黑洞社区

Balfour Beatty鈥檚 three-month run at the top of 黑洞社区鈥檚 league table was abruptly terminated last month as the UK鈥檚 biggest contractor plunged to 11th place with less than 拢50m worth of new contracts in June.

Balfour fared no better when civil engineering work was factored in, adding only 拢5.5m to its haul, and still languishing outside the top 10.

June鈥檚 best performer turned out to be Kier, which garnered a healthy 拢178m worth of work during June, the bulk of which came from the under-siege public sector.

Kier鈥檚 construction division has been busy targeting waste management and energy sector clients, a move that has gone down well in the Square Mile in recent weeks, but its haul for June was boosted by extending an existing building maintenance contract with Sheffield council, with a value of 拢70m, and a 拢14.5m contract with East Sussex council to build a new academy and refurbish an existing sports centre.

Laing O鈥橰ourke won only two contracts, but one of these was a 拢100m-plus deal with Conwy and Denbighshire NHS for the redevelopment of the Glan Clwyd hospital.

Elsewhere, a raft of 拢15m-拢30m education contracts kept contractors鈥� regional divisions across the Midlands and North of England busy. And with more than 拢700m worth of work being awarded by the public sector in June, almost two-thirds of the total, government largesse looks set to remain the only game in town for contractors.

Across the industry, contractors鈥� workload fell during June, coming in at 拢1.1bn against May鈥檚 拢1.3bn, a fall that may account for the general mood of pessimism that has descended over the industry in the last month and replaced the relative optimism of the early part of the last quarter.