Willmott Dixon is aiming to build its construction division into a £1.5bn business, with defence and healthcare expected to lead expansion from turnover of £1.03bn last year. The contractor said it had secured £747m of new work by the end of July—nearly £750m—with 89% of that work under main contract, giving it secure and visible revenue for 2027 and beyond. The company expects the revenue growth to begin in 2027.
Chief executive Graham Dundas said the priority for the year had been converting a record level of preconstruction appointments into main contracts. The conversion left the group with a £1.37bn secured order book and more than £3.5bn of identified workload, taking the total pipeline to around £5bn. The figures separate work already secured from the wider pool of identified opportunities.
Profit rises as revenue edges down
In the six months to June, group pre-tax profit rose 15% to £11.5m. Revenue slipped to £545m from £548m as major starts took time to come through. Willmott Dixon said the first-half performance laid the foundations for revenue growth from 2027.
Education produced the largest contract wins, led by the £93m College of North West London campus at Wembley and the £58m Mosslands secondary school. Other secured jobs 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 mix spans education, housing, leisure and emergency-service facilities. The education contracts are the largest named in the update.
Frameworks remain the main engine of orders, generating around 90% of new work. The group also strengthened its cash position to £127m, with no debt and record shareholders' funds of £190m.
Cost pressure persists
Dundas warned that cost pressures were still squeezing customers and suppliers. He said global conflicts continued to push up energy, fuel and material costs, and that financial resilience and a proven delivery record mattered more than ever when customers chose who to work with. The group reported the cash, debt and shareholders' funds figures alongside that warning.
The £1.5bn ambition is for the construction division, which generated £1.03bn last year. Defence and healthcare are expected to spearhead the expansion, while education has already supplied the largest individual wins in the current order intake.
The relaunched Willmott Dixon Developments arm is also hunting growth through public sector regeneration partnerships. Its most recent scheme is the £100m Baytree Shopping Centre project in Brentwood, secured with Milligan. The group is seeking regeneration work alongside its contracting pipeline.