Bam Construction suffers £40m loss after Co-op Live problems 

Bam Construction made a loss of more than £40m last year after the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester went at least £85m over budget. 

A full-year results announcement, published this morning (13 February) by Netherlands-based parent firm Royal Bam, show the group’s UK construction business made a loss of €48.3m (£40.3m) before interest, tax, appreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2024.

Royal Bam blamed “project delays and supply chain issues” as well as “a loss for Co-op Live”. 

The cost of completing the Co-op Live job spiralled from £365m to at least £400m, its developer Oak View Group said in May.

Oak View chief executive Tim Liweke added at the time that Bam “lost a lot of money on the job” but had been “honourable” and “taken it on the chin”. 

Bam Construction UK saw its revenue fall 14 per cent from €1.05bn to €905m  last year, which Royal Bam said was due to “the more challenging market circumstances” in the sector. 

However, Royal Bam reported an increase in revenue and profit in its UK civil engineering division – which it described as the “main” driver behind the 58 per cent increase in its UK and Ireland order book to €7.2bn.  

Bam turned over €1.57bn from UK civil engineering operations, generating EBITDA of €95.5 – with these figures up by 15 and 24 per cent respectively on the previous year. 

Bam said its key contract wins in the UK included deals to design and build 140 miles of track for HS2 in a joint venture with Ferrovial; carry out improvements at Luton Airport; and rebuild the RAAC-affected St Leonard’s Catholic School. 

It said it expected the UK construction market to grow, with the government looking to invest in energy and already negotiating with developers of small modular nuclear reactors – including Rolls Royce, which Bam is working with. 

Across the group, Royal Bam reported revenue growth of 3 per cent to €6.5bn (£5.42bn), with EBITDA of €333m (£277m). 

Ruud Joosten, chief executive of Royal Bam Group, said: “Nearly all of Bam’s activities performed strongly, highlighting the resilience and effectiveness of our business model.

“However, project delays, cost overruns and supply chain disruptions at school projects in Denmark and various construction projects in the UK did weigh on EBITDA growth.”