but a closer look shows a sector under stress.
Total turnover at the Top 100 this time was £72bn, which is 4% higher than last year at the same companies. The industry’s 10 biggest contractors generated revenue of £33.1bn, which, at 46% of total revenue for the Top 100, is the same as a year ago.
| 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-18 | 7,802.0 | 8,234.0 | -5.2 | 181.0 | 165.0 | 9.7 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| 2 | 4 | Kier Group Plc | Jun-18 | 4,512.8 | 4,282.3 | 5.4 | 106.2 | -14.2 | 847.9 | 2.4 | -0.3 |
| 3 | 99 | Interserve Plc | Dec-18 | 3,225.7 | 3,666.9 | -12.0 | -111.3 | -244.4 | 54.5 | -3.4 | -6.7 |
| 4 | 2 | Galliford Try Plc | Jun-18 | 3,132.3 | 2,826.0 | 10.8 | 143.7 | 58.7 | 144.8 | 4.6 | 2.1 |
| 5 | 5 | Morgan Sindall Group Plc | Dec-18 | 2,971.5 | 2,792.7 | 6.4 | 80.6 | 64.9 | 24.2 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
| 6 | 100 | Amey UK Plc | Dec-18 | 2,667.8 | 2,581.3 | 3.4 | -427.6 | -189.8 | 125.2 | -16.0 | -7.4 |
| 7 | 75 | Mace Ltd 1 | Dec-18 | 2,350.0 | 2,036.9 | 15.4 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 42.5 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| 8 | 18 | ISG Plc | Dec-18 | 2,237.6 | 1,708.8 | 30.9 | 27.4 | 9.1 | 201.1 | 1.2 | 0.5 |
| 9 | 46 | Keller Group Plc | Dec-18 | 2,224.5 | 2,070.6 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 110.6 | -92.4 | 0.4 | 5.3 |
| 10 | 97 | Laing O'Rourke Plc | Mar-18 | 1,985.7 | 2,034.2 | -2.4 | -25.2 | -80.8 | -68.8 | -1.3 | -4.0 |
| 11 | 10 | Skanska UK Plc | Dec-18 | 1,935.4 | 1,802.7 | 7.4 | 44.1 | 13.5 | 226.7 | 2.3 | 0.7 |
| 12 | 13 | Wates Group Ltd | Dec-18 | 1,601.0 | 1,622.0 | -1.3 | 34.4 | 32.9 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
| 13 | 11 | Costain Group Plc | Dec-18 | 1,489.3 | 1,728.9 | -13.9 | 40.2 | 41.8 | -3.8 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| 14 | 12 | Willmott Dixon Holdings Ltd | Dec-18 | 1,323.2 | 1,269.5 | 4.2 | 35.5 | 33.5 | 6.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| 15 | 26 | Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd | Dec-18 | 1,064.9 | 1,155.4 | -7.8 | 18.0 | 4.2 | 326.3 | 1.7 | 0.4 |
| 16 | 92 | M Group Services Ltd 2 | Mar-18 | 1,027.8 | 416.7 | 146.6 | -5.0 | -0.2 | -2645.1 | -0.5 | -43.7 |
| 17 | 3 | Homeserve Plc | Mar-19 | 1,003.6 | 899.7 | 11.5 | 139.5 | 123.3 | 13.1 | 13.9 | 13.7 |
| 18 | 16 | VolkerWessels UK Ltd | Dec-18 | 984.0 | 870.4 | 13.1 | 29.0 | 23.6 | 23.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| 19 | 24 | BAM Construct UK Ltd * | Dec-18 | 949.8 | 953.0 | -0.3 | 19.4 | 14.8 | 31.1 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
| 20 | 6 | Bowmer & Kirkland Ltd | Aug-18 | 937.6 | 928.3 | 1.0 | 54.5 | 64.4 | -15.4 | 5.8 | 6.9 |
| 21 | 31 | Vinci Plc | Dec-18 | 873.3 | 870.7 | 0.3 | 13.8 | 22.4 | -38.3 | 1.6 | 2.6 |
| 22 | 85 | Newarthill Ltd (Sir Robert McAlpine) | Dec-18 | 870.5 | 942.5 | -7.6 | 0.7 | -20.2 | 103.3 | 0.1 | -2.1 |
| 23 | 17 | Mears Group Plc | Dec-18 | 869.8 | 900.2 | -3.4 | 28.4 | 26.5 | 7.4 | 3.3 | 2.9 |
| 24 | 95 | J Murphy & Sons Ltd 3 | Dec-18 | 781.3 | 711.9 | 9.8 | -5.8 | 12.4 | -146.7 | -0.7 | 1.7 |
