Iron & Steelworks, 1936-1974

From the interwar years on into the 1970s, the company constructed many of the major iron and steelworks which formed the backbone of the UK’s industrial might. Early commercial construction contracts included plants at Ebbw Vale, Port Talbot, Rotherham and Livingston. The company was also responsible for the Spencer steelworks at Llanwern which, when awarded, was the largest civil engineering contract ever let in Britain.

As the 1970s dawned, work began on the vast Anchor steelworks at Scunthorpe. The project involved the excavation of 7½ million cubic metres of earth and nearly two million tonnes of steel slag.
Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing Facility, Cumbria 1983–2017

With a continuous presence of more than 30 years at Sellafield, the company has been responsible for the building and civil engineering aspects of many of the plant’s fuel reprocessing and waste management facilities.

Contracts include the THORP Receipt and Storage Ponds, the Medium Active Solid Waste Encapsulation Plants Numbers 1 and 2, the Mixed Oxide Fuel Plant, the Drypac Plant, the Combined Heat and Power Plant and refurbishment of the Sealine Pipe Bridge.
St Enoch Centre, Glasgow 1985–1989

Contained within one of the largest glass-covered enclosed areas in Europe, this major Glasgow shopping centre included a department store and 50 shops arranged around an ice rink.
Canary Wharf and Westferry Circus, London 1988–1992

Canary Wharf Tower was one of the defining buildings of the 1990s. Rising 250 metres above London’s Docklands, the 50‑storey building has 32 passenger lifts and three basement levels. The company was responsible for the tower’s foundations, substructure and concrete works.
British Library, London 1994–1997

Standing alongside London’s famous St Pancras Station, the British Library is one of the world’s largest research facilities.

The national library of the UK, the building houses 14 million books along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items.

The company was responsible for the completion phase of the library which provided an additional three reading rooms, offices, book storage areas, service facilities and lifts.

One of the project’s most outstanding features is the King’s Library which houses a priceless collection of books and manuscripts collected by King George III.
M74 / A74(M) Millbank to Carlisle, Scotland 1996-Present

The company operates and maintains 90km of the M74 / A74(M) from Millbank to Carlisle under a 30‑year Design, Build, Finance and Operate concession that included the creation of a 28km dual three‑lane motorway.

The concession is one of a number of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects undertaken by the company, which also include the operation and maintenance of a 120km stretch of the A19 in the North East.

Siemens Wafer Fabrication Plant, Newcastle upon Tyne 1996–1998

The Siemens wafer fabrication plant in Newcastle was one of the largest facilities of its kind ever constructed in Europe. The plant was ready for equipment installation just one year and six days after work commenced. The facility is one of a number of large tech manufacturing plants constructed during the 1990s for many of the leading names in the microprocessor industry.

Contracts included expansion of the NEC wafer fabrication facility at Livingston which was completed in 13 months. The project was more than twice the size of any equivalent development previously delivered in the UK. The company also built the Fujitsu Microelectronics Facility in County Durham and completed the third phase of Shin‑Etsu Handotai Europe’s Livingston silicon wafer plant.

In addition, we have undertaken many contracts for Motorola at its plants in South Queensferry and East Kilbride as well as projects for companies including Atmel, Lexmark and Filtronics.

Jubilee line extension Contracts 107 and 110, London 1994 -1998

As part of the Jubilee Line extension the company constructed North Greenwich Station and drove 4,900m of tunnel between Canada Water and Canning Town.

Totally immersed in saturated ground on a former gasworks site, North Greenwich Station is 20m wide, 20m deep and 358m long. One of the largest stations on the Jubilee Line, today it is used by the millions of music and sports fans who flock to the O2 Arena every year.
Hampden Park, Glasgow 1997–1999

This redevelopment project at Scotland’s national stadium continued our involvement in the ongoing development of modern sporting stadia.

Provision of new South and West stands at Hampden Park completed the reinstatement of the home of Scottish football, the North and East stands having been rebuilt by the company under a previous contract. The South Stand was the largest of its type at any sports ground in the UK, containing a wide range of facilities including a museum of football.
Millennium Dome, London 1997–1999

Instantly recognisable, the Millennium Dome was designed and built to an immovable deadline. The company worked as construction manager on the venue which provided the focal point of the country’s Millennium celebrations.

The largest structure of its type in the world, the Dome covers 20 acres and stands as high as Nelson’s Column. The main roof structure is formed from a vast net made up of 72km of steel cables suspended from a dozen 100m high masts.

In 2007, the company were tasked with developing the 23,000 seat O2 Arena and its facilities inside the Millennium Dome.

Find out more