£555m garrison makes ministry UK's biggest spender – and puts Sir Robert McAlpine top of contractors' table
ATTEN-SHUN! A military coup has occurred in business barometer this month, with the Ministry of Defence ending the Department of Health's reign at the top of the clients' league.

The £555m Colchester Garrison project was one of 43 MoD contracts totalling more than £1.4bn, edging it ahead of DoH by about £100m.

The scheme also propelled Sir Robert McAlpine to the top of the monthly contractors table with £581m worth of project wins. Kier was a distant second with 13 contracts valued at £155.6m.

Its bumper March moved Sir Robert McAlpine up 12 places in the annual chart to bronze medal position. Bovis Lend Lease and Laing O'Rourke stay first and second respectively. This means that the top three contractors are now all privately owned.

  • These tables represent schemes within the specified time periods that have moved to main contract stage. They do not represent work currently being carried out by the listed consultants. To qualify, firms must have been identified on two or more projects fitting the following criteria in the past 12 months. Project must: be of precisely calculated or confirmed value; have reached the main contract stage; be valued at £1m or more; be in the UK. Residential, civils or overseas contracts are excluded. Student accommodation is included.

    • Postscript

    This information is compiled for Building by Emap Glenigan, which analyses an average of 8500 construction projects each week. For details, email Marcus Oughton at marcus.oughton@glenigan.emap.com or call 01202-432121.

    Related files/tables