| 25 | 38 | Engie Regeneration Ltd | Dec-18 | 758.8 | 665.8 | 14.0 | 10.8 | -72.7 | 114.8 | 1.4 | -10.9 |
| 26 | 15 | Robertson Group (Holdings) Ltd | Mar-18 | 752.4 | 565.4 | 33.1 | 30.8 | 26.1 | 17.8 | 4.1 | 4.6 |
| 27 | 20 | BAM Nuttall Ltd | Dec-18 | 749.9 | 668.8 | 12.1 | 26.3 | 7.8 | 237.4 | 3.5 | 1.2 |
| 28 | 47 | John Graham Holdings Ltd | Mar-19 | 735.0 | 767.6 | -4.3 | 8.2 | 13.1 | -37.6 | 1.1 | 1.7 |
| 29 | 8 | Lendlease Europe Holdings Ltd | Jun-18 | 676.5 | 800.4 | -15.5 | 52.4 | 41.5 | 26.3 | 7.7 | 5.2 |
| 30 | 45 | Bouygues (U.K.) Ltd | Dec-17 | 597.0 | 555.6 | 7.4 | 8.6 | -78.5 | 111.0 | 1.4 | -14.1 |
| 31 | 73 | McLaren Construction Group Plc | Jul-18 | 585.6 | 600.3 | -2.5 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 15.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| 32 | 30 | Renew Holdings Plc | Sep-18 | 541.5 | 545.9 | -0.8 | 14.7 | 19.8 | -25.8 | 2.7 | 3.6 |
| 33 | 25 | Carey Group Plc | Mar-18 | 510.5 | 549.2 | -7.1 | 18.7 | 19.1 | -2.3 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
| 34 | 41 | Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd 4 | Dec-18 | 507.0 | 423.1 | 19.8 | 10.3 | 16.7 | -38.5 | 2.0 | 3.9 |
| 35 | 32 | Eurovia UK Ltd 5 | Dec-18 | 501.4 | 486.2 | 3.1 | 13.2 | 22.2 | -40.7 | 2.6 | 4.6 |
| 36 | 14 | Winvic Group Ltd | Jan-18 | 485.3 | 462.1 | 5.0 | 31.3 | 28.5 | 9.9 | 6.4 | 6.2 |
| 37 | 23 | NG Bailey Group Ltd | Mar-18 | 481.0 | 500.3 | -3.9 | 19.6 | 18.6 | 5.4 | 4.1 | 3.7 |
| 38 | 28 | Keltbray Group (Holdings) Ltd | Oct-18 | 399.2 | 417.5 | -4.4 | 17.8 | 23.4 | -23.7 | 4.5 | 5.6 |
| 39 | 9 | Henry Boot Plc | Dec-18 | 397.1 | 408.5 | -2.8 | 48.6 | 55.4 | -12.3 | 12.2 | 13.6 |
| 40 | 29 | McAleer & Rushe Contracts UK Ltd | Dec-18 | 395.2 | 334.1 | 18.3 | 16.8 | 13.3 | 26.6 | 4.2 | 4.0 |
| 41 | 44 | ESSCI Ltd 6 | Dec-18 | 390.7 | 437.2 | -10.6 | 9.0 | -0.8 | 1291.0 | 2.3 | -0.2 |
| 42 | 88 | Northstone (NI) Ltd | Dec-17 | 375.2 | 375.0 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 4.3 | -105.3 | -0.1 | 1.2 |
| 43 | 7 | Watkin Jones Plc | Sep-18 | 363.1 | 301.9 | 20.3 | 54.3 | 43.3 | 25.4 | 15.0 | 14.3 |
| 44 | 98 | Integral UK Ltd | Dec-17 | 354.9 | 343.0 | 3.5 | -28.3 | 11.8 | -338.9 | -8.0 | 3.4 |
| 45 | 62 | NMCN Plc 7 | Dec-18 | 341.7 | 302.8 | 12.9 | 6.0 | 9.1 | -33.9 | 1.8 | 3.0 |
| 46 | 86 | Higgins Group Plc | Jul-18 | 332.2 | 290.6 | 14.3 | 0.6 | 6.6 | -91.2 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
| 47 | 33 | FM Conway Ltd | Mar-18 | 329.1 | 290.2 | 13.4 | 12.2 | 23.5 | -48.1 | 3.7 | 8.1 |
| 48 | 53 | TClarke Plc | Dec-18 | 326.8 | 311.2 | 5.0 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 9.9 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| 49 | 77 | John Sisk & Son Ltd | Dec-18 | 323.2 | 188.5 | 71.5 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 645.3 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| 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 | 48 | Emcor Group Plc | Dec-18 | 319.9 | 264.7 | 20.8 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 8.9 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
| 51 | 91 | SSE Contracting Ltd | Mar-18 | 317.9 | 330.0 | -3.7 | -4.6 | -5.0 | 8.0 | -1.4 | -1.5 |
