WET News

leaders 2017 5 with the uncertainties surrounding Brexit. A lot of construction companies employ EU labour to bolster numbers. However, contractors have voiced concerns how competitition for skilled staff will intensify as high-profile projects such as the HS2 scheme come into play. A er all, what engineer would not want one of these showing on their CV? A major development in the water sector has been the opening up of the non-domestic market to competition for water and wastewater services. An obvious shi has been brought about by retail separation, and it is interesting to see how different areas of the industry are interpreting and approaching AMP7 challenges as a result. With regulators remaining focused on efficiency, ever-improving customer service and demonstrable value for money, facilitating innovation across the industry is going to be key. Closer, more collaborative working and alliances have had a major impact impact in the sector as companies spread risk. This collaborative working is expected to be a feature of AMP7. Technology integration, digital engineering and BIM (Building Information Modelling) will also be key to AMP7, especially as there are real cost advantages to utilities that can utilise smart systems overlaid across existing treatment and infrastructure assets. A continued focus on capital The Leaders exclusive index illustrates contractors total combined sales, net assets and productivity patterns for the five years from 2011 TOP 10 Turnover £M Balfour Beatty 6,955.0 Amec 5,455.0 Kier Group 4,112.3 Morgan Sindall 2,384.7 Amey 2,230.6 Mace 1,766.7 Skanska UK 1,383.5 Costain 1,263.6 Laing O'Rourke 1,114.3 Interserve Construction 1,006.0 Return on Capital % Stonbury 132.1 Public Sewer Services 130.1 Aecom Design Build 96.7 Claret 62.2 Kirk Environmental 61.2 Mace 54.6 Lewis Civil Engineering 51.6 J Browne Construction 44.3 Seymour Civil Engineering 38.5 Dyer & Butler 34.4 Operating margin % Stonbury 14.4 PN Daly 12.4 MWH UK 12.1 J Browne Construction 10.0 Claret 7.4 Kirk Environmental 6.8 Mott MacDonald 5.6 Carillion Utility Services 5.6 Morrison Utility Services 3.9 Net margin % Stonbury 14.4 Public Sewer Services 13.8 PN Daly 12.9 MWH UK 12.5 J Browne Construction 10.6 Lewis Civil Engineering 7.8 Claret 7.5 Kirk Environmental 6.5 Mott MacDonald 6.3 Carillion Utility Services 4.8 Sales/employee £k Carillion Utility Services 492.0 Dawnus Construction Holdings 472.3 Interserve Construction 445.5 Morgan Sindall 409.2 Mace 397.4 Galliford Try Infrastructure 360.0 Volkerstevin 349.6 Costain 315.5 Aecom Design Build 303.9 Balfour Beatty 298.3 maintenance as opposed to quality management programmes is also expected. Circular economy Water companies are also considering more schemes aimed at providing greater capacity to take account of the boom in housing development. Companies are seeing a lot more demand from water sector clients for specialist services in natural, social and human capital, helping them to identify and value these additional types of capital in their investment planning. There is also growing interest in circular economy approaches from water companies, which helps them keep assets and materials at their highest value for as long as possible. New technologies that increase the production of methane from sludge, for example, are turning unwanted waste products into renewable energy sources. Companies expect to see continued growth in these areas during AMP7 as increasing numbers of water companies recognise the need to deliver more with less. Overall, though it seems the main challenge for the sector is Brexit and how it will impact the movement of people. Potential difficulties in accessing skilled labour from within Europe could be challenging for the delivery of the sector's ambitious pipeline of projects.

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