What happened
Kier secured contract wins amounting to £347m in October, according to rankings published by the Construction Enquirer, based on data from Barbour ABI. These wins made Kier the leading contractor for the month by value of new work secured. Kier also regained the top position in the rolling 12-month league table of contract awards, overtaking Willmott Dixon.
The largest of Kier’s recent contract awards is a £54m package to upgrade Manchester Airport station. The scope of works includes extending three platforms and remodelling the approach tracks and signalling systems. Another major win for Kier is the £53.7m overhaul of Harpenden sewage treatment works in Hertfordshire. The project aims to increase the treatment capacity at the site by more than 50%, according to the Construction Enquirer.
Kier was also named as main contractor for the redevelopment of St Gregory’s Catholic Science College in north west London. Details of the contract value for this specific education scheme were not disclosed.
Water sector opportunities contributed to Mott MacDonald Bentley rising to second place in the October tables. The firm secured a contract for United Utilities’ planned upgrade of Eccles wastewater treatment works in Greater Manchester. The scheme covers construction of a 60,000-cubic-metre storage tank and installation of new treatment equipment to improve water quality in Salteye Brook and the Manchester Ship Canal.
The background
The monthly contractor league tables track the total reported value of UK construction contracts awarded to firms. Figures are compiled by construction intelligence group Barbour ABI for industry reporting. The October data shows a rebound in orders following several months of reduced activity.
The combined order book among the top 50 contractors for October reached £3.9bn, representing a 23% increase compared to the previous month. The number of contract awards remained steady at 111. The increase in output was driven by a higher average contract value, rather than by a general rise in the number of jobs being let.
According to the Construction Enquirer, this marks the end of a three-month period of lower order intake for major UK contractors. Key market sectors influencing the rankings include rail infrastructure, education facilities, and water industry upgrades. The data centre sector also generated significant contracts during the reporting period.
What people are saying
Barbour ABI reported that larger, individual awards accounted for most of the uplift in the October total. This figure follows a trend of fewer but bigger jobs, in contrast to more distributed spending seen earlier in the year.
HFD Construction and Mercury Engineering appeared in the top tier of the monthly rankings for the first time. Both contractors secured contracts each valued at about £300m, according to the reporting. HFD Construction is part of a Scottish group with its own data centre development arm, DataVita. Mercury Engineering operates from Dublin and is active in the UK data centre market.
Construction Enquirer also noted that the water sector is supporting contractors’ pipelines this cycle as capital spending ramps up under the Asset Management Period 8 (AMP8) investment round for major utilities.
Kier led the rolling annual league table as of the end of October, with Willmott Dixon and Balfour Beatty reported as closely matched in second and third places respectively.
What happens next
The latest Barbour ABI figures suggest the contract awards pipeline may remain volatile, influenced by the timing of major project decisions in infrastructure and specialist sectors. Changes in utilities and data centre capital programmes will likely continue to shape order value rankings in the coming months.
Kier’s contract haul reinforces its position at the head of the annual league, but the proximity of Willmott Dixon and Balfour Beatty in the rankings will maintain competitive pressure across the sector. Contractors and their supply chains remain reliant on the successful conversion of large project opportunities, especially in a market with an emphasis on fewer high-value orders.
The steady number of awards paired with higher values means opportunities for work are increasingly concentrated among a smaller group of firms with the capacity to deliver on larger, more complex projects. The impact on smaller contractors and subcontractors will depend in part on how these larger jobs are structured and how work is distributed down through the supply chain.