Top 100 Construction Companies 2021
A weakening in company finances that had been emerging before the Covid-19 pandemic wrought havoc on the economy has escalated significantly with the Top 100 showing an industry in reverse. Steve Menary reports
The companies in the latest Construction Index Top 100 had aggregate revenue in their most recent accounts of £70.6bn. That figure is down by 4.8% on the total turnover at same 100 companies in their previous accounts.
Amongst the top 10 contractors, only the top-ranked company Balfour Beatty, whose revenue is more than twice that of second-placed Kier, managed to increase its turnover.
Annual revenue fell away at a total of 53 companies in the latest Top 100. While changes in accounting periods produced a bigger rise at a handful of companies, the largest year-on-year increases came mostly at smaller members of the Top 100.
| 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 | 4 | Balfour Beatty plc | Dec-20 | 8593.00 | 8411.00 | 2.20 | 48.00 | 138.00 | -65.20 | 0.60 | 1.60 |
| 2 | 100 | Kier Group plc* | Jun-20 | 3475.60 | 4106.00 | -15.40 | -225.30 | -229.50 | 1.80 | -6.50 | -5.60 |
| 3 | 2 | Morgan Sindall Group plc | Dec-20 | 3034.00 | 3071.30 | -1.20 | 60.80 | 88.60 | -31.40 | 2.00 | 2.90 |
| 4 | 95 | Interserve plc* | Dec-19 | 2552.20 | 3159.80 | -19.20 | -46.90 | -128.00 | 63.40 | -1.80 | -4.10 |
| 5 | 98 | Amey UK plc* | Dec-20 | 2406.80 | 2546.70 | -5.50 | -98.00 | -109.20 | 10.30 | -4.10 | -4.30 |
| 6 | 82 | Tarmac Trading Ltd | Dec-19 | 2128.90 | 2129.80 | 0.00 | -3.10 | 28.70 | -110.80 | -0.10 | 1.30 |
| 7 | 1 | Keller Group plc | Dec-20 | 2062.50 | 2300.50 | -10.30 | 63.80 | 51.60 | 23.60 | 3.10 | 2.20 |
| 8 | 38 | ISG plc | Dec-20 | 2043.10 | 2589.70 | -21.10 | 8.90 | 44.20 | -79.90 | 0.40 | 1.70 |
| 9 | 6 | Mace Ltd | Dec-19 | 1782.30 | 2315.30 | -23.00 | 35.30 | 23.80 | 48.40 | 2.00 | 1.00 |
| 10 | 33 | Laing O'Rourke plc | Mar-20 | 1651.90 | 1932.30 | -14.50 | 10.50 | 32.70 | -67.90 | 0.60 | 1.70 |
| 11 | 10 | Skanska UK plc | Dec-20 | 1456.30 | 1789.80 | -18.60 | 22.40 | 14.30 | 57.40 | 1.50 | 0.80 |
| 12 | 74 | Wates Group Ltd | Dec-20 | 1449.20 | 1634.40 | -11.30 | 0.80 | 34.60 | -97.60 | 0.10 | 2.10 |
| 13 | 5 | Homeserve plc | Mar-21 | 1304.70 | 1132.30 | 15.20 | 47.20 | 137.90 | -65.80 | 3.60 | 12.20 |
| 14 | 16 | M Group Services Ltd | Mar-20 | 1301.30 | 1174.30 | 10.80 | 18.80 | 13.20 | 42.40 | 1.40 | 1.10 |
| 15 | 34 | Willmott Dixon Holdings Ltd | Dec-20 | 1191.20 | 1246.40 | -4.40 | 9.80 | 29.20 | -66.50 | 0.80 | 2.30 |
