Taylor Woodrow Construction

Taylor Woodrow Construction is a UK-based civil engineering contractor and part of Vinci Construction UK.

Taylor Woodrow Construction
Subsidiary of Vinci SA
IndustryCivil engineering
Founded1937
HeadquartersLondon, England
Key people
Bruno Dupety, Chairman
TBC, CEO
Revenue£36.7 million (2018)[1]
£4.0 million (2018)[1]
£3.9 million (2018)[1]
Number of employees
147 (2018)[1]
ParentVinci SA
Websitewww.taylorwoodrow.com

The business was once a division of Taylor Woodrow, one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain, which merged with rival George Wimpey in July 2007 to create the Taylor Wimpey housebuilding group. In September 2008, Taylor Woodrow Construction was acquired from Taylor Wimpey by Vinci.

History

Early years

The Taylor Woodrow business was founded in Blackpool as a housebuilder by Frank Taylor and his uncle, Jack Woodrow, creating the Taylor Woodrow name.[2] In 1930, Taylor moved to London and his business eventually established headquarters in Southall.[3] In 1935, the housebuilding business was floated on the London Stock Exchange as Taylor Woodrow Estates.[4] In 1937, Taylor Woodrow Construction was formed and, after a modest start, the company was soon engaged in defence work. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, private housing development stopped, and for six years Taylor Woodrow built military camps, airfields and factories, and worked on the Mulberry harbour units.[2]

1945-2008

By 1945, Taylor Woodrow had become a substantial construction business, and it expanded into domestic civil construction work and internationally, working in East Africa (it was involved in the notorious Groundnut Scheme), then west and South Africa and, in the 1950s, Australia, Canada and the middle east.[2] In the UK, Taylor Woodrow Construction became a prominent contractor in the power generation industry, building first conventional power stations and then the world's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall. Hartlepool, Hinkley Point A, Wylfa and Sizewell A followed. In the private sector, notable contracts included terminal buildings at London Heathrow airport, and the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.[2]

Work in the middle east helped grow Taylor Woodrow’s international construction business and by the mid 1970s overseas profits accounted for two thirds of group profits. The centrepiece was the joint venture with Costain to build the dry docks at Port Rashid, Dubai, described as "the largest single overseas contract ever undertaken by the British construction industry".[5]

However, by the 1980s, middle east construction was declining and the parent Taylor Woodrow group was increasingly focused on housebuilding and the commercial property market.[6] Taylor Woodrow Construction was part of the Channel Tunnel consortium (completed in 1994) but its operations were less important to the group. A series of mergers and acquisitions culminated in the £6 billion merger with George Wimpey forming Taylor Wimpey in March 2007,[7] and just over a year later, in September 2008, Vinci plc, the British subsidiary of France's Vinci SA, acquired Taylor Woodrow Construction from Taylor Wimpey for £74m.[8][9]

2008-present

One of four divisions, Taylor Woodrow Construction is Vinci Construction UK's civil engineering business.[10] In early 2009, Vinci planned to reorganise all UK operations under one name,[11] but the Taylor Woodrow brand was eventually retained (though the company's 'teamwork' logo was retained by Taylor Wimpey).[12]

Notable projects undertaken

Major projects completed by the company have included:

Taylor Woodrow Construction has been engaged on several London Crossrail projects, including updates to 13 stations from West London into Berkshire, a depot at Old Oak Common (completed in 2018),[28] and station works at Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel stations.[29]

Bibliography
  • Jenkins, Alan (1971). On Site 1921-71. Heinemann:London. p. 226p. ISBN 0-434-90890-8.
  • Jenkins, Alan (1980). Built on Teamwork - Sequel to On Site. Heinemann:London. p. 245p. ISBN 0-434-37289-7.

References
  1. "Taylor Woodrow Construction Limited Annual Report for the Year ended 31 December 2018". Companies House. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. Jenkins,Alan On Site 1921-71 (1971)
  3. 'Norwood, including Southall: Economic and social history', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 45-48 Date accessed: 9 October 2010
  4. Company prospectus
  5. Jenkins, Alan Built on Teamwork (1980) p.9
  6. Wellings, Fred: Dictionary of British Housebuilders (2006) Troubador. ISBN 978-0-9552965-0-5
  7. "BBC NEWS - Business - Wimpey and Woodrow agree to merge". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  8. McKenna, John (10 September 2008). "Acquisition: Vinci buys Taylor Woodrow". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  9. "VINCI strengthens position in the UK by acquiring Taylor Woodrow Construction". VINCI.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  10. "About us". Vinci Construction UK. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  11. Whitten, Nick (23 January 2009). "End of an era for Taylor Woodrow". Construction News. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  12. Gardiner, Joey (12 September 2008). "Taywood loses tug-of-war for logo". Building. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  13. Guy Hartup, Code Name Mulberry: The Planning Building and Operation of the Normandy Harbours, Page 94
  14. Lambirth, Andrew (6 May 1996). "Obituary: Rodney Thomas". London: The Independent. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  15. "Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station". Engineering Times. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  16. "The UK Magnox and AGR Power Station Projects, p. 22" (PDF). Manchester University. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  17. "London's Town Halls". Historic England. p. 207. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  18. "1968: Three die as tower block collapses". BBC. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  19. Altman, John (2016). In the Nick of Time - The Autobiography of John Altman, EastEnders' Nick Cotton. John Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1786062567.
  20. "Civic Trust Awards in Wolverhampton". History Website. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  21. "EuroTunnel". Structurae. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  22. "Stadium". History. Middlesbrough Football Club. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  23. Scher, Peter (August 2001). "Project: Bucks fizz". Hospitality Design (republished by FindArticles.com). Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  24. "Royal Albert Hall". BDP. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  25. "Princess Royal University Hospital Fact Sheet". Bromley Hospitals. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  26. "Senedd Project History: 2003". National Assembly for Wales. Archived from the original on 6 November 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  27. Richardson, Ben (30 May 2006). "New Western Ticket Hall opens at King's Cross St Pancras". Arup. Archived from the original on 30 June 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  28. "Old Oak Common Elizabeth Line depot opens". Metro Report International. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  29. "Vinci's UK profits dip amid Taylor Woodrow losses". Construction Manager Magazine. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
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