Sir Robert McAlpine Limited is a family-owned building and civil engineering company based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It carries out engineering and construction in the infrastructure, heritage, commercial, arena and stadium, healthcare, education and nuclear sectors.
With the capital he had acquired, McAlpine determined to build a garden city at Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. Relying now on the income from his estate, McAlpine''s attention moved away from his contracting business towards self-education. However, the financial panic following the collapse of the City of Glasgow Bank in 1878 virtually wiped out McAlpine financially: his mortgages were called in but his debtors did not pay him.[2]
The liabilities from the Hamilton estate were threatening the construction business and to protect it, Robert took his clerk into partnership, trading under the name McAlpine & Co; the clerk was bought out not long after. McAlpine''s first large contract was a building for the Singer Manufacturing Company in 1883 and the profit from that enabled him to pay off his remaining debts. Almost immediately he faced further financial difficulties. Winning a contract for the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway without the necessary technical knowledge, the subsequent rebuilding work and litigation meant another fresh start.[2]
In 1887, Robert took his two eldest sons, Robert junior and William, out of school to help him, with Malcolm and Alfred following soon after, and they did much to rationalise the firm''s administration and finances. Undaunted by his earlier experience, McAlpine took on further railway contracts, this time successfully, including the Mallaig Extension Railway and the Glasgow Subway. There was an increasingly wide range of building and civil engineering contracts but the firm was almost brought to its knees again with the construction of the Methil Docks between 1909 and 1913. It was argued that this led to a much more cautious approach to risk on the part of the sons, if not the father.[4]
The inter-war period saw the firm focusing solely on construction. Gray wrote that Sir Robert McAlpine "seemed to have been involved in every major building and civil engineering project that ever hit the headlines of the day." They included docks, harbours, power stations, factories; the Wembley Stadium and the Dorchester Hotel were notable examples.[4] In the case of the Dorchester, when the client was unable to pay for the construction works, the company took possession of the completed building and operated it on its own account.[5]
In November 2017, the company announced 90 job losses in a cost-cutting drive following a loss-making energy from waste project. Six regional centres were to be cut to four.[10] The company then announced a new board and leadership structure, with no McAlpine family members included in the leadership team under CEO Paul Hamer.[11] Edward McAlpine took over from Gavin McAlpine as chairman in January 2019.[12]
In the year to October 2022, the company had a turnover of £1.1bn with pre-tax profit of £9.3m. In 2023, Hamer reviewed the firm''s structure and switched its focus to sectors rather than regions; the restructure was estimated to cost £8.4m and would result in annual savings of over £20m. However, Hamer did not see these savings realised – by February 2024, he was on gardening leave with former Lendlease boss Neil Martin taking over as CEO on 19 February 2024.[13]
In July 2024, Sir Robert McAlpine reported a £110m operating loss in the year to October 2023, with revenue down 19% to £881m.[1]
Projects undertaken by the company have included:
Sir Robert McAlpine is also involved in HS2 lot C1, working as part of joint venture, due to complete in 2031.[46]
The business was started by Robert McAlpine in Lanarkshire in 1869. He died in 1934.
Many Irish immigrants who had come to England looking for work worked for the company. Dominic Behan wrote a song about them called "McAlpine''s Fusiliers" in the 1960s. It was made famous by The Dubliners.[2]
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