Laing O'Rourke takes half of all public sector work in July

With public sector spending accounting for 60% of all work let in July, Laing O’Rourke topped the CJ50 table having secured over half the value of all deals available in the sector.

• CJ50 contractors league for July
• Rolling 12-month contractor league table

The majority of its £1.2bn worth of work came from the Barnsley Building Schools for the Future programme. As part of the £1.1bn deal Laing O’Rourke will build nine advanced learning centres and two special schools.

It also secured two healthcare schemes; the £100m West Cumberland Hospital and £20m South Petherton Hospital, helping the firm leapfrog Carillion into third place in the rolling 12-month total.

The total work let in July was £800m down on May and June as infrastructure spend slowed and commercial work dropped to £183m - its lowest monthly total in over a decade - while the housing and industrial sectors showed no signs of life.

Costain came in second having secured £596m worth of work, almost all of which was in infrastructure. Like Laing O’Rourke, Costain managed to corner a valuable sector, also securing half of its spend. Its most significant win was a place on Severn Trent Water’s AMP 5 framework, worth £400m over its ten year life.

Although untouchable at the summit of the 12-month rolling total, Balfour Beatty slipped one place to third in July. It joined Costain as one of the few firms to register any major civils deals, having reached financial close on the £176m Carlisle Northern Development Route, a public private partnership concession contract for Cumbria County Council.

Moving up four places Morgan Sindall won 60 contracts worth £237m. Working in a joint venture with Hochtief it will deliver and £187m public service hub for Wigan, including leisure, health and learning facilities. It also secured a £71m factory for Airbus and the £37m Cardinal Heenan and Broughton Hall School in Liverpool.

Having not figured last month, Carillion came in at fifth with contracts worth £119m, the principle one being a £98m scheme to deliver HMP Low Moss in Scotland.

Elsewhere Wates took £86m worth of housing work, helping it secure sixth, while Interserve moved up to seventh having signed 14 contracts worth £93m.

Other noteworthy projects include a £67m college building in Westminster won by McLaren, Leadbitter’s £20m BSF scheme in Kent and the £32m Bexhill to Hastings link road secured by Vinci.