| 16 | 8 | VolkerWessels UK Ltd | Dec-19 | 1180.00 | 984.00 | 19.90 | 31.70 | 29.00 | 9.60 | 2.70 | 2.90 |
| 17 | 94 | Galliford Try plc | Jun-20 | 1121.60 | 1400.10 | -19.90 | -34.60 | -64.50 | 46.40 | -3.10 | -4.60 |
| 18 | 35 | J Murphy & Sons Ltd | Dec-20 | 1115.90 | 880.20 | 26.80 | 9.50 | 7.00 | 35.60 | 0.90 | 0.80 |
| 19 | 3 | Bowmer & Kirkland Ltd | Aug-20 | 1110.40 | 1069.80 | 3.80 | 53.20 | 73.10 | 27.20 | 4.80 | 6.80 |
| 20 | 97 | Costain Group plc* | Dec-20 | 978.40 | 1155.60 | -15.30 | -96.10 | -6.60 | -1356.10 | -9.80 | -0.60 |
| 21 | 90 | Newarthill Ltd (Sir Robert McAlpine) | Oct-20 | 884.40 | 1054.60 | -16.10 | -14.40 | 20.70 | -169.60 | -1.60 | 2.00 |
| 22 | 20 | Vinci plc | Dec-20 | 858.50 | 909.20 | -5.60 | 16.20 | 17.10 | -5.10 | 1.90 | 1.90 |
| 23 | 30 | BAM Nuttall Ltd | Dec-20 | 843.90 | 770.40 | 9.50 | 11.60 | 15.30 | -24.10 | 1.40 | 2.00 |
| 24 | 29 | John Graham Holdings Ltd | Mar-21 | 808.90 | 853.30 | -5.20 | 12.10 | 11.30 | 7.40 | 1.50 | 1.30 |
| 25 | 91 | Mears Group plc* | Dec-20 | 805.80 | 881.50 | -8.60 | -15.20 | 20.30 | -175.10 | -1.90 | 2.30 |
| 26 | 25 | BAM Construct UK Ltd* | Dec-20 | 793.10 | 930.50 | -14.80 | 13.70 | 9.40 | 45.70 | 1.70 | 1.00 |
| 27 | 15 | Eurovia UK Ltd1 | Dec-19 | 753.60 | 699.40 | 7.70 | 19.20 | 13.20 | 46.00 | 2.60 | 1.90 |
| 28 | 23 | Carey Group Ltd2 | Sep-20 | 748.90 | 575.30 | 30.20 | 15.30 | 1.60 | 871.30 | 2.00 | 0.30 |
| 29 | 80 | Engie Regeneration Ltd3 | Dec-19 | 689.90 | 759.00 | -9.10 | -2.80 | 10.80 | -126.20 | -0.40 | 1.40 |
| 30 | 36 | Winvic Group Ltd | Jan-20 | 686.00 | 628.20 | 9.20 | 9.40 | 20.50 | -54.30 | 1.40 | 3.30 |
| 31 | 71 | Robertson Group (Holdings) Ltd4 | Jun-20 | 650.10 | 713.40 | -8.90 | 1.20 | 21.50 | -94.40 | 0.20 | 3.00 |
| 32 | 7 | Renew Holdings plc | Sep-20 | 620.40 | 600.60 | 3.30 | 32.10 | 26.90 | 19.30 | 5.20 | 4.50 |
| 33 | 99 | Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd | Dec-20 | 599.40 | 872.20 | -31.20 | -158.60 | -14.00 | -1024.80 | -26.40 | -1.60 |
| 34 | 41 | Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd | Dec-20 | 584.50 | 485.70 | 20.30 | 8.60 | 10.20 | -15.60 | 1.50 | 2.10 |
| 35 | 13 | NG Bailey Group Ltd | Feb-20 | 573.40 | 555.70 | 3.20 | 20.50 | 16.10 | 27.30 | 3.60 | 2.90 |
| 36 | 89 | McLaren Construction Group plc | Jul-20 | 525.80 | 650.90 | -19.20 | -13.00 | 3.30 | -495.20 | -2.50 | 0.50 |
| 37 | 51 | McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd | Dec-20 | 480.30 | 513.40 | -6.40 | 5.90 | 11.50 | -48.90 | 1.20 | 2.20 |
