Morgan Sindall unveil Gatwick deal

Construction group Morgan Sindall today revealed a foothold on the billion pound revamp of Gatwick Airport after it made a shortlist of firms appointed for the work.

The London-based firm is one of ten building contractors that will compete for the various parts of the £1.2bn project, which will include upgraded terminal facilities, new aircraft piers, new baggage systems and new retail, security and immigration areas.

Morgan is already doing work at Gatwick for owner Global Infrastructure building the £50m North Terminal extension.

The appointment was announced as Morgan Sindall said in a trading update it was on track to meet expectations for the current year.

Chief executive Paul Smith said that the good start to trading since the start of the year has continued, though margins have come under pressure in construction while the private finance initiative (PFI) pipeline has slowed.

Orders outstanding at the end of June were £3.6bn, unchanged from the start of the year, while the development pipeline increased to £1.8bn with a further £0.8bn where it is preferred bidder.

Over the past six months the group was appointed to the £500m Smarte East Alliance framework for Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk councils, and the South East Wales Schools £400m framework as well as picking up £285m of Crossrail work in London on the Pudding Lane station and tunnels.

Overall, Mr Smith said the first half had been positive for the group and it expects to meet full year expectations.

Stephen Scard, the head of Morgan Sindall's aviation arm, said the group is already doing work on a number of UK airports, including building the new control tower at Birmingham and the North Terminal at Gatwick

Morgan’s expertise is in general construction and paving and concrete works including runways and taxiways, which Mr Scard said are critical and complex projects for airports. The group has been doing this type of work for fifteen years already at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Global Infrastructure, a joint venture between US giant General Electric and bank Credit Suisse, acquired Gatwick from BAA in 2009 for £1.5bn and promised to improve drastically the experience for passengers at the airport.