Willmott Dixon confirms £5bn pipeline in “good start to 2026”
Construction and interiors company Willmott Dixon has hailed a strong order book alongside a £5bn pipeline of work in its interim half-year results.
The Hertfordshire-headquartered firm saw underlying profit rise 13 per cent to £12.5m for the six months ended 30 June 2026, though turnover fell marginally to £545m.
It closed the period with a secured order book of £1.37bn alongside identified workload of more than £3.5bn.
The largest awards for the six-month span were the £92.6m College of North West London campus at Wembley for United Colleges Group and the £58.1m Mosslands secondary school for the Department for Education.
New work also spans housing, leisure, blue light and defence, including affordable homes at Princes Gate in Oldham for Muse (£27.7m), Bransbury Park Leisure Centre for Portsmouth City Council (£21.7m), Bath Fire Station for Avon Fire & Rescue (£16.2m), and defence work at Kendrew Barracks.
Summer handovers included the £100m Student Village for the University of Staffordshire, Greenheys in Manchester, the £60.0m new national home of UK Biobank, and four buildings for four police forces.
At Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, the £140m Emergency Care Building – the first Wave 1 project to start on site under the New Hospital Programme – was topped out less than 12 months after work began last year.
Graham Dundas, chief executive of Willmott Dixon, said: "We have made a good start to 2026.
"Underlying profit is 13 per cent ahead of last year and, with £127.3m of cash, no debt and record shareholders' funds, we are moving forward from a position of strength.
"Our priority this year was to convert our record level of preconstruction appointments into main contracts.
"By the end of July, we had secured £746.7m of new work – 89 per cent of it under main contract – which gives us secure and visible revenue for 2027 and beyond.
"Our priorities are clear – deliver the work we have won without compromising on quality or safety and keep converting preconstruction appointments into main contracts.
"As we approach our 175th anniversary, our financial strength, the breadth of our frameworks, and the calibre of our people give us a solid platform on which to move forward and mark this special occasion in our history."