| 38 | 43 | ESSCI Ltd | Dec-19 | 460.70 | 387.80 | 18.80 | 8.40 | 6.50 | 30.00 | 1.80 | 1.70 |
| 39 | 61 | Lendlease Construction (Europe) Ltd5 | Jun-20 | 442.70 | 563.00 | -21.40 | 3.90 | 31.90 | -87.90 | 0.90 | 5.70 |
| 40 | 88 | Keltbray Group (Holdings) Ltd | Oct-20 | 428.60 | 563.40 | -23.90 | -9.40 | 10.50 | -189.50 | -2.20 | 1.90 |
| 41 | 48 | NMCN plc | Dec-19 | 404.70 | 340.50 | 18.90 | 7.40 | 6.00 | 23.90 | 1.80 | 1.80 |
| 42 | 65 | Bouygues (UK) Ltd | Dec-19 | 399.50 | 451.90 | -11.60 | 2.60 | -0.50 | 600.60 | 0.70 | -0.10 |
| 43 | 64 | John Sisk & Son Ltd | Dec-20 | 390.20 | 417.90 | -6.60 | 2.80 | 5.00 | -43.50 | 0.70 | 1.20 |
| 44 | 32 | Northstone (NI) Ltd | Dec-19 | 383.50 | 374.50 | 2.40 | 10.60 | 7.50 | 41.70 | 2.80 | 2.00 |
| 45 | 70 | Ferrovial Construction (UK) Ltd | Dec-20 | 381.40 | 345.40 | 10.40 | 1.50 | -32.30 | 104.60 | 0.40 | -9.40 |
| 46 | 55 | Geoffrey Osborne Ltd | Mar-19 | 380.10 | 316.80 | 20.00 | 4.50 | 11.40 | -60.90 | 1.20 | 3.60 |
| 47 | 27 | Henry Construction Projects Ltd | Jun-20 | 376.60 | 300.60 | 25.30 | 12.90 | 10.80 | 19.70 | 3.40 | 3.60 |
| 48 | 85 | Integral UK Ltd | Dec-19 | 364.10 | 367.20 | -0.80 | -5.40 | 1.10 | -571.00 | -1.50 | 0.30 |
| 49 | 11 | Severfield plc6 | Mar-21 | 363.30 | 327.40 | 11.00 | 21.10 | 25.80 | -18.20 | 5.80 | 7.90 |
| 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 | 9 | Watkin Jones plc* | Sep-20 | 354.10 | 374.80 | -5.50 | 25.30 | 47.90 | -47.20 | 7.10 | 12.80 |
| 51 | 37 | TSL Ltd7 | Dec-20 | 348.20 | 191.00 | 82.30 | 9.30 | 5.50 | 68.90 | 2.70 | 2.90 |
| 52 | 46 | Hill Partnerships Ltd | Dec-20 | 346.50 | 331.10 | 4.60 | 7.80 | 9.10 | -13.90 | 2.20 | 2.70 |
| 53 | 21 | Emcor Group (UK) plc | Dec-20 | 335.20 | 331.30 | 1.20 | 15.70 | 14.00 | 12.20 | 4.70 | 4.20 |
| 54 | 28 | FM Conway Ltd | Mar-20 | 325.70 | 317.40 | 2.60 | 12.70 | 3.60 | 247.60 | 3.90 | 1.10 |
| 55 | 12 | OHOB Holdings Ltd | Mar-20 | 321.70 | 300.30 | 7.10 | 20.70 | 27.00 | -23.10 | 6.40 | 9.00 |
| 56 | 57 | RG Carter Holdings Ltd | Dec-19 | 317.20 | 269.60 | 17.70 | 4.30 | -6.40 | 167.20 | 1.40 | -2.40 |
| 57 | 60 | JN Bentley Ltd | Dec-19 | 311.80 | 307.90 | 1.30 | 3.90 | 6.30 | -37.60 | 1.30 | 2.00 |
| 58 | 75 | SSE Contracting Ltd | Mar-20 | 303.50 | 318.80 | -4.80 | 0.10 | 3.40 | -97.10 | 0.00 | 1.10 |
| 59 | 22 | Caddick Group plc | Aug-20 | 298.70 | 208.70 | 43.10 | 15.60 | 10.60 | 47.40 | 5.20 | 5.10 |
| 60 | 66 | The Clancy Group Ltd | Mar-20 | 292.70 | 309.00 | -5.30 | 2.60 | 0.30 | 849.30 | 0.90 | 0.10 |
