Laing O'Rourke
Private limited company | |
Industry | Construction, Civil Engineering |
Founded | 1978 |
Headquarters | Dartford, United Kingdom |
Key people |
Ray O'Rourke KBE (Chairman) Anna Stewart (Group Chief Executive) |
Revenue | £3,127.4 million (2014/15)[1] |
£75.7 million (2014/15)[1] | |
£20.1 million (2014/15)[1] | |
Number of employees | 15,088 (2014/15)[1] |
Website | www.laingorourke.com |
Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1978 by Ray O'Rourke. It is the largest privately owned construction company in the UK.[2]
History
The company was founded by Ray O'Rourke in 1978. It was originally based in east London and was known as R. O'Rourke & Son.[3]
In 2001 R. O'Rourke bought Laing Construction from John Laing plc for £1. Laing's construction business had been making significant losses, in part due to additional costs on the Cardiff Millennium Stadium project. The name of the company was changed to Laing O'Rourke.[4]
In 2004 the company acquired Crown House Engineering, a mechanical & electrical engineering business, from Carillion.[5]
Laing O'Rourke went on to expand its operations in Australia in 2006 when it acquired Barclay Mowlem, also from Carillion.[6]
On 11 January 2016 Laing O'Rourke announced that it had begun the formal sale process of selling its Australian business. This was a result of multiple unsolicited offers and a desire to invest more heavily in the company's UK operations.[7]
Operations
Laing O'Rourke has operations in two major geographic hubs, Europe and Australia. European operations span Abu Dhabi, Canada, Dubai and the United Kingdom. Australian operations cover Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and South East Asia [8] The company operates in building construction, infrastructure construction, investment & development, modular manufacturing, engineering expertise and support services.[9] Its projects span a range of sectors including, building, transport, power, water & utilities, mining & natural resources and oil & gas .[10]
Major projects
Major projects involving the Company have included;
- Ascot Racecourse, completed in 2007[11]
- London Heathrow Terminal 5, London, UK, completed in 2008[12]
- Darwin Convention Centre, Northern Territory, Australia, completed in 2008[13]
- Kwinana Power Station, Western Australia, completed in 2008[14]
- Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, UAE, completed in 2009[15]
- Darling Downs Power Station, Queensland, Australia, completed in 2010[16]
- One Hyde Park, London, completed in 2011[17]
- London Gateway Port, London, completed in 2013 [18]
- The Leadenhall Building at 122 Leadenhall Street, London, completed in 2014[19]
- London Heathrow Terminal 2, completed in 2014[20]
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, due for completion 2016[21]
- Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Canada, due for completion 2016[22]
- Redevelopment of the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, due for completion in 2017[23]
- Redevelopment of Bond Street Station due for completion in 2017[24]
- Al Raha Beach, Abu Dhabi, UAE, due for completion in 2018[25]
- Redevelopment of the Glan Clwyd Hospital due for completion in 2018[26]
- Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, due for completion circa 2021[27]
- Redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, due for completion in 2024[28]
Controversies
Laing O'Rourke and its 2004 acquisition, Crown House, were revealed as subscribers to the UK's Consulting Association, exposed in 2009 for operating an illegal construction industry blacklist. Laing O'Rourke was later one of eight businesses involved in the 2014 launch of the Construction Workers Compensation Scheme,[29] condemned as a "PR stunt" by the GMB union, and described by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee as an "an act of bad faith".[30]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Laing O’Rourke. "Annual Review 2015" (PDF). Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ↑ Top 100 construction Companies The Construction Index
- ↑ Laing O'Rourke: History
- ↑ Laing shares half in value BBC News, 27 September 2001.
- ↑ Laing O'Rourke agrees to £17m deal to buy out Crown House Contract Journal, 19 May 2004
- ↑ Carillion sells Barclay Mowlem to Laing O'Rourke Australia for £30m Contract Journal, 3 July 2006
- ↑ Group Announcement: Potential divestment of Australian business Laing O'Rourke, 11 January 2016
- ↑ "Where We Work". Laing O’Rourke. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ "What We Do". Laing O’Rourke. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ "Our Sectors". Laing O’Rourke. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Ascot wins its race to redevelop the course The Times, 11 June 2006
- ↑ Queen opens new Heathrow terminal BBC, 14 March 2008
- ↑ Darwin Convention Centre
- ↑ IAQ Handbook
- ↑ UK giant Laing O'Rourke denies ME withdrawal Construction Weekly, 10 June 2010
- ↑ What next for Laing O'Rourke? Britain's most secretive contractor Building, 5 November 2010
- ↑ "One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge Flats". e-architect. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- ↑ Laing O’Rourke begins London Gateway dredging NCE, 17 March 2010
- ↑ O’Rourke to start Cheesegrater next month Construction Enquirer, 2 August 2011
- ↑ Laing O'Rourke/Ferrovial sign £800m Terminal 2 deal CN Plus, 15 March 2010
- ↑ O’Rourke wins prized £350m superlab contract Construction Enquirer, 2 March 2011
- ↑ O’Rourke signs £1.27bn deal for Canadian hospital Construction Enquiror, 25 February 2011
- ↑ "Laing O'Rourke and Ryder appointed to build £200m Dumfries Royal Infirmary". Urban Realm. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ↑ "TfL awards £300M Bond Street contract to Costain/Laing O'Rourke JV". New Civil Engineer. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ↑ Aldar Al Raha Beach sees first contract Arabian Business, 16 July 2011
- ↑ "Glan Clwyd Hospital Redevelopment". Premier Construction News. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ↑ Laing O'Rourke/Bouygues lands £2bn Hinkley nuclear prize Construction News, 19 June 2012
- ↑ "O'Rourke starts work on £420m Brighton hospital". Construction Enquirer. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ↑ "Construction blacklist compensation scheme opens". BBC News: Business. BBC. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ "Scottish Affairs - Seventh Report Blacklisting in Employment: Final Report". www.parliament.uk. Scottish Affairs Select Committee. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
External links
- Laing O'Rourke website
- Austrak website
- CHt website
- Explore Living
- Redispan website
- Select Plant Hire website
- Vetter website