Willmott Dixon is aiming to grow its construction division into a £1.5bn business, after securing £747m of new work in the first half of the year and converting a record level of preconstruction appointments into main contracts.
The contractor said the work booked by the end of July, 89% of it under main contract, gave it secure and visible revenue for 2027 and beyond. Its construction division is targeting growth from £1.03bn of turnover last year, with defence and healthcare expected to lead the expansion.
Chief executive Graham Dundas said the priority for the year had been to turn preconstruction appointments into main contracts. The company presented the £747m of secured work as the foundation for revenue growth from 2027.
Profit, order book and pipeline
Group pre-tax profit rose 15% to £11.5m in the six months to June. Revenue edged down to £545m from £548m, which the company attributed to major starts taking time to come through.
Willmott Dixon now has a £1.37bn secured order book and more than £3.5bn of identified workload. Together, the company said, these give a total pipeline of around £5bn.
The figures set out both the scale of the opportunity and the work still needed to convert it into revenue. The £1.5bn construction target is a forward aim, not the current turnover level; the division reported £1.03bn last year.
Education leads contract wins
Education produced the largest contract wins. These were led by the £93m College of North West London campus at Wembley and the £58m Mosslands secondary school.
Other schemes include £28m of affordable homes at Princes Gate in Oldham for Muse, the £22m Bransbury Park Leisure Centre in Portsmouth and the £16m Bath Fire Station. The spread of work covers education, housing, leisure and emergency services.
Frameworks remain the main source of orders, generating around 90% of new work. The group also reported a stronger cash position of £127m, no debt and record shareholders' funds of £190m.
Cost pressures and regeneration
Dundas warned that cost pressures were still affecting customers and suppliers. He said global conflicts continued to push up energy, fuel and material costs, adding that financial resilience and a proven delivery record mattered more than ever when customers choose who to work with.
The relaunched Willmott Dixon Developments arm is also seeking growth through public sector regeneration partnerships. Its most recent scheme is the £100m Baytree Shopping Centre project in Brentwood with Milligan.