Balfour Beatty

With the UK's biggest contractor announcing an improved set of financials in its 2021 results, Balfour Beatty is arguably out of recovery mode and back to business as usual. Encouraging signs from its US and Asian businesses, in particular, suggests that things are back to pre-pandemic levels. However, problem provisions…

Balfour Beatty has posted a pre-tax profit of £87m for the year to December 2021, up from £48m in the previous year. The UK’s biggest contractor reported revenue of £8.2bn, down slightly from the £8.6bn total recorded in 2020. However, Balfour Beatty’s UK construction business posted a £2m loss despite…

All tier one contractors still working on Crossrail will be demobilised during the next six weeks. Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild (pictured) confirmed that the Costain Skanska JV (CSJV) will wrap up at Paddington station within four weeks. Meanwhile, a JV between Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure and Vinci Construction…

HS2 could use alliancing style contracts for future work to get the “best value”, Construction News can reveal. HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston said the megaproject with its web of contractors created an opportunity for closer collaboration. Thurston told CN: “There’s a lot of good learning about how we as…

HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston says the megaproject will need more non-construction skills as it progresses. The focus would move from construction roles to consulting and professional services as phases 2a, from the West Midlands to Crewe, and phase 2b, from Crewe to Manchester, progress. The number of people working…

The future of the multi-billion-pound smart motorway programme hangs in the balance after all future projects were put on ice. Yesterday, the Department for Transport (DfT) decided to adopt the recommendation by a transport select committee in November 2020 calling for new projects to be paused while more safety data is…

Balfour Beatty has been appointed to deliver the preconstruction works for HMP Highland, the £110m new prison in Inverness, Scotland. Balfour has begun clearing the site and is carrying out detailed design work, building on initial design work carried out by Morgan Sindall subsidiary Baker Hicks. HMP Highland will house…

Balfour Beatty is to pay $65.4m (£49m) to the US Government after pleading guilty to major fraud relating to falsified military housing maintenance records. The contractor’s US subsidiary Balfour Beatty Communities provided maintenance at 55 military bases, earning performance fees for different measures including proof of resident satisfaction with its…

NG Bailey has appointed industry veteran Martin Pitt as its new group commercial director. He has been commercial director for the Balfour Beatty / Vinci joint venture on HS2 since May 2020, and will join the M&E specialist in January. During his career he has worked in leadership capacities across…

Balfour Beatty's performance in 2021 is on track to return to pre-pandemic levels. In a trading update this morning the group said underlying operating profit for its construction services and support businesses would be around the same as its 2019 level at £172m. Revenue, including that from joint ventures, will…