Laing O’Rourke has hailed its industrialised construction methods on nuclear projects as “redefining what is possible for major infrastructure projects”.

In its latest annual report and accounts, the UK’s third-largest contractor said its advanced rebar and reinforcement manufacturing facility in Avonmouth had cut the time workers needed to spend on site at Hinkley Point C by half.

The company expects to achieve even greater efficiencies at the forthcoming Sizewell C nuclear project, forecasting a 60% reduction in onsite hours through the same manufacturing-led approach. It is also deploying construction-specific AI tools to optimise the project’s build sequence.

Laing O’Rourke said the manufacturing-led model was also the most effective way to reduce a project’s carbon footprint. The report added: “By shifting high-intensity activities from uncontrolled site environments to precision-engineered facilities, we inherently minimise waste, logistics emissions, and energy consumption.”

Reduced emissions

The company said it cut emissions intensity by 10.3% year on year, describing this as “the direct result of our unique technological operating model, which allows us to decouple business growth from carbon output”. It is targeting a 42% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

Laing O’Rourke is also working towards achieving 50/50 gender parity across its global workforce by 2033. Women currently make up 28% of the company’s employees.

Excluding joint ventures, turnover fell 6.6% to £3.69bn in the year to 31 March 2026, from £3.96bn a year earlier. The company said this reflected a “deliberate” strategic shift towards improving margins.

Pretax profit increased 93% from £41.5m.