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June proved to be a good month for privately owned firms, as a trio of them dominated the top three places in the barometer.

Laing O鈥橰ourke leaped into pole position after bagging a whopping 拢580m worth of work last month, some distance ahead of Ardmore on 拢265m and Apollo on 拢233m.

For all the gloom surrounding the bombed-out housing sector, there appears to be plenty of opportunity among the debris, provided you look for it in the social housing sector. A&A snapped up housing contracts from the public sector, showing that this is a good foxhole to be in as the credit crunch continues.

Ardmore is in negotiations over a 拢265m contract to construct a mixed-use development in Stratford, east London, for social housing developer Genesis Housing Group. The scheme will include a 48-storey residential tower alongside a 150-bedroom four-star hotel close to the 2012 Olympic site.

Meanwhile, Apollo, the largest privately owned provider of social housing refurbishment services in the UK, won a 拢207m contract to carry out improvements to council homes in the London borough of Camden.

Laing O鈥橰ourke jumped from 17 in May to become the top earner in June on the back of two commercial contracts. Last month鈥檚 top dogs, Sir Robert McAlpine and HBG suffered the most during June. McAlpine plunged to 17 in the table, with 拢40m worth of work, while HBG tumbled to 15 on 拢42m.

Over the year, Laing O鈥橰ourke remains in second place behind Balfour Beatty. Balfour has bagged contracts worth 拢3.7bn over the past 12 months; June brought it public sector work in the shape of Islington council鈥檚 拢75m 好色先生TV Schools for the Future deal.

Laing O鈥橰ourke has trousered 拢3.4bn over the same 12-month period. Third-placed Kier, whose exposure to the housebuilding sector continues to drag down its share price, has won work to the value of 拢2.3bn and so keeps just ahead of European giant HBG.

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