MAG awards £500m airport works framework to 20 contractors

By Elena Vasquez

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has appointed 20 contractors to a £500m minor-works framework, with individual jobs worth up to £5m. The framework starts in December and runs for five years across Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports. MAG can extend it for three more years, taking the maximum term to eight.

That is a purchasing mechanism for several airport programmes, not one £500m construction project. MAG divided the opportunity into building, civils and M&E packages for work at three sites. At £500m, the shared framework equals roughly 45% of MAG's separate £1.1bn expansion programme at Stansted.

The figures need to stay separate. The £500m award covers the contractor framework. The £1.5bn Manchester transformation, £1.1bn Stansted expansion and £120m East Midlands improvement programme describe wider capital programmes. None represents the value of the framework itself.

Who won the most positions?

In MAG's ranking, Lancashire building firm W H Good ranked most successful. It secured a clean sweep of the building and M&E places across all three airports. VolkerFitzpatrick took five places in the contest for building, civils and M&E work packages.

The results divide contractor access by package type and location. W H Good holds building and M&E places across Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands. VolkerFitzpatrick's five places span all three categories. The framework therefore gives MAG a contractor pool across both the specialist trades and three airport sites.

What can the framework deliver?

MAG's scope groups the work into two technical categories, alongside building:

• Civils: roads, bridges, utilities and drainage.
• M&E: installations, upgrades and testing.

The £5m figure applies to each job within the £500m framework. The five-year initial term, plus MAG's three-year extension option, lets the group phase purchasing as its airport programmes develop. It also separates the framework award from the capital projects it will serve.

Where is capital investment moving?

The appointments come as MAG switches its investment focus from Manchester's £1.5bn transformation to a £1.1bn expansion programme at Stansted. MAG invested £555m in capital projects in the year to March 2026. That investment included terminal upgrades, extra aircraft stand capacity at Manchester and cargo infrastructure at East Midlands.

Stansted's five-year investment programme includes a terminal extension and supporting infrastructure. MAG says this work will unlock more capacity from the existing runway. The two elements work together: the extension adds terminal space, while the supporting infrastructure releases more runway capacity.

What changes at East Midlands?

East Midlands is also advancing a £120m improvement programme. Its scope covers:

• Terminal refurbishment and roof renewals.
• Heating and cooling upgrades.
• Taxiways and airfield infrastructure.

The airport's longer-term cargo expansion plans go further. They earmark 50 hectares for new cargo facilities and additional apron space for up to 18 aircraft. These plans sit alongside the terminal, energy and airfield upgrades in the £120m programme.

What happens next?

December is the first milestone. The framework must then convert places held by 20 firms into package delivery as investment shifts toward Stansted and work continues at Manchester and East Midlands. Stansted's £1.1bn expansion and East Midlands' £120m programme provide the workload that the framework's £5m job limit must serve.