Strabag UK is set to prioritise new construction tenders for 2024 and 2025, signalling a strategic shift in their operations.
- In 2023, Strabag UK focused heavily on increasing its capacity to prequalify for and tender infrastructure projects.
- Their plans are powered by the addition of former Buckingham Group leaders, indicating aggressive growth tactics.
- Despite a temporary pause in HS2 tunnel work, Strabag is poised to expand through strategic project acquisitions.
- Strabag UK has shown impressive financial resilience, turning previous losses into a significant profit, supported by an expanded workforce.
Strabag UK has articulated a clear strategy to pursue new construction tenders vigorously in the years 2024 and 2025. This shift signifies a departure from their traditional focus on leveraging existing project backlogs, as the firm aims to increase its footprint in the infrastructure sector.
The company has committed substantial managerial and staff resources to prequalify for and secure infrastructure projects, an unusual move for a newcomer in the construction market. This development followed the integration of senior personnel from the defunct Buckingham Group, which has boosted Strabag’s strategic capabilities significantly.
Despite the halting of the HS2 tunnel construction in the SCS joint venture, Andrew Dixon, joint managing director, confirmed that Strabag UK is strategically positioned for growth. The firm is reportedly targeting carefully chosen project acquisitions that promise balanced risk and stable returns.
Financially, Strabag UK has demonstrated remarkable resilience by more than doubling its turnover in 2023 to £135.1 million. This financial health has enabled the company to reverse a previous loss of £22.3 million, closing the year with a pre-tax profit of £15.9 million. The workforce expansion has complemented this fiscal growth, with their headcount nearly doubling.
Further, the company has embarked on significant capital investment, exemplified by the launch of a new concrete factory in Hartlepool, which currently fulfils orders for HS2 tunnel segments. Dixon anticipates stable demand in the UK construction industry, with growth forecast from early 2025, contingent on economic factors such as inflation control and interest rate stability.
Strabag UK is decisively preparing to expand its role within the UK construction industry for the near future.
