Business barometer — Swedish contractor hits the top with £242m contract to build London tower

Skanska bounced back to the top of the monthly contract table after winning more than £443m worth of work during October. The bumper haul for the Swedish company was made up of nine commercial jobs, including a £242m contract to build the landmark Heron Tower in the City of London.

Balfour Beatty slipped from the top spot in September to number four with £176m of work.

October also proved a good month for another foreign-owned company, Bovis Lend Lease. The Australian-owned group clinched the number two spot thanks to a £260m contract with Land Securities for a commercial office and retail development in the shadow of St Paul’s cathedral.

Family-owned contractor Mulalley & Co parachuted into the top 30 at number seven owing to eight contracts worth £113m, including a £70m deal with Newham Homes in east London to refurbish the borough’s housing.

Gleeson ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV also forced its way into the top 10, winning £90m of commercial work, and Carillion won jobs worth £72m, split evenly between the public and commercial sector.

Skanska came out on top when civils were taken into consideration, thanks to a £33.8m contribution from its civils operation.

Over the course of the year, Balfour Beatty retained pole position with £2.9bn of work bagged from 734 contracts over 12 months.

Kier closed the gap slightly at number two, generating £2.3bn worth of work over the past 12 months from 488 contracts. Bovis Lend Lease, with £2.1bn from 26 contracts, came in at number three.

HBG Construction, with £2bn from 111 contracts, held onto its top five berth after successfully building on its strong third quarter performance. Morgan Sindall, with £1.6bn on the back of 472 contracts, was the final member of the 12-month top five.

Medium-sized contractors continue to snap at the heels of their larger rivals in the busy market. Wates and Rok both held onto their top 10 spots with £903m and £870m respectively. Meanwhile, ISG jumped six places to 14 with £582m worth of work.

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