| 61 | 24 | Kone plc | Dec-20 | 291.30 | 314.30 | -7.30 | 14.80 | 19.90 | -25.90 | 5.10 | 6.30 |
| 62 | 79 | Midas Group Ltd8 | Oct-20 | 291.30 | 259.30 | 12.30 | -2.40 | 0.80 | -423.60 | -0.80 | 0.30 |
| 63 | 40 | McAleer & Rushe Contracts UK Ltd | Dec-20 | 290.10 | 340.40 | -14.80 | 8.70 | 13.70 | -36.80 | 3.00 | 4.00 |
| 64 | 73 | MV Kelly Ltd | May-20 | 275.20 | 307.90 | -10.60 | 1.00 | 8.20 | -87.70 | 0.40 | 2.70 |
| 65 | 49 | Ardmore Construction Ltd | Sep-20 | 272.00 | 209.80 | 29.60 | 7.40 | 9.00 | -18.00 | 2.70 | 4.30 |
| 66 | 78 | Colas Ltd | Dec-19 | 262.00 | 271.90 | -3.60 | -1.00 | 7.00 | -114.80 | -0.40 | 2.60 |
| 67 | 84 | FP McCann Group Ltd | Dec-20 | 259.30 | 264.00 | -1.80 | -4.80 | 18.20 | -126.50 | -1.90 | 6.90 |
| 68 | 69 | Ogilvie Group Ltd | Jun-20 | 256.30 | 254.40 | 0.80 | 1.80 | 5.70 | -68.00 | 0.70 | 2.30 |
| 69 | 87 | United Living Group Ltd | Mar-20 | 254.00 | 275.00 | -7.60 | -6.50 | 3.50 | -286.50 | -2.60 | 1.30 |
| 70 | 44 | J Reddington Ltd | Dec-20 | 253.10 | 283.20 | -10.60 | 8.30 | 15.00 | -44.70 | 3.30 | 5.30 |
| 71 | 72 | TClarke plc | Dec-20 | 231.90 | 334.60 | -30.70 | 1.20 | 9.00 | -86.70 | 0.50 | 2.70 |
| 72 | 47 | Eric Wright Group Ltd | Dec-19 | 223.20 | 170.40 | 31.00 | 7.70 | 10.00 | -22.70 | 3.40 | 5.80 |
| 73 | 58 | Briggs & Forrester (UK) Ltd | Oct-20 | 223.20 | 259.80 | -14.10 | 4.10 | 3.20 | 27.20 | 1.80 | 1.20 |
| 74 | 17 | Henry Boot plc | Dec-20 | 222.40 | 379.70 | -41.40 | 17.10 | 49.10 | -65.20 | 7.70 | 12.90 |
| 75 | 83 | Esh Holdings Ltd | Dec-19 | 221.20 | 208.40 | 6.20 | -3.60 | -7.30 | 51.10 | -1.60 | -3.50 |
| 76 | 42 | Erith Holdings Ltd | Sep-20 | 214.50 | 190.30 | 12.70 | 8.40 | 7.90 | 6.70 | 3.90 | 4.20 |
| 77 | 53 | William Hare Group Ltd | Dec-19 | 203.10 | 221.40 | -8.30 | 5.30 | 3.50 | 50.60 | 2.60 | 1.60 |
| 78 | 19 | HG Construction Ltd | Dec-20 | 201.60 | 150.50 | 34.00 | 16.70 | 11.70 | 42.60 | 8.30 | 7.80 |
| 79 | 67 | BW Interiors Ltd | Dec-19 | 201.00 | 180.50 | 11.30 | 2.30 | 5.20 | -56.40 | 1.10 | 2.90 |
| 80 | 63 | Seddon Group Ltd | Dec-19 | 198.70 | 176.70 | 12.40 | 3.10 | 1.60 | 98.10 | 1.60 | 0.90 |
| 81 | 86 | Speller Metcalfe Ltd | Sep-19 | 197.20 | 126.70 | 55.60 | -6.30 | 1.20 | -611.80 | -3.20 | 1.00 |
| 82 | 59 | RGCM Ltd | Dec-19 | 196.50 | 199.30 | -1.40 | 4.00 | 3.80 | 2.90 | 2.00 | 1.90 |
| 83 | 50 | Readie Construction Ltd | Mar-20 | 195.90 | 172.80 | 13.40 | 7.30 | 7.30 | 0.00 | 3.70 | 4.20 |
