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The firm is set to start full construction in the coming weeks on a £210m Machine Shop project for Sheffield Forgemasters after locking down a final build price late last year.
Sheffield Forgemasters’ 13,000 tonne forging line and machine shop will create a new generation of engineers and designers supporting UK defence manufacture
The flagship industrial scheme will deliver a 30,000 sq m machine shop on a 16-acre brownfield site at Weedon Street, next to Forgemasters’ existing Brightside Lane facilities.
The building will house heavy-duty manufacturing kit, forming a central plank of the steelmaker’s long-term investment programme.
Enabling works are already complete and advanced works are now pushing ahead on site, giving the job an early run-up ahead of full construction.
Alongside Sheffield, McLaughlin & Harvey has also just landed a £24m North East win to build a new landing for the Shields Ferry at North Shields Fish Quay.
Planned new ferry landing at North Shields Fish Quay
The project will underpin the long-term future of the cross-Tyne service, creating a direct link between the regenerated Fish Quay and South Shields town centre for the first time. Work is due to start early this year, with completion pencilled in for 2028.
These wins follow sustained investment in business development and a beefed-up pre-construction team, as the contractor targets longer-term, lower-risk work across multiple sectors. The strategy has focused on two-stage tenders, frameworks and early contractor involvement to lock down risk before projects move on site.
McLaughlin & Harvey said prolonged procurement timelines across the industry continue to hold schemes back, with several major projects now slipping into the middle and later stages of the 2025/26 financial year.
Those delays fed through to the firm’s latest results, with revenue falling 30% to £612m in the year to June 2025. However, tighter cost control and stronger operational delivery pushed pre-tax profit up to £18m, from £12m a year earlier.
The balance sheet remains rock solid, with net assets of £67m and cash of £148m at year end.
The contractor said its construction and civil engineering order book is well positioned for 2025/26 and beyond, with the bulk of next year’s budgeted turnover already secured.