But Dutch contractor鈥檚 UK civils business enjoys bumper year

The construction arm of Bam鈥檚 UK business sank into the red last year after the firm said it was hit by losses on its late-running Co-op Live scheme.

The job hit the headlines last spring when a series of opening deadlines came and went with gigs by Take That, Keane and comedian Peter Kay having to be pulled before it finally opened in the middle of last May.

In group results out this morning, Bam said losses at its construction arm last year widened to 鈧�48.3 (拢40m) from 鈧�14.8m (拢12.3m) last time. Turnover at the division was down 13% to 鈧�905m (拢754m).

coop

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The job finally opened last May after several weeks of damaging headlines

It added: 鈥淭he performance of Construction UK was impacted by project delays and supply chain issues, including a loss for Co-op Live in Manchester.鈥�

The firm declined to say how much it had shelled on the job but last year the boss of Co-op Live said Bam had 鈥渓ost a lot of money鈥� on the scheme, saying the cost of the job had gone up from 拢365m to 拢450m.

Bam signed up for a fixed-price deal when it won the job four years ago and Tim Leiweke, chief executive of the Oak View Group, the American operator behind the venue who co-own it, admitted: 鈥淏am got hit hard, they鈥檝e lost a lot of money on this job, I feel bad for them, they鈥檙e doing the best they can. Some things we could have expected, some things were unexpected.鈥�

>> See also: A nightclub on a massive scale鈥�: touring Populous鈥� 拢365m Co-op Live arena

>> See also: Uh-oh. Co-op Live鈥檚 woes leave industry with familiar sinking feeling

But Bam鈥檚 UK civils business saw earnings jump 24% to 鈧�95.5m (拢80m) while revenue was up 15% to 鈧�1.5bn (拢1.25bn), buoyed by rail and energy schemes.

Bam added: 鈥淭he construction market in the UK is expected to grow. Energy remains a focus of the UK government. Furthermore, negotiations have begun with the shortlisted bidders for the Small Modular Reactor programme and Bam participates in this process with Rolls Royce. The New Hospital Programme in the UK will be put on a more sustainable and deliverable footing.鈥�

The UK and Ireland division鈥檚 order book was up by 58% to 鈧�7.2bn (拢6bn) which includes recently awarded work on HS2 to design and construct trackwork in a joint venture with Ferrovial.

Meanwhile, Bam鈥檚 group revenue was up 3% to 鈧�6.5bn (拢5.4bn) last year with earnings up 9.5% to 鈧�333m (拢278m).

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