Morgan Sindall has claimed first place in the UK contractors’ league for November, powered by a major City of London office fit-out and a large science scheme in Manchester. The group secured 16 contracts worth a combined £352.8m during the month, according to Glenigan, pushing it almost £100m ahead of its nearest rival and improving on its second-place finish in October.
The standout win was a £130m fit-out at 2 Aldermanbury Square for international law firm Clifford Chance, delivered by Morgan Sindall’s fit-out specialist Overbury. The 97,500 square metre building, originally constructed by Bovis, has achieved an Outstanding BREEAM rating and a 36 per cent reduction in embodied carbon compared with the original design.
Morgan Sindall’s construction arm also landed a £100m science and innovation facility in Manchester’s knowledge quarter. Known as Plus Ultra Manchester and being developed for Kadans Science Partner, the all-electric building is targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating and is due to complete in early 2028 as part of one of Europe’s largest clinical academic campuses.
Kier returned to form in November, taking second place in the monthly rankings with three contracts totalling £258.1m. Its largest award was a £245.7m package under the Ministry of Justice’s Contingency Response Programme, which supports the department’s plan to deliver 20,000 additional prison places and maintain its existing estate.
Mace secured third position after being confirmed as main contractor on a £200m, 19-storey office scheme above the canalside entrance to Paddington station. The project, providing 21,830 square metres of office space, is scheduled to complete in the third quarter of 2028 and follows Mace’s appointment as preferred bidder in July.
Bowmer & Kirkland re-entered the top 10 in fifth place after a two-month absence, with five contracts worth £137m. Its largest job was the £68.6m Reach Academy project in Feltham, a new school for 1,480 pupils aged two to 18 that aims to cut onsite carbon emissions by more than 75 per cent and will replace existing Ministry of Defence buildings on the site.
Willmott Dixon also returned to the upper ranks, taking ninth place with 11 contracts totalling £129.1m. Its biggest win was a £38m “comprehensive redevelopment” of Outwood Academy Kirkby in Nottinghamshire, where a 1970s-era school will be replaced with a new campus for 900 pupils plus a sixth form, powered by air source heat pumps and solar panels under a Department for Education commission.
The November top 10 by value comprised: Morgan Sindall (16 projects, £352.8m), Kier (3, £258.1m), Mace (2, £236.1m), Domis (1, £185.0m), Bowmer & Kirkland (5, £137.0m), Caddick (3, £134.0m), Murphy (2, £132.0m), Winvic (2, £130.5m), Willmott Dixon (11, £129.1m) and Galliford Try (12, £125.3m).
On a rolling 12‑month basis to the end of November, Strabag held onto first place in the annual league for the fourth consecutive month. It secured six contracts worth £2.97bn, the bulk of which – £2.9bn – relates to a major civils project to upgrade the Haweswater Aqueduct, leaving it £320m ahead of second-placed Kier.
Morgan Sindall’s strong November performance also lifted it one place to third in the annual rankings, with 253 projects totalling £2.43bn over the year. The full annual top 10 is: Strabag (6 projects, £2,968.0m), Kier (88, £2,640.4m), Morgan Sindall (253, £2,433.2m), Royal Bam (39, £2,238.1m), Mace (17, £2,094.4m), Bowmer & Kirkland (36, £1,595.5m), Laing O’Rourke (9, £1,273.3m), Graham (25, £1,163.2m), Wates (52, £1,141.6m) and Bovis Construction (Europe) (9, £1,109.0m).
Bovis was the only new entrant to the rolling annual table, moving into the top 10 after missing out the previous month. Over the 12 months to November it signed nine contracts with a combined value of £1.11bn.
