Understanding Balfour Beatty
From our humble beginnings on 12 January 1909, when George Balfour and Andrew Beatty opened for business in a small office on the first floor of 22A College Hill near Cannon Street Station in London, we have grown into a leading international infrastructure group.
Our early days
During their time at the helm, George Balfour and Andrew Beatty seized every opportunity to grow the business, with our first contract to construct the Dunfermline and District Tramways opening in November 1909. The construction of the gravity dam in Blackwater, completed in 1917, marked the start of our delivery of major civil engineering works across the UK. As World War II began, our focus shifted to supporting the war effort, playing a key role in Britain’s defences through the construction of the Churchill Barriers, a 2.3km series of causeways between Orkney and Ronaldsay that closed off the vital strategic harbour of Scapa Flow to enemy attack.
1960s – 1990s: becoming an international group
Paving the way to becoming the international infrastructure group we are today, in 1969, we became part of BICC. This saw us diversify into new markets including motorway construction, building and property development. In 1976, we broke ground on our first project in Dubai: Jebel Ali Port, the world's largest manmade harbour.
In 1986, we broadened our international footprint further as by entering the US market through the acquisition of Heery, an Atlanta-based architectural and engineering business. This milestone laid the foundations for our presence in the US civils, buildings and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) markets. Just a few years later, in the 1990s, we formed what is now Balfour Beatty Investments to raise and structure finance to help our customers achieve their project goals.
2000s: our growth continues
The new millennium saw the Balfour Beatty name return to the fore following the sale of our cable operations. During the 2000s, the Group grew through acquisitions including GMH’s Military PPP accommodation business, Centex Construction, Mansell and Birse – now part of the Balfour Beatty brand – as well as Parsons Brinckerhoff. We also formed a 50:50 Gammon Construction joint venture with Jardine Matheson. Parsons Brinckerhoff was sold to WSP five years after its acquisition.
In 2015, we launched Build to Last, establishing the disciplined governance, strong controls and robust processes that have underpinned our success. Building on these foundations, our Evolve, Energise, Explore strategic growth framework is shaping the next chapter of profitable growth, creating great careers for our people and maximising value for all our stakeholders.
The sale of our Gammon Construction shareholding to Jardine Matheson in October 2026 further sharpened our focus on our core UK and US markets.
More than a century after George Balfour and Andrew Beatty founded the business, Balfour Beatty continues to shape society through the delivery of critical national infrastructure and projects at the heart of local communities.
