Profits up 40% for UK Olympic builder

The construction firm charged with the delivery of London’s 2012 Olympic park unveiled a 40% rise in profits today.

Laing O’Rourke, the UK’s largest privately-owned construction business, posted underlying earnings of £111.1m (€164m) for the year to March 31.

The Dartford-based business – also behind major projects such as Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and the Paradise Street residential development in Liverpool – is leading a consortium managing building work on the Olympic site in the lower Lea Valley.

Sales at the group, which employs more than 27,000 staff worldwide, jumped 33% to £3.5bn (€5.1bn), while orders rose 50% to £8.4bn (€12.4bn).