The UK's largest contractors came through eight of the most disrupted years the industry has known larger, more productive and better paid, with margin at the top of its range. This review sets out turnover, margin, headcount and pay across eight editions of the Construction News CN100, from 2018 to 2025: 161 contractors and 816 company-years in all.
Revenue: a quarter larger on the same firms
Turnover across a consistent group of 54 contractors that features in every edition rose 24.4%, from £48.1bn to £59.8bn, ahead of the 21.2% growth across the whole list. The only fall came in the COVID downturn and it was recovered within two editions. Like-for-like growth has run at 11.9%, 8.2% and 6.5% in the three latest editions, with headcount rising alongside it, so new roles are being created against work already won.
Margin: a series high, earned below the top ten
Aggregate pre-tax margin reached 2.44% in the 2025 edition, the highest of the eight, and 86 of the 100 reported a profit. Ranks 11 to 25 run at 3.24% and ranks 51 to 100 at 3.05%, against 2.19% for the ten largest. Within the 11 to 25 band, six contractors above 5%, led by Hill Holdings at 8.5% and Murphy Group at 6.67%, earn three-quarters of the band's profit.
People and pay: output and pay rising together
Turnover per employee rose 30.1% to £404,400 and average cost per head rose 32.5% to £62,936, so staff cost has held between 15% and 16% of turnover in every edition. Of the £93,600 added per employee, £15,400 went on pay and £5,200 to pre-tax profit, so the pay rises have not come out of margin. The two size bands with the strongest margins spend the least of their turnover on staff, and ranks 11 to 25 do so while paying within £100 a head of the top ten.
What is in the report
Eighteen pages in three chapters, each closing with its own conclusions, together with the like-for-like growth series, all fifteen contractors ranked 11 to 25 and the method behind every figure. All figures are nominal, and cost per head is derived from filed staff costs rather than being a salary.