Balfour Beatty

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Balfour Beatty plc <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;">Image:Balfourbeatty.png</td></tr>
Type	Public (LSE: BBY)
Founded	1909 by George Balfour and Andrew Beatty
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom <tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th><td>Sir David John, Chairman, Ian Tyler, Chief Executive</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Industry</th><td>Construction, Civil engineering</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Revenue</th><td>£4,171 million (2004) <ref name="facts">Balfour Beatty key facts (Accessed 17 March 2006)</ref></td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Operating income</th><td>£173 million (2004)<ref name="facts" /></td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Net income</th><td>£127 million (2004)<ref name="facts" /></td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Employees</th><td>27,000<ref name="facts" /></td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Subsidiaries</th><td>Numerous</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Website</th><td>http://www.balfourbeatty.com</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">The 15^th largest construction company in the world and 2^nd largest in the UK.<ref name="facts" /></td></tr>

Balfour Beatty plc (LSE: BBY) is a British based construction and civil engineering company based in central London. It is constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Balfour Beatty was founded in 1909 by George Balfour, a Scottish mechanical engineer, and Andrew Beatty, an English chartered accountant. They described the company as "general and electrical engineers, contractors, operating managers for tramways, railways and lighting properties and for the promoting of new enterprises" and soon it expanded into civil engineering. By the 1930s the company was operating internationally. In 1969 it was taken over by a manufacturer of electric cables called BICC, but in 2000 it became independent again.

Balfour Beatty now has four divisions:

Building, Building Management and Services
Civil and Specialist Engineering and Services
Rail Engineering and Services
Investments and Developments

Balfour Beatty undertakes projects around the world, but the majority of its turnover comes from the UK. Turnover for the year ended 31 December 2004 was £4.171 billion and profits before tax were £150 million. The company is a 50% shareholder in Gammon Construction, based in Hong Kong.

In 2003 Balfour Beatty was convicted of manslaughter in connection with the Hatfield rail crash. It has also been strongly criticised for its involvement in the Ilisu Dam Project.

Projects constructed by Balfour Beatty include: