Top 100 Construction Companies 2020
As construction companies digest the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic, our latest study of the Top 100 UK construction firms shows that finances were weakening even before the outbreak began. Steve Menary reports
In their latest set of accounts, the total aggregate turnover recorded by the UK's Top 100 construction firms was £75.5bn. That's a 2.7% year-on-year increase. Overall, 70 of the Top 100 companies saw turnover increase in the past year, with revenue at the leading company, Balfour Beatty, nearly twice the size of second-placed Kier.
A year ago, only 66 of the Top 100 construction firms reported revenue growth, so this year's figures should be reassuring. But even before the pandemic struck, profitability was struggling.
Those same 100 companies generated profits before tax of £734m, which is down 38% on the figure for last year. Given that these accounts cover periods before the virus outbreak caused the construction industry to grind to a halt, this is a major concern.
| 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-19 | 8,405.0 | 7,802.0 | 7.7 | 138.0 | 123.0 | 12.2 | -16.0 | -7.4 |
| 2 | 99 | Kier Group Plc | Jun-19 | 4,479.4 | 4,512.8 | -0.7 | -244.9 | 106.2 | -330.6 | 12.2 | 13.9 |
| 3 | 98 | Interserve Plc | Dec-18 | 3,225.7 | 3,666.9 | -12.0 | -111.3 | -244.4 | 54.5 | 3.7 | 4.6 |
| 4 | 4 | Morgan Sindall Group Plc | Dec-19 | 3,071.0 | 2,972.0 | 3.3 | 88.6 | 80.6 | 9.9 | -9.4 | -4.6 |
| 5 | 3 | Galliford Try Plc | Jun-19 | 2,862.5 | 3,132.0 | -8.6 | 104.7 | 143.7 | -27.1 | -3.5 | -6.7 |
| 6 | 100 | Amey UK Plc* | Dec-18 | 2,667.8 | 2,581.3 | 3.4 | -428.0 | -189.8 | -125.5 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| 7 | 9 | ISG Plc | Dec-19 | 2,589.7 | 2,237.6 | 15.7 | 44.2 | 27.4 | 61.3 | -0.6 | 2.7 |
| 8 | 6 | Keller Group Plc | Dec-19 | 2,300.5 | 2,224.5 | 3.4 | 51.6 | 8.4 | 514.3 | -9.9 | 1.4 |
| 9 | 15 | Tarmac Trading Ltd | Dec-18 | 2,129.8 | 2,095.9 | 1.6 | 28.7 | 154.9 | -81.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| 10 | 12 | Laing O'Rourke Plc | Mar-19 | 1,932.3 | 1,841.6 | 4.9 | 32.7 | -25.2 | 229.8 | -0.4 | 1.4 |
| 11 | 10 | Mace Ltd1 | Dec-19 | 1,830.0 | 2,349.8 | -22.1 | 41.0 | 32.8 | 24.9 | -2.4 | 0.9 |
| 12 | 30 | Skanska UK Plc* | Dec-19 | 1,789.8 | 1,935.4 | -7.5 | 14.3 | 44.1 | -67.7 | 1.2 | 3.6 |
| 13 | 11 | Wates Group Ltd | Dec-19 | 1,634.4 | 1,601.0 | 2.1 | 34.6 | 34.4 | 0.4 | -1.8 | 0.2 |
| 14 | 13 | Willmott Dixon Holdings Ltd | Dec-19 | 1,246.4 | 1,323.2 | -5.8 | 29.2 | 35.5 | -17.7 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| 15 | 35 | M Group Services Ltd | Mar-19 | 1,174.3 | 1,027.8 | 14.3 | 13.2 | -5.0 | 364.0 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| 16 | 92 | Costain Group Plc | Dec-19 | 1,162.9 | 1,489.3 | -21.9 | -6.6 | 40.2 | -116.4 | 1.7 | 1.2 |
| 17 | 2 | Homeserve Plc | Mar-20 | 1,132.3 | 1,003.6 | 12.8 | 137.9 | 139.5 | -1.1 | -5.5 | 2.4 |
| 18 | 5 | Bowmer & Kirkland Ltd | Aug-19 | 1,069.8 | 937.6 | 14.1 | 73.1 | 54.5 | 34.1 | -12.5 | -1.9 |
| 19 | 27 | Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd2 | Dec-18 | 1,064.9 | 1,155.4 | -7.8 | 18.0 | 4.2 | 326.3 | 1.9 | 0.2 |
| 20 | 14 | VolkerWessels UK Ltd | Dec-18 | 984.0 | 870.4 | 13.1 | 29.0 | 23.6 | 23.0 | 0.1 | -2.1 |
| 21 | 23 | BAM Construct UK Ltd*3 | Dec-18 | 949.8 | 953.0 | -0.3 | 19.4 | 14.8 | 31.1 | 1.2 | 2.2 |
| 22 | 28 | VINCI Plc | Dec-19 | 909.2 | 873.3 | 4.1 | 17.1 | 13.8 | 23.2 | 2.5 | 4.8 |
| 23 | 19 | Mears Group Plc* | Dec-19 | 905.1 | 771.9 | 17.3 | 25.2 | 27.4 | -7.9 | 0.9 | 2.5 |
| 24 | 87 | Newarthill Ltd (Sir Robert McAlpine) | Oct-18 | 870.5 | 942.5 | -7.6 | 0.7 | -20.2 | 103.3 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| 25 | 94 | J Murphy & Sons Ltd | Dec-18 | 779.5 | 748.6 | 4.1 | -12.9 | 12.4 | -203.7 | 13.3 | 15.0 |
| 26 | 39 | ENGIE Regeneration Ltd4 | Dec-18 | 758.8 | 665.8 | 14.0 | 10.8 | -72.7 | 114.8 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| 27 | 17 | BAM Nuttall Ltd | Dec-18 | 749.9 | 668.8 | 12.1 | 26.3 | 7.8 | 237.4 | 0.3 | -7.9 |
| 28 | 51 | John Graham Holdings Ltd | Mar-19 | 735.0 | 767.6 | -4.3 | 8.2 | 13.1 | -37.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| 29 | 20 | Robertson Group (Holdings) Ltd | Mar-19 | 713.4 | 608.8 | 17.2 | 21.5 | 19.1 | 12.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| 30 | 46 | Lendlease Europe Holdings Ltd | Jun-19 | 673.3 | 532.3 | 26.5 | 8.8 | 52.4 | -83.2 | 4.3 | 1.3 |
| 31 | 77 | McLaren Construction Group Plc | Jul-19 | 650.9 | 585.6 | 11.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 | -10.6 | 3.5 | 2.6 |
| 32 | 22 | Winvic Group Ltd | Jan-19 | 628.2 | 485.3 | 29.5 | 20.5 | 31.3 | -34.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| 33 | 16 | Renew Holdings Plc | Sep-19 | 600.6 | 541.5 | 10.9 | 27.0 | 14.7 | 83.3 | 0.5 | 9.1 |
| 34 | 83 | Carey Group Plc | Mar-19 | 575.3 | 510.5 | 12.7 | 1.6 | 18.7 | -91.6 | 7.9 | 9.0 |
| 35 | 41 | Keltbray Group (Holdings) Ltd | Oct-19 | 563.4 | 399.2 | 41.1 | 10.5 | 17.8 | -40.8 | 3.0 | 4.4 |
| 36 | 24 | Eurovia UK Ltd5 | Dec-19 | 557.2 | 501.4 | 11.1 | 19.2 | 13.2 | 46.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| 37 | 29 | NG Bailey Group Ltd | Mar-19 | 555.7 | 481.0 | 15.5 | 16.1 | 19.6 | -17.9 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
| 38 | 42 | Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd | Dec-19 | 485.7 | 507.0 | -4.2 | 10.2 | 10.2 | -0.4 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| 39 | 50 | ESSCI Ltd | Dec-19 | 460.7 | 387.8 | 18.8 | 8.4 | 6.5 | 30.0 | 1.1 | 1.7 |
| 40 | 89 | Bouygues (U.K.) Ltd | Dec-18 | 451.9 | 597.0 | -24.3 | -1.7 | 8.6 | -119.1 | 1.7 | -1.4 |
| 41 | 70 | John Sisk & Son Ltd | Dec-19 | 417.9 | 323.2 | 29.3 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 57.6 | 4.2 | 2.5 |
| 42 | 57 | NMCN Plc6 | Dec-19 | 404.7 | 340.5 | 18.9 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 23.9 | 4.3 | 8.7 |
| 43 | 71 | Geoffrey Osborne Ltd | Mar-19 | 380.1 | 316.1 | 20.2 | 4.5 | 11.4 | -60.9 | 0.8 | 2.3 |
| 44 | 8 | Henry Boot Plc | Dec-19 | 379.7 | 397.1 | -4.4 | 49.1 | 48.6 | 1.0 | -3.5 | 0.2 |
| 45 | 7 | Watkin Jones Plc* | Sep-19 | 374.8 | 363.1 | 3.2 | 49.7 | 54.3 | -8.5 | -1.7 | 1.7 |
| 46 | 56 | Northstone (NI) Ltd | Dec-18 | 374.5 | 375.2 | -0.2 | 7.5 | -0.2 | 3,351.1 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| 47 | 84 | Integral UK Ltd | Dec-18 | 367.2 | 358.8 | 2.3 | 1.1 | -28.2 | 104.0 | 3.5 | 1.2 |
| 48 | 97 | Ferrovial Construction (UK) Ltd | Dec-19 | 345.4 | 295.7 | 16.8 | -32.3 | -13.5 | -140.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| 49 | 33 | McAleer & Rushe Contracts UK Ltd | Dec-19 | 340.4 | 395.2 | -13.9 | 13.7 | 16.8 | -18.1 | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| 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 | 45 | TClarke Plc | Dec-19 | 334.6 | 326.8 | 2.4 | 9.0 | 7.8 | 15.4 | 2.0 | -0.1 |
| 51 | 31 | Emcor Group (UK) Plc | Dec-19 | 331.3 | 319.9 | 3.6 | 14.0 | 8.1 | 72.0 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| 52 | 18 | Severfield Plc | Mar-20 | 327.4 | 274.9 | 19.1 | 25.8 | 24.7 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 3.7 |
| 53 | 36 | FM Conway Ltd | Mar-20 | 325.7 | 317.4 | 2.6 | 12.7 | 3.6 | 247.6 | 2.8 | -5.9 |
| 54 | 21 | OHOB Holdings Ltd | Mar-20 | 321.7 | 300.3 | 7.1 | 20.7 | 27.0 | -23.1 | 1.1 | 2.9 |
| 55 | 67 | SSE Contracting Ltd | Mar-19 | 319.2 | 317.9 | 0.4 | 5.4 | -6.3 | 185.7 | 8.2 | 11.1 |
| 56 | 25 | Kone Plc | Dec-19 | 314.3 | 300.0 | 4.7 | 18.9 | 6.6 | 188.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| 57 | 52 | M.V. Kelly Ltd | May-19 | 307.9 | 269.1 | 14.4 | 8.2 | 11.1 | -26.4 | 3.8 | 2.6 |
| 58 | 63 | J.N. Bentley Ltd | Dec-18 | 307.9 | 257.3 | 19.7 | 6.3 | 8.3 | -24.1 | 3.6 | 4.5 |
| 59 | 38 | Henry Construction Projects Ltd | Jun-19 | 300.6 | 208.3 | 44.4 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 14.7 | 2.0 | 3.2 |
| 60 | 79 | The Clancy Group Ltd | Mar-20 | 292.7 | 309.0 | -5.3 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 849.3 | 3.3 | 6.4 |
| 61 | 76 | United Living Group Ltd | Mar-19 | 275.0 | 240.1 | 14.5 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 80.5 | 6.0 | 2.2 |
| 62 | 62 | Colas Ltd | Dec-18 | 271.9 | 239.9 | 13.3 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 1.0 | 1.4 | -10.9 |
| 63 | 61 | McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd | Dec-19 | 268.8 | 233.9 | 14.9 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 4.8 |
| 64 | 91 | RG Carter Holdings Ltd | Dec-18 | 265.6 | 243.3 | 9.2 | -6.4 | 2.2 | -385.6 | 2.2 | 1.4 |
| 65 | 26 | FP McCann Group Ltd | Dec-19 | 264.0 | 255.0 | 3.5 | 18.2 | 17.9 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| 66 | 78 | Briggs & Forrester (UK) Ltd | Oct-19 | 262.2 | 222.4 | 17.9 | 3.2 | 5.0 | -34.7 | 2.0 | 1.6 |
| 67 | 86 | Midas Group Ltd | Apr-19 | 259.3 | 267.4 | -3.0 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 9.0 | 1.3 | 7.4 |
| 68 | 32 | Mick George Limited | Sep-19 | 255.2 | 158.3 | 61.2 | 13.9 | 8.1 | 71.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 69 | 64 | Ogilvie Group Ltd | Jun-19 | 254.4 | 237.6 | 7.1 | 5.7 | 5.8 | -0.6 | 6.3 | 5.5 |
| 70 | 60 | J Reddington Ltd | Dec-18 | 245.8 | 239.8 | 2.5 | 7.3 | 10.6 | -31.6 | 1.9 | 4.5 |
| 71 | 96 | Otis Limited | Nov-18 | 239.2 | 226.7 | 5.5 | -30.0 | -4.3 | -591.8 | 6.8 | 5.8 |
| 72 | 58 | SPIE Limited | Dec-18 | 229.0 | 241.8 | -5.3 | 7.4 | -27.9 | 126.5 | 5.8 | 4.5 |
| 73 | 90 | Higgins Group Plc | Jul-19 | 227.5 | 332.2 | -31.5 | -4.0 | 0.6 | -796.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 74 | 49 | Forth Holdings Ltd | Aug-19 | 221.8 | 260.0 | -14.7 | 8.5 | 6.6 | 28.6 | 2.7 | 4.1 |
| 75 | 75 | William Hare Group Ltd | Dec-18 | 221.4 | 204.4 | 8.3 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 10.5 | 6.9 | 7.0 |
| 76 | 68 | Sureserve Group Plc* | Sep-19 | 212.1 | 190.8 | 11.2 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 174.4 | 4.0 | 4.2 |
| 77 | 44 | Ardmore Construction Ltd | Sep-19 | 209.8 | 257.1 | -18.4 | 9.0 | 22.4 | -59.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| 78 | 93 | Esh Holdings Ltd | Dec-18 | 208.4 | 220.0 | -5.3 | -7.3 | 0.4 | -1,957.0 | 12.9 | 12.2 |
| 79 | 40 | Caddick Group Plc | Aug-19 | 206.3 | 226.5 | -8.9 | 10.6 | 10.9 | -2.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| 80 | 65 | Byrne Group Limited | Jun-19 | 202.8 | 138.7 | 46.2 | 5.7 | -8.2 | 169.7 | 3.9 | 1.1 |
| 81 | 80 | B W Interiors Ltd | Dec-19 | 201.0 | 180.5 | 11.3 | 2.3 | 5.2 | -56.4 | 6.4 | 9.0 |
| 82 | 74 | RGCM Ltd | Dec-18 | 199.3 | 196.1 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 0.4 | 954.9 | 1.7 | 0.4 |
| 83 | 66 | TSL Ltd | Jun-19 | 191.0 | 105.2 | 81.5 | 5.5 | 2.7 | 101.7 | 1.1 | -0.5 |
| 84 | 53 | Erith Holdings Ltd | Sep-19 | 190.3 | 147.7 | 28.8 | 7.9 | 4.0 | 95.5 | 5.2 | 4.7 |
| 85 | 81 | SDC Builders Ltd | Sep-19 | 186.2 | 186.5 | -0.1 | 2.0 | 2.0 | -0.2 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| 86 | 47 | Michael Lonsdale Ltd | Sep-19 | 184.2 | 175.1 | 5.2 | 8.7 | 7.1 | 23.5 | 4.9 | 4.8 |
| 87 | 85 | Rydon Group Ltd | Sep-19 | 179.8 | 227.2 | -20.9 | 1.0 | 20.8 | -95.4 | 4.5 | 2.7 |
| 88 | 55 | Gilbert-Ash Ltd | Dec-18 | 179.4 | 165.5 | 8.4 | 7.7 | 2.1 | 260.6 | 1.3 | 9.8 |
| 89 | 82 | Seddon Group Ltd | Dec-18 | 176.7 | 215.7 | -18.1 | 1.6 | 5.3 | -70.1 | 2.8 | 3.5 |
| 90 | 37 | CCG (Scotland) Ltd | Mar-19 | 173.5 | 140.1 | 23.9 | 10.9 | 7.7 | 40.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| 91 | 59 | Readie Construction Ltd | Mar-19 | 172.8 | 136.9 | 26.3 | 7.3 | 6.7 | 7.9 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
| 92 | 73 | Lindum Group Ltd | Nov-19 | 170.6 | 163.8 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 7.8 | -46.1 | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| 93 | 43 | Eric Wright Group Ltd | Dec-18 | 170.4 | 159.1 | 7.1 | 10.0 | 7.2 | 37.9 | 3.2 | -11.5 |
| 94 | 34 | Tide Construction Ltd | Aug-19 | 166.9 | 93.3 | 78.8 | 13.7 | 10.4 | 31.7 | 1.7 | -2.0 |
| 95 | 48 | Axis Europe Plc | Mar-19 | 165.7 | 132.8 | 24.8 | 8.7 | 6.2 | 39.8 | 4.2 | 2.7 |
| 96 | 88 | Stepnell Ltd | Mar-19 | 164.4 | 143.3 | 14.7 | 0.1 | 2.1 | -97.6 | 2.3 | 2.7 |
| 97 | 95 | Barhale Limited | Jun-19 | 161.0 | 179.4 | -10.3 | -15.9 | 2.5 | -729.6 | 2.2 | 0.4 |
| 98 | 72 | EW Beard Ltd | Dec-19 | 158.5 | 149.8 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 4.1 |
| 99 | 54 | Durkan Holdings Ltd | Nov-19 | 158.4 | 164.9 | -3.9 | 7.8 | 7.9 | -1.1 | 4.7 | 4.0 |
| 100 | 69 | One Group Construction Ltd | Dec-18 | 157.1 | 162.6 | -3.4 | 5.3 | 6.4 | -17.2 | 5.5 | 5.1 |
| TOTALS | 75,502.0 | 73,515.9 | 2.7 | 734.2 | 1,190.2 | -38.3 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
Latest accounts available at Companies House on July 30 2020
*Continuing operations only.
1 Figures are indicative only and subject to review.
2 Net profit.
3 2017 results restated.
4 15 months to Dec 2018 compared to 18 months to Sept 2017
5 Profit from continuing operations only.
6 2018 results restated.