| 52 | 34 | Geoffrey Osborne Ltd | Mar-18 | 316.1 | 348.1 | -9.2 | 11.4 | 3.6 | 217.6 | 3.6 | 1.0 |
| 53 | 19 | OHOB Holdings Ltd | Mar-19 | 300.3 | 306.8 | -2.1 | 27.0 | 25.6 | 5.4 | 9.0 | 8.3 |
| 54 | 64 | Kone Plc | Dec-18 | 300.0 | 269.5 | 11.3 | 5.8 | 10.7 | -45.7 | 1.9 | 4.0 |
| 55 | 96 | Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Ltd | Dec-18 | 295.7 | 332.6 | -11.1 | -13.5 | -31.0 | -56.6 | -4.6 | -9.3 |
| 56 | 21 | Severfield Plc | Mar-19 | 274.9 | 274.2 | 0.3 | 24.7 | 22.2 | 11.3 | 9.0 | 8.1 |
| 57 | 35 | M.V. Kelly Ltd | May-18 | 269.1 | 233.0 | 15.5 | 11.1 | 12.1 | -8.5 | 4.1 | 5.2 |
| 58 | 90 | The Clancy Group Plc | Mar-18 | 268.3 | 267.5 | 0.3 | -3.6 | -2.0 | -77.6 | -1.3 | -0.8 |
| 59 | 84 | Midas Group Ltd | Apr-18 | 267.4 | 213.6 | 25.2 | 0.7 | 1.6 | -57.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| 60 | 60 | Forth Holdings Ltd | Aug-18 | 260.0 | 204.6 | 27.1 | 6.6 | 12.3 | -46.0 | 2.6 | 6.0 |
| 61 | 79 | Ardmore Construction Ltd | Sep-18 | 257.1 | 370.0 | -30.5 | 2.2 | 15.5 | 44.3 | 8.7 | 4.2 |
| 62 | 27 | FP McCann Group Ltd | Dec-18 | 255.0 | 215.8 | 18.2 | 17.9 | 19.5 | -8.1 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| 63 | 80 | RG Carter Holdings Ltd | Dec-17 | 243.3 | 286.4 | -15.1 | 2.2 | 8.2 | -72.9 | 0.9 | 2.9 |
| 64 | 50 | United Living Group Ltd | Mar-18 | 240.1 | 180.7 | 32.9 | 8.0 | 6.4 | 26.1 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| 65 | 58 | Colas Ltd | Dec-17 | 239.9 | 221.4 | 8.3 | 6.9 | 9.0 | -23.4 | 2.9 | 4.1 |
| 66 | 65 | Ogilvie Group Ltd | Jun-18 | 237.6 | 274.4 | -13.4 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 7.8 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| 67 | 39 | J Reddington Ltd | Dec-17 | 236.8 | 160.1 | 47.9 | 10.6 | 6.1 | 73.7 | 4.5 | 3.8 |
| 68 | 59 | McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd | Dec-18 | 233.9 | 267.7 | -12.6 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 62.5 | 2.9 | 1.5 |
| 69 | 55 | SPIE Ltd | Dec-18 | 229.0 | 241.8 | -5.3 | 7.4 | -2.8 | 126.5 | 3.2 | -11.5 |
| 70 | 22 | Rydon Group Ltd | Sep-18 | 227.2 | 230.1 | -1.3 | 20.8 | 9.2 | 124.7 | 9.1 | 4.0 |
| 71 | 93 | Otis Ltd | Nov-17 | 226.7 | 206.0 | 10.0 | -5.4 | 15.8 | -134.3 | -2.4 | 7.7 |
| 72 | 37 | Caddick Group Plc | Aug-18 | 226.5 | 152.4 | 48.6 | 10.9 | 8.0 | 36.5 | 4.8 | 5.2 |
| 73 | 70 | Briggs & Forrester (UK) Ltd | Oct-18 | 222.4 | 181.7 | 22.4 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 20.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| 74 | 87 | Esh Holdings Ltd | Dec-17 | 220.0 | 242.7 | -9.4 | 0.4 | 3.8 | -89.6 | 0.2 | 1.6 |
| 75 | 43 | Cruden Holdings Ltd | Mar-18 | 217.8 | 230.2 | -5.4 | 9.0 | 10.5 | -13.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
| 76 | 67 | Seddon Group Ltd | Dec-17 | 215.7 | 209.9 | 2.8 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
| 77 | 42 | Henry Construction Projects Ltd | Jun-18 | 208.3 | 111.2 | 87.4 | 9.4 | 4.3 | 116.8 | 4.5 | 3.9 |
| 78 | 76 | William Hare Group Ltd | Dec-17 | 204.4 | 217.8 | -6.1 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 33.5 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
| 79 | 74 | RGCM Ltd | Dec-17 | 196.1 | 147.4 | 33.1 | 3.6 | 1.4 | -74.2 | 0.2 | 1.0 |
