Sustained investment brings growth and strong profits at McLaren Construction

McLaren Construction’s annual report and accounts for the year ending 31 July 2025 shows the benefits of repeat business, diversification and the use of rigorous digital systems to ensure quality and efficiency.

Turnover reached £1.12 billion (2024: £924 million) alongside pre-tax profit of £21 million (2024: £11.9million).

After comfortably exceeding£1 billion, McLaren’s turnover is continuing to rise to a forecast £1.25billion in the 2025/26 financial year. Growth is driven by increased demand in sectors such as data centres, industrial and logistics, commercial, sports-leisure and entertainment, health and education, coupled with expanded capability through the UK-wide Construction Management andSpecialist Projects division.

McLaren engaged in more than 81 active projects in both the UK and UAE during the financial year – 21 in negotiation, 31 live on site and 29 successfully completed. Projects awarded to McLaren in the year included Brettenham House for Helical, the Boxing Academy in Hackney for the DfE, Guildford Depot for Guildford Borough Council, TN2 Gateway for Scannell Properties and Royal London Asset Management Property, MLM Crayford for Stoford and Axel Logistics, 10 King William Street for Helical and Places for London and Grafton Street Phase 1 for O&H Properties.

McLaren has subsequently established operations in Wales with two prestigious projects: Cardiff Arena for Live Nation and the Kop Stand redevelopment for Wrexham AFC.

Repeat business came from leading developers such as British Land, Landsec, Cadogan Estates, Big Yellow, Manchester Airports Group, Department for Education and sister company McLaren Property. New customers included Panattoni, Live Nation and London School of Economics.

 McLaren’s diversification into the public sector contributed £250 million to turnover and continues with places successfully attained on new frameworks, including the University of Greenwich Major Works Framework, Worcestershire and West Midlands Development Framework and London Construction Programme Housing Framework, strengthening McLaren’s position in the building safety, refurbishment, health and education sectors. McLaren is now on a total of 24 frameworks.

 Investment continues in business systems, competencies, digitalisation, data management, robotics, AI and security in response to business growth, existing and new sector requirements and legislative change. This investment meets evolving customer expectations, both in the private and public sectors, and their desire for quality and reliability. It supports diversification into growing sectors such as health, defence, education, data centres and education, and meets the demands of carbon reduction targets, building safety legislation and the move to digital construction.

 Investment in technical functions produced some strong results during the year. The sustainability strategy recorded a 57% decrease in Scope 1 emissions from 2023/24, and McLaren now identifies and mitigates 90% of potential environmental risks. McLaren’s award-winning Digital Information Management team increased take up. Employment and training initiatives saw 18 colleagues joining the McLaren Apprenticeship Programme, with a total of 57 apprentices currently on the programme and a 95% retention rate. A refocused health and safety programme produced industry leading RIDDOR, AFR and AIR results.

 McLaren Group Chairman Kevin Taylor, comments: “Our growth is based on customers who trust us and return to us, time and after time, and every colleague who has worked on those projects over the last 25 years can take pride in their contribution to the long-term relationships that form the basis of our business. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for their continued support.”

“More than ever, we’ve grown our capability from talent within our business,” he adds, “promoting many who have impressed us with the way they have handled responsibility and bringing people into the business at the start of their careers to learn the McLaren way of working. These are people who see the potential in technology to help them work smarter, but fundamentally just enjoy building.”

McLaren Group Vice Chairman Phil Pringle, comments:  Repeat business has been fundamental to our growth. It has enabled us to continually reinvest in the business, strengthen our capabilities. and deepen the expertise we bring to every project.  

McLaren Construction’s Group Chief Executive, Paul Heather, comments: “Geographical spread and sector diversity have allowed us to grow in a tough market. McLaren has reached the point where it can offer expertise in any building sector, anywhere in England and Wales, and in the UAE. Our project wins range from £10m to £350m in contract value and we have kept ourselves lean and flexible enough to handle any size and complexity of scheme delivering value to our customers.”

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