UK structural steel group Severfield (SFR) disclosed data centre wins across the UK and Europe in an AGM trading update on 29 July 2026, as its shares rallied roughly 40% over six weeks from a low of 26.80p. The order book reached £534m as of 1 July 2026, up from £507m on 1 June 2026, according to the Severfield AGM Trading Update.
Data Centre Wins Drive Order Book Recovery
Of the £534m order book, £375m is scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months. The data centre project wins, spanning both the UK and European markets, have been a material driver of that growth.
The recovery in the book is clear when set against earlier readings. As of 1 March 2026, the UK and Europe order book stood at £438m, down from £479m at the start of January 2026, per the full-year trading update published by the London Stock Exchange on 30 March 2026. By the time Severfield announced its full-year results on 23 June 2026, the UK and Europe order book had fallen further to £287m, before the subsequent data centre project awards pushed the aggregate figure back to £534m.
The full-year results, for the financial year ended 28 March 2026, were accompanied by a strategy update and followed a refinancing of the group’s banking facilities, announced on 11 June 2026. Details of that refinancing were published on the London Stock Exchange.
Transition Year Ahead as Legacy Contracts Weigh on First Half
Management reiterated at the AGM that FY27 will remain a transition year. First-half profitability is expected to continue being affected by legacy lower-margin contracts, according to Yahoo Finance reporting on the update.
The shares lost 42% over the prior financial year, a decline that preceded the current recovery. At 26.80p six weeks ago the stock was attracting buyers on the combination of the order book position, the renewed banking facilities, and the prospect of margin normalisation as lower-margin legacy work rolls off.
As of 12 August 2026 at 16:35 BST, Fidelity quoted SFR at a sell price of 37.50p and a buy price of 38.60p.
The near-term shape of the recovery remains contingent on how quickly legacy contracts run off and whether the data centre pipeline continues to convert. Investors will be watching the half-year results for evidence that first-half margins are stabilising ahead of the second-half improvement management has signalled.
