Which are the best construction companies to work for in the UK?

This article will look at some of the top construction companies in the UK and delve into company turnover and growth, career prospects, their construction projects, and their commitment to environmental issues, all reasons as to why they are considered to be at the apex of the UK construction industry.

Keller plc

Keller plc are a UK based construction company established in 1860. But not until the 1970’s did they take their current name. Keller is a multinational company and has operations across the globe. The company’s revenue in 2020 was £2062.50 million, down from the previous 3 years, but hardly an astonishing downturn, as nearly all companies and construction industry sectors suffered economic downturns that year. A great company is never down for long however, and their forecast for 2022 is back on track for company growth with an estimated £2,173 million.

Keller own a number of subsidiaries including, Cyntech, GEO-Instruments, Suncoast Post-Tension, Moretrench Industrial and Phi Group, with 9,000 employees across the globe. Keller recognise their duty of care to all employees ensuring, safety, diversity and employee’s rights throughout the business.

Keller have been given lucrative contracts around the world such as constructing the foundations works at the Cairns Convention Centre in Australia and rock fissure grouting, a highly specialised procedure, which they carried out in Singapore on a deep tunnel sewerage system, with the successful outcome leading to future projects being awarded to the company. The awarding of future projects for a job well done is a fine example of how to maintain a prosperous construction business.

Keller has many career paths open and encourage prospective employees to look for their local recruitment offices as construction recruitment is performed locally. Keller also provide a construction Project Manager Recruitment Academy at a global level for anyone looking to be a Project Manager.

Morgan Sindall Group plc

Morgan Sindall’s headquarters are in London and they are a relatively new construction company founded in 1977. As with Keller they also suffered a downturn in 2020, but their 2021 revenue is higher than 2019 at £3212.8 million. Although a national based UK company, they still employ a hefty 6,900 people making them a key player in construction industry jobs. They also recognise their duty of care not only to their staff, but to the environment with waste reduction since 2010 at 30% and their carbon reduction at 73% also since 2010.

Morgan Sindall’s projects include, the Slough Urban renewal, the redevelopment of Brixton’s civic areas, with a brand new £45M building for civic councillors, and with the expansion of Whitechapel Station on the London Underground and Overground opened summer 2021 it is obvious Morgan Sindall are a national stalwart of construction companies in UK. Morgan Sindall have an excellent career program, whether you are starting a job in construction and looking for a graduate programme or an apprenticeship, or you’re an Estimator or Quantity Surveyor looking for something different, Morgan Sindall are not short of construction careers.    

Balfour Beatty

No matter which way you turn in construction, the name Balfour Beatty pops up. With about 26,000 employees on its books, this multinational giant in the construction sectors of business, has been at the top of the construction industry sectors biggest companies for many years. It’s annual latest annual revenue is £8593 and is one of only a few construction companies that reported an increase in 2020 by 2.2% from the previous year’s turnover report. As Balfour Beatty is only one of the few with a growth of revenue over the past couple of years within the construction sectors, they must be doing something right, right? With operations in Europe, North America and Asia this company always has major projects underway.

At home there is the joint venture with the previous entry Morgan Sindall, the Whitechapel Station project. They’re also one of the many contractors selected for the HS2 railway. This high speed railway will connect London to Birmingham and onto Manchester and Leeds, making for high speed train connections from the capital to the North. Away from home Balfour Beatty are working on two road projects in Texas. A $666 million project and a second $700 million both in the Dallas area. The projects involve reconstruction and road widening with the former due for opening in 2022.

Concerning careers, Balfour Beatty have a whole host of opportunities ranging from Quantity Surveyor jobs to graduate civil engineering careers and everything else. Because of Balfour Beatty’s size, there is always support and opportunities to progress in your construction career path.

UK Construction Recruitment Outlook

These three companies are all top of the UK construction industry sectors. They all have healthy turnovers, are conscientious of their duty of care to both their employees and the environment, and offer lots of scope for not only starting a construction career path, but also for the more experienced looking to extend and build on their construction careers. A combination of strong turnover, fruitful projects, consideration for employees and an environmentally friendly outlook all combine to designate a construction company a ‘Best Construction Company to Work for’ and confirm a fertile future for construction companies in UK.

Maxim construction recruitment consultants are always on hand to answer questions on careers and jobs within the construction industry.

Kelvin Brown
Maxim Recruitment Intern