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Fison (pictured) said Skanska would not be one of the companies bidding for the stadium, which was put out to tender by the Olympic Delivery Authority last week, because the company did not have a background in stadium building.

He said: 鈥淚 won鈥檛 build things that I don鈥檛 think we have the expertise to do. We will review other Olympic work as and when it emerges but I鈥檓 not going for trophy jobs.鈥�

Operating profit at Skanska UK rose 95% in the first half of the year to 拢19.5m because several of its major PFI projects closed within the period.

The biggest of these was the 拢1bn Barts and the London New Hospitals programme. This scheme, which at 拢1bn is the largest PFI healthcare scheme to come to the market so far, has finally reached financial close. Skanska is undertaking it with partners Innisfree and Equion.

Fison said that after these one-off gains were accounted for, underlying growth was solid within all three of the company鈥檚 business areas 鈥� construction, PFI/PPP, and civil engineering and specialists.

He said the company had benefited from a 鈥渉ot鈥� market in London, particularly because there were few companies that could take on large-scale projects.

Sixty per cent of Skanska UK鈥檚 work is in the public sector. Fison said he was looking at the energy market but no firm decisions had yet been made.

He said: 鈥淭hat market is too big for us to disregard but to tackle it effectively you have to look closely at who your partners are.鈥�

Skanska, which has been appointed main contractor on Heron Tower in London, reported a 27% increase in turnover to 拢424m, and an order book worth 拢2.2bn.

One of the company鈥檚 core sectors in the UK is education. With the present financial year it has reached financial close on the first of the government鈥檚 黑洞社区 Schools for the Future projects in Bristol, as well as a PPP schools scheme for Midlothian council in Scotland.