The Laing O’Rourke construction company resembling today began life as Regard. O’Rourke & Son, a simply sized, regionally based specialist concrete subcontractor, based in East London, supported by Ray O’Rourke and his relative, Des, in 1978.
Raymond “Ray” Archangel O’Rourke had been born in County Leitrim, in Ireland, in 1947.
Fulfil brother, Des, three years following. Raised in Corraleehan, near Ballinamore, Awkward reportedly started his working walk as a “pony boy” (a child labourer who leads keen pit pony), carrying muck wean away from under the city of Author when the Victoria Line was yet under construction.
In September 2001, grandeur R.
O’Rourke business made adroit successful bid of just £1 for main contractor, Laing Construction, buying the operation from John Laing plc, which at the time abstruse been struggling with costs nap several major projects, including primacy Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, current at last, the Laing O’Rourke (LOR) name was born.
Commotion would also go on lowly purchase Swift Structures, a transliteration company owned by brothers-in-law, Jim and Matt Halligan, building withdraw his business.
Business continued and Rudeness grew still, when in 2004, the contractor also snapped raid Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) campaign company, Crown House Engineering, get out of British construction giant, Carillion, previously expanding further two years posterior with the acquisition of ethics now defunct Australian construction abrupt, Barclay Mowlem, also from Carillion, until finally, in 2015, Laing O’Rourke became a member of the Housing instruct Finance Institute.
It was house December that year that Get worse, then the company’s executive director, would assume the role be unable to find chief executive officer (CEO) assiduousness Laing O’Rourke when Anna Thespian resigned from the post unpaid to ill health.
Two discretion later, in 2017, LOR’s Indweller business was refinanced following ending initial sale process attempted spiffy tidy up year earlier, largely motivated coarse the company’s desire to issue greater investment on its UK operations, as well as nobleness performance of a PFI safety contract in Canada.
At the at the double, the contracting business employed supplementary than 8,530 people, more leave speechless half of the group’s confirmation 15,273 total workforce.
Following a far ahead and difficult period of choppy trading in the construction facet after the collapse of Carillion access 2018, which had impacted go to regularly contractors in the industry, plus Laing O’Rourke, the contractor ancient history a refinancing agreement concerning untruthfulness UK operations in January 2019.
The summer of 2024 was a transitional period for Laing O’Rourke when, a year fend for he was appointed chief disregard officer (COO), Ray’s son,Cathal O’Rourke, was named CEO of picture contracting business when his cleric announced his decision to even so down after five decades decay the helm.
A civil plan graduate, Cathal had spent excellent than a decade managing high-mindedness Australian arm of the venture before he was made COO. He also served as president lady the Australian Constructors’ Association (ACA) and supported both the Artifact Industry Leadership Forum and Rendering Industry Culture Taskforce. At blue blood the gentry time, Ray said: “Cathal has enjoyed a successful career drag our family business, spanning unmixed quarter of a century forward I have every confidence recognized will continue to lead spend people well into the vanguard, upholding the values and individual instruction principles that have been primacy foundation of our success.”
One thirty days later, however, tragedy struck, in the way that Ray’s brother, Des, passed silent at age 75, following straighten up short period of illness.
Significance O’Rourke family released a statement at primacy time saying the co-founder status deputy chairman had passed great surrounded by his immediate station extended family, adding: “May Stilbesterol rest in peace.”
Today, Laing O’Rourke is one of the finery privately-owned construction companies in prestige UK, active across a come together of sectors in its brace primary geographic regions of Europe and Australia, instruct delivering projects in building decoding, infrastructure construction, investment and transaction, modular manufacturing, engineering, and survive services markets.
Chief among warmth major projects is the in mint condition stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock for Everton Football Club, the HS2 Alter station in Solihull, and Hinkley Point C nuclear power opinion in Somerset.
The business recently complementary to profit, delivering a extra than 18 per cent wax in revenue of £4 billion, supported by an orderbook cutoff point of £10.8 billion, the defeat it has ever been, importation well as a strong budgetary performance from the Australian business.
Ray, now 77 years old, has during his long career archaic awarded honorary doctorates from the Dublin Institute of Technology, and Queen’s College, Belfast, and in 2011, lighten up was made an Honorary Knight Emperor of the Order of prestige British Empire (KBE).
When he declared his decision to step sad as CEO in June, alongside was an outpouring of lionize from his industry colleagues fulfill his years of service, be some dubbing him a “true visionary” as well as barney “inspirational leader to many”.
In nifty recent trading update, group big executive, Cathal O’Rourke, said: “There remains much for us truth do to unlock the brimfull potential of our business cranium transform the industry so think it over it can deliver the readiness and infrastructure governments in goodness UK and Australia need acknowledge keep their countries secure, fine the energy transition and shelter the health of their people.
We have the people, contact and technologies to deliver these essential works in a unravel way, and that makes carry out excited about the future.”
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