| 80 | 82 | Sureserve Group Plc * | Sep-18 | 190.8 | 181.5 | 5.1 | 1.9 | -5.6 | 134.9 | 1.0 | -3.1 |
| 81 | 81 | SDC (Holdings) Ltd | Sep-18 | 186.8 | 164.8 | 13.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 11.6 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| 82 | 69 | BW Interiors Ltd | Dec-18 | 180.5 | 151.0 | 19.6 | 5.2 | 4.1 | 27.4 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| 83 | 78 | Barhale Ltd | Jun-18 | 179.4 | 121.7 | 47.4 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 19.5 | 1.4 | 1.7 |
| 84 | 54 | Gilbert-Ash Ltd | Dec-18 | 179.4 | 165.5 | 8.4 | 7.7 | 2.1 | 260.6 | 4.3 | 1.3 |
| 85 | 89 | Clugston Group Ltd | Jan-18 | 175.4 | 118.2 | 48.4 | -0.5 | 1.0 | -145.1 | -0.3 | 0.9 |
| 86 | 57 | Michael Lonsdale Ltd | Sep-18 | 175.1 | 216.8 | -19.2 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.1 |
| 87 | 51 | Durkan Holdings Ltd | Nov-18 | 164.9 | 140.5 | 17.3 | 7.9 | 9.3 | -15.0 | 4.8 | 6.6 |
| 88 | 52 | Lindum Group Ltd | Nov-18 | 163.8 | 149.9 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| 89 | 63 | Dyer & Butler Ltd | Mar-18 | 160.0 | 106.4 | 50.3 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 51.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
| 90 | 56 | Eric Wright Group Ltd | Dec-17 | 159.1 | 201.4 | -21.0 | 7.2 | 7.4 | -2.2 | 4.5 | 3.7 |
| 91 | 49 | Mick George Ltd | May-18 | 158.3 | 131.4 | 20.5 | 8.1 | 7.3 | 11.9 | 5.1 | 5.5 |
| 92 | 68 | One Group Construction Ltd | Dec-18 | 157.1 | 162.6 | -3.4 | 5.3 | 6.4 | -17.2 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 93 | 66 | Novus Property Solutions Ltd | Dec-18 | 155.8 | 148.6 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| 94 | 61 | Sherrygreen Ltd (Mulalley) | Mar-19 | 153.9 | 140.2 | 9.7 | 6.5 | 8.4 | -22.8 | 4.2 | 6.0 |
| 95 | 40 | HG Construction Ltd | Dec-18 | 152.4 | 126.0 | 21.0 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 22.3 | 6.9 | 6.8 |
| 96 | 94 | Styles & Wood Ltd 8 | Jun-18 | 151.5 | 100.3 | 51.1 | -5.5 | 3.7 | -248.1 | -3.7 | 3.7 |
| 97 | 83 | Gratte Brothers Group Ltd | Mar-18 | 150.3 | 146.0 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 45.4 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| 98 | 71 | EW Beard Ltd | Dec-18 | 149.8 | 144.1 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 13.7 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| 99 | 36 | Masterton Holdings Ltd | Aug-18 | 149.2 | 129.2 | 15.5 | 11.1 | 1.1 | 5.2 | 7.4 | 8.1 |
| 100 | 72 | Erith Holdings Ltd | Sep-18 | 147.7 | 152.9 | -3.4 | 4.0 | 1.0 | -60.4 | 2.7 | 6.7 |
| Totals | 72,000.0 | 69,187.9 | 4.1 | 1,139.6 | 818.0 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
Latest accounts available at Companies House on July 30 2019
* Continuing operations only
1. Figures indicative only and subject to change pending final confirmation of annual report and accounts.
2. 2017 results Sept 2016-Mar 2017
3. Based on company press release.
4. Final audit figures supplied by the company.
5. Profit from continuing operations.
6. 2017 figures for 14 months to Dec 2017.
7. 2017 figures restated.
8. 18 months to June 2018 compared to 2016 calendar year.