From private equity-backed contractors to council developers and a firm that saw its public listing set back a few steps in 2022, Keith Cooper reveals CN’s companies to watch in 2023
Altrad
Altrad’s mission to expand stepped up a gear in 2022 – and it looks set to continue into 2023.
Led by chief executive Ran Oren (pictured), it boosted its revenues by £1.2bn between January and September, with acquisitions including Muehlhan’s oil and gas business in Denmark and the UK, and service providers Doosan Babcock and Sparrows Group.
It also worked to integrate other recent acquisitions, including former Interserve subsidiary RMD Kwikform.
While revenues across its UK division fell by 2 per cent overall, they rose 11 per cent in scaffolding arm Trad Group, thanks to the strong performance of its rental business.
Severfield
Severfield is fast becoming the unassailable titan of the steel specialist sector.
In 2022 it again broke its own revenue record, bringing in more than £403m, almost double that of its closest competitor, William Hare. This 11 per cent revenue increase follows four successive years of growth.
The North Yorkshire based company has positioned itself for further growth by streamlining operations into three main divisions: commercial and industrial, nuclear and infrastructure, and products and processing.
Chief executive Alan Dunsmore predicted a strong 2023 when the firm published its accounts in June, pointing to the company’s order books of £486m in the UK and Europe, which is a 24 per cent increase on the £393m it booked in the previous year.
Laing O’Rourke
Laing O’Rourke’s path to becoming a publicly listed company took an unexpected twist in 2022 when its chief executive Ray O‘Rourke ditched plans to make way for his appointed successor after the planned flotation in 2024.
Ray O’Rourke announced plans to stay on for two more years as the firm saw its global profit heavily slashed by the ongoing fallout from a historic cancelled contract in Australia.
The £69.6m hit denied the firm a place in the £3bn-plus revenue club as it posted £2.9bn for 2021/22.
Laing O’Rourke insists the IPO is “not off the table” and expects the financial fallout from the historic job to be settled in 2023.
Britishvolt
The financial challenges facing the client behind the planned £3.8bn Northumberland gigafactory are likely to hit the headlines again in 2023.
Last year was tough for the firm. There were reports of the project being on life support, emergency talks with investors and even a complete buyout as the ultimate solution for its financial woes.
Scrutiny of the two year old project is intense. Contractor ISG’s work on site was paused in August and Britishvolt reportedly came close to filing for administration in October but survived as investment was found. This was only a short-term fix and a buyer is being sought.
Amey
The pressure is on at the infrastructure and engineering company following its £400m sale to a consortium, with One Equity Partners acquiring Amey from Spanish owner Ferrovial in October.
Equity firms expect big returns on investments when selling their purchases on. A 25 per cent internal rate of return is typically expected, according to DRS Bond Management director Chris Davies.
This would mean a sale valuation for Amey of £781m – “a punchy price to say the least”, Davies told Construction News in October. How Amey gets there amid a recession and rising inflation could be the stuff of legends.
Clarison Group
Amey might take some comfort from the success of Clarison Group in boosting its value for its private equity owner Elaghmore.
The group was formed from four facade and architectural glazing companies to compete with larger European based firms.
Its latest published accounts show impressive growth, more than doubling turnover to £75.53m in the 12 months to December 2020 compared with £30.66m the year before. Pre-tax profit rose by 63 per cent over the same period, from £800,000 to £1.3m.
Outgoing chief executive Mark Oliver (pictured) told Construction News he expects turnover in 2022 to outstrip those posted to date.
Equans
Equans is set to become the largest business in the Bouygues Group after it merges with the French multinational’s energies and services arm in January.
Bouygues confirmed it would keep the Equans name in an October statement regarding the completion of the acquisition for a final purchase price of €6.1bn (£5.4bn). The transaction increases the group’s sales from €38bn (£33.4bn) to €51bn (£44.8bn) and headcount to some 200,000 in more than 80 countries. The total sales for the merged Equans part of the business will be €17bn (£14.9bn) alone.
The acquisition comes after a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority, which had raised concerns about a bid for an HS2 package, which Equans then withdrew from. The watchdog gave the move the green light in late November.
Great British Railways
The government’s grand plan to create a new rail infrastructure agency hit the proverbial buffers in 2022, but there remains some hope that chief executive Andrew Haines (pictured) will get it back on track.
The then transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan admitted to MPs on the Transport Committee that the formation of Great British Railways had been “paused” – just days before she was replaced by Mark Harper when Rishi Sunak became prime minister.
Industry support for the new agency is generally positive, but transport union TSSA says the delay means the plan has been “junked”.
Amid so many other competing priorities on its plate, it will be interesting to see whether the government continues with its rail reform plans in 2023 or grants Network Rail a reprieve.
Be First
The latest accounts published in February show that 2020/21 was Barking & Dagenham’s regeneration arm’s best year yet, after a hike in revenue and profits let it pay its local authority parent its first-ever dividend of £6m.
While some of the many council-owned housing companies have faltered or failed, like Homes for Lambeth and Croydon’s Brick by Brick, this east London vehicle has almost doubled its headcount to 100 staff since 55 were transferred from its authority parent in October 2017.
Unlike many of its counterparts, Be First behaves more like a mini development company, even kicking off the process for the borough’s new Eastbrook film studio.
With a key role in the development of 400 hectares of land, plans for 50,000 new homes and a £1.3bn housing renewal programme, Be First’s future looks set to be bright.
TSL Projects
TSL Projects stormed up the CN100 2022 list of largest contractors based on turnover thanks to a 62.3 per cent revenue rise. The firm posted £565.2m in revenue in the 12 months to December 2021 compared with £348m in the 17 months of the previous year.
2022’s achievements include the construction of its first net-zero building, a contract to build a data centre in Germany for US real estate investor Vantage, and the completion of a 456,000 square foot food manufacturing facility in Peterborough for McCormick. While sticking to its core product in food construction, the firm is also exploring the pharmaceutical, data centre and high-tech markets.
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CN Staff