Seven of the ten biggest construction companies working in the UK who have their headquarters elsewhere in the EU have placed bids on future construction projects worth more than a combined £9 billion according to industry analysts Barbour ABI, as the vote to stay or go from the EU now just under a month away.
Construction giants such as Amey, Bouygues & Skanska have long, established presences in the UK but have their central headquarter operations located in other EU countries. With major infrastructure projects such as HS2 in the upcoming pipeline for many in the industry, the Brexit situation has not stopped seven of these ten companies bid for a combined 71 projects as a main contractor, including five major HS2 projects, each worth over a billion pounds.
Between January 2015 and April 2016, the ten biggest construction companies in the UK (based on 2014/2015 turnover) with EU headquarters that excludes Britain, won a combined £7.3 billion worth of construction contracts in the UK, with the likes of Vinci Construction’s UK arm representing 30 per cent (£2bn) of its European turnover outside of its native France.
Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “These ten companies already have well established UK arms, however an EU referendum could bring about a change in the business environment, which may make these multi-national businesses potentially think about their future construction pipelines in the UK market.
“If the referendum is in favour of Brexit, there could be possible ramifications for these ten companies, alongside other EU based construction firms who work in the UK. It could also cause potential issues for big ticket projects such as HS2, who have EU based companies launching million pound bids to work on the development.”