Willmott Dixon Targets £1.5bn Turnover by 2030

By Elena Vasquez

Willmott Dixon has set a £1.5bn construction turnover target for 2030, up from £1.03bn last year, and it has already banked £747m of new work this year to get there. That's roughly half the target delivered in the first seven months. The figure comes with a caveat that matters: 89% of the new work sits under main contract, which locks in revenue visibility through 2027 and beyond.

Chief executive Graham Dundas said: "Our priority this year was to convert our record level of preconstruction appointments into main contracts."

He added: "By the end of July, we had secured £747m of new work, 89% of it under main contract, which gives us secure and visible revenue for 2027 and beyond."

Where the profit and revenue stand

Group pre-tax profit climbed 15% to £11.5m in the six months to June. Revenue, though, edged down to £545m from £548m — essentially flat, because major project starts took time to come through.

The balance sheet tells the stronger story. Cash has grown to £127m, the group carries no debt, and shareholders' funds sit at a record £190m. For a contractor, that combination is the financial equivalent of a full tank and clear road.

How the pipeline breaks down

The order book currently stands at £1.37bn secured, with more than £3.5bn of identified workload beyond that — a total pipeline of around £5bn. Defence and healthcare will spearhead the expansion toward the 2030 target.

Education delivered the biggest wins in the first half:

• £93m College of North West London campus at Wembley
• £58m Mosslands secondary school
• £28m of affordable homes at Princes Gate in Oldham for Muse
• £22m Bransbury Park Leisure Centre in Portsmouth
• £16m Bath Fire Station

Frameworks remain the engine behind this volume, generating around 90% of new work. That's a deliberate structure: framework relationships convert pipelines into signed contracts more predictably than one-off tenders.

What about the cost pressure?

Dundas warned that cost pressures haven't gone away. He said: "Global conflicts continue to push up energy, fuel and material costs, and our customers and supply chain partners are feeling the pressure. When customers choose who to work with, financial resilience and a proven delivery record matter more than ever."

That's the mechanism behind the balance-sheet discipline. If clients are picking contractors on financial strength, then a debt-free position and record equity aren't just housekeeping — they're a sales tool.

The developments arm joins the push

The relaunched Willmott Dixon Developments arm is chasing growth through public sector regeneration partnerships. Its most recent win is the £100m Baytree Shopping Centre scheme in Brentwood, secured with Milligan.

The plan now hinges on timing: revenue growth starts feeding through from 2027, which means the next two years of contract conversion will determine whether the £1.5bn target stays within reach.