Building Awards 2026 shortlists: Construction Client of the Year

Earlier this year Building announced the names of all the firms that made it onto the shortlists for our prestigious annual Building Awards.

Now we are shining the spotlight on each category in turn and publishing a selection of the images that impressed the judges.

Today’s shortlist is for Construction Client of the Year.

Breakthrough Properties

Breakthrough Properties is setting a new standard for life sciences development, combining ambitious design, demanding technical requirements and sustainability with a genuinely collaborative approach to delivery. Its Trinity by Breakthrough development in Oxford, delivered in partnership with McLaughlin & Harvey, provides 214,000ft² of flexible laboratory, office and amenity space, achieving BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Platinum and EPC A. The project demonstrates a client prepared to invest in performance from the outset, working closely with its professional team and supply chain to deliver a technically complex building to a high standard. Its approach is helping create the high-quality, sustainable infrastructure needed to support the UK’s growing life sciences sector.

Digital Realty

Digital Realty is demonstrating how data-centre clients can combine exceptional technical demands with increasingly ambitious environmental standards. Its UK portfolio supports critical digital infrastructure while incorporating efficient cooling, renewable energy, water conservation and rigorous sustainability monitoring. Major facilities benefit from resilient engineering, BREEAM certification and 100% renewable or carbon-free energy, reflecting a client approach focused on long-term operational performance rather than simply construction completion. Globally, Digital Realty has contracted 1.7GW of new renewable energy capacity and continues to develop site-specific energy and water targets. Its approach provides a strong example of responsible client leadership in one of construction’s fastest-growing sectors.

Helical

Helical has built a reputation for delivering design-led London developments through close partnerships, high environmental standards and a clear focus on long-term value. Its current programme includes major schemes such as 100 New Bridge Street, 10 King William Street and Paddington Delta, where sustainability is embedded from acquisition through construction and operation. Helical targets net zero carbon by 2030, with 99% of its assets achieving an EPC B or above and multiple developments targeting BREEAM Outstanding and NABERS five-star performance. Its partnership model, including joint ventures, encourages collaboration and shared accountability, while its focus on reuse and repositioning demonstrates how thoughtful development can reduce environmental impact.

Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group with its framework of suppliers  – including Wates Smartspace, SES, Ridge and Partners, and key specialist contractors – has demonstrated how a major corporate client can use construction and property investment to deliver environmental, economic and social value. Its £116m investment in the Trinity Road headquarters in Halifax transformed a 50-year-old building into a future-ready workplace, retaining its structure while achieving EPC A, significant carbon savings and strong employee satisfaction. The group is also using its wider property portfolio to support housing delivery, including plans to convert surplus commercial sites into social housing. Its sustainability strategy extends into development finance, with growing investment in all-electric and zero-bills homes. Together, these initiatives demonstrate responsible, purpose-led client leadership.

Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice is overseeing one of the UK’s most complex and consequential construction programmes: delivering 14,000 additional prison places by 2031 while improving the existing estate. Its approach combines major new-build projects with extensive refurbishment, modernisation and digital innovation. HMP Millsike, the UK’s first all-electric prison, demonstrates its ambition to embed sustainability within highly demanding operational environments, while new houseblocks incorporate workshops and classrooms designed to support rehabilitation. Despite significant market challenges, including contractor failures, the MoJ has maintained programme momentum and adapted its delivery strategy. Its client role combines scale, resilience, safety and a clear focus on better long-term outcomes.

Places for People

Places for People demonstrates how a major housing and regeneration client can combine construction delivery with long-term stewardship of communities. Its portfolio spans affordable and private housing, regeneration, supported living, leisure and mixed-use development, with major projects including Port Loop in Birmingham, Park Hill in Sheffield, Brooklands in Milton Keynes, and Gilston in East Hertfordshire. Its approach places community outcomes alongside delivery, with extensive engagement, social investment and partnerships shaping projects. Sustainability is increasingly central, supported by a new decarbonisation framework and investment in low-energy homes. Recent programmes include £40m of new social housing in Norwich and pioneering modular housing initiatives. The breadth of its work demonstrates a client committed to creating places that endure.

Stanhope

Stanhope combines long-term development expertise with a consistently collaborative approach to delivering complex, high-quality places. Its portfolio spans major commercial, cultural, life sciences and mixed-use developments, with sustainability embedded throughout. Projects including 8 Bishopsgate, Oxford North and the refurbished 76 Southbank demonstrate its ability to balance ambitious design with demanding environmental and operational requirements. Its latest major commission, Red Lion Court, will deliver a 250,000ft² riverside office tower on London’s South Bank. Stanhope’s emphasis on strong relationships with contractors and consultants, alongside its focus on reuse, sustainability and long-term performance, demonstrates a client approach built around partnership and lasting value.

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is delivering an extraordinary programme of complex capital projects that combine architectural ambition, scientific excellence and exceptional environmental performance. Its £200m Life and Mind Building brings together biology and experimental psychology, while the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities has become Europe’s largest Passivhaus university building and the world’s first Passivhaus concert hall. Both demonstrate a client prepared to pursue ambitious performance targets while working collaboratively with designers, contractors and specialist supply chains. Oxford’s wider capital programme is creating world-class research, teaching and cultural facilities, while its focus on sustainability, stakeholder engagement and long-term value establishes a compelling benchmark for institutional clients.