At Willmott Dixon, underlying profit before tax—excluding exceptional items and goodwill amortisation—stood at £29.1m in the year to December 31 2025, up from £28.6m in the the prior year.
Turnover for the year £1.11bn, down slightly from £1.16bn in 2024. The construction business had a record £127.3m in cash, with zero debt, and a £45m undrawn credit facility.
Current order book was £2.6bn, with £4.4bn in the pipeline for the next five years, up 31% on 2024. This included £1.3bn in pre-construction appointments.
Graham Dundas, CEO of the privately held construction business, said, “2025 was a year of real momentum and a platform for future growth. Every part of the Group contributed materially to underlying profit and we have secured a £2.6bn orderbook with a record £4.4bn forward pipeline that we expect to convert into contract awards over the coming years.
“Our results reflect the discipline of our selective approach of focusing on projects where we bring the very best skills and expertise for the benefit of our customers. We intend to grow in a measured and calculated way, by deepening long-standing customer relationships, by building on strong framework positions and further extending our expertise in Passivhaus and net zero delivery.
“The Government’s commitment to £725bn of UK infrastructure investment over the next decade reinforces the sectors where Willmott Dixon is most active, including education, healthcare, defence, and property that reaches exacting net zero standards. Our access to opportunities in these sectors through our framework positions remains as strong as it has ever been.”
Sister company Fortem saw underlying profit before tax up by 22%, or £1m, to £5.5m. Turnover for the social housing focused property services specialist was up at £213.3m from £208.6m, with £8.2m in cash available and zero debt.
The company secured £230m of new retrofit, capital works and repair contract. It completed 3,00 retrofit installations and 21,789 capital elemental improvements.
Managing director Judy Hegarty said, “2025 was the year that saw Fortem become an integrated property asset management partner – and our results show that strategy is already paying back. Underlying profit is up 22%, cash and net assets have both grown materially, and we secured more than £230 million of new retrofit, capital works and repairs contracts that will support growth over the years ahead.”
“The wider story for our sector is clear. Social housing providers are facing the most demanding decade in a generation: building safety reforms, Awaab’s Law, Tenant Satisfaction Measures, the journey to EPC band C by 2030 and a national retrofit programme worth tens of billions. Clients no longer want a contractor for each siloed problem; they want a trusted long-term partner who can plan, fund, deliver and report across the whole asset. That is the business we have been building.”
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