| 84 | 45 | Sureserve Group plc* | Sep-20 | 195.70 | 212.10 | -7.70 | 7.80 | 5.30 | 45.90 | 4.00 | 2.50 |
| 85 | 96 | Otis Ltd | Nov-19 | 193.00 | 239.20 | -19.30 | -64.50 | -30.00 | -115.30 | -33.40 | -12.50 |
| 86 | 93 | Spie Ltd | Dec-20 | 192.50 | 191.20 | 0.70 | -21.60 | 5.80 | -472.20 | -11.20 | 3.00 |
| 87 | 54 | Byrne Group Ltd | Jun-20 | 186.60 | 202.80 | -8.00 | 5.20 | 5.70 | -9.40 | 2.80 | 2.80 |
| 88 | 68 | Gratte Brothers Group Ltd9 | Mar-20 | 181.10 | 121.10 | 49.50 | 2.10 | 1.30 | 57.60 | 1.10 | 1.10 |
| 89 | 77 | Tolent plc | Dec-19 | 174.70 | 133.70 | 30.70 | -0.90 | 1.80 | -147.80 | -0.50 | 1.30 |
| 90 | 18 | CCG (Scotland) Ltd | Mar-20 | 173.40 | 173.50 | -0.10 | 16.90 | 10.90 | 55.60 | 9.80 | 6.30 |
| 91 | 26 | Tide Construction Ltd | Aug-20 | 173.40 | 166.90 | 3.90 | 13.50 | 13.70 | -1.50 | 7.80 | 8.20 |
| 92 | 31 | Mick George Ltd* | Sep-20 | 173.00 | 255.20 | -32.20 | 11.20 | 13.90 | -19.60 | 6.50 | 5.50 |
| 93 | 14 | HW Martin Holdings Ltd | Jul-20 | 171.40 | 152.40 | 12.40 | 19.90 | 15.00 | 33.20 | 11.60 | 9.80 |
| 94 | 62 | SDC (Holdings) Ltd | Sep-20 | 170.60 | 186.40 | -8.50 | 3.60 | 2.40 | 52.60 | 2.10 | 1.30 |
| 95 | 81 | Higgins Group plc | Jul-20 | 168.30 | 219.40 | -23.30 | -3.10 | -4.00 | 24.00 | -1.80 | -1.80 |
| 96 | 39 | Axis Europe plc | Mar-20 | 166.90 | 165.70 | 0.70 | 8.80 | 8.70 | 1.20 | 5.30 | 5.20 |
| 97 | 76 | Rydon Group Ltd | Sep-20 | 166.70 | 179.80 | -7.30 | -0.70 | 1.00 | -173.00 | -0.40 | 0.50 |
| 98 | 56 | Novus Property Solutions Ltd | Dec-19 | 163.60 | 155.80 | 5.00 | 4.40 | 5.50 | -20.70 | 2.70 | 3.60 |
| 99 | 52 | Gilbert-Ash Ltd | Dec-19 | 163.10 | 179.40 | -9.10 | 5.70 | 7.70 | -26.00 | 3.50 | 4.30 |
| 100 | 92 | Barhale Ltd | Jun-19 | 160.70 | 179.40 | -10.50 | -15.90 | 2.50 | -729.60 | -9.90 | 1.40 |
| Totals | 70586.20 | 74164.20 | -4.80 | 144.40 | 902.90 | 82.20 | 0.80 | 2.30 |
Latest annual accounts available at Companies House at July 30 2021
* Continuing operations only
1. Profit from continuing operations
2. 18 months to September 2020 compared to 12 months to March 2019
3. 2019 calendar year compared to 15 months to December 2018
4. Results for 15 months to June 20 compared to 12 months to March 2019 5. During the 2020 financial year, Lendlease Construction (Europe) became the employing identity for all Lendlease Europe Holdings Group employees
6. Staff numbers and wages based on 2020 accounts
7. Results compare July 2019 to December 2020 to 12 months to June 2019
8. 18 months to October 2020 compared to previous 12 months
9. Operating profits