Public sector boosts contractors鈥� workload, but performance is still worse than same period last year

The value of work brought in by the top 10 contractors increased by 23% from April to May, as the sector began to regain some form.

The leading contractors brought in 拢1.37bn worth of work last month, up from 拢1.06bn the previous month.

But the amount won was considerably down on this time last year, when the top 10 bagged 拢1.78bn worth of contracts.

A brace of huge local council deals saw Balfour Beatty top the contractor table for the third month in a row.

The first was a 拢230m street lighting contract for Cambridgeshire council, following a 拢203m deal to install 50,000 signs for the same council the previous month. The other was a 拢100m highways maintenance contract for Warwickshire council.

The contractor鈥檚 haul of 73 wins - worth 拢412m - eclipsed its nearest rivals, with a total value of almost three times that of second-placed Kier, which won 41 contracts worth 拢171m.

Laing O鈥橰ourke returned to the top 10 after a three-month absence, with a couple of big wins, including a 拢150m deal to build a factory for Arla Foods in Aylesbury.

Despite talk of public sector cuts starting to bite, the proportion of work from the public sector actually rose last month - from 30% in April to just over half in May.

A greater number of commercial wins also contributed to the improved performance in May, with the value of wins up 35% to 拢202m, from 拢150m the previous month.

 

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