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Balfour Beatty

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FY2020 Annual Report · Balfour Beatty
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ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2020

 Building 

 New Futures 

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 Building New Futures 

We’re driving the 
transformation of our 
industry to meet the 
challenges of the future

ABOUT US

Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group 
with 26,000 employees driving the delivery of powerful new 
solutions, shaping thinking, creating skylines and inspiring a new 
generation of talent to be the change-makers of tomorrow.  

We finance, develop, build, maintain and operate the increasingly 
complex and critical infrastructure that supports national economies 
and deliver projects at the heart of local communities.

Magic  
Moments

During 2020, our people and partners worked hard 
to keep the wheels of the economy turning, 
transport networks moving, communities 
connected and essential services running. 

You’ll find photos of our employees’ magic 
moments throughout the report or by visiting:

instagram.com/balfourbeatty

Find out more at  
balfourbeatty.com

READ ABOUT OUR 
CULTURAL 
FRAMEWORK 
INSIDE

Front cover: Katerina 
Itopoulou, Project Engineer. 
Ealing Common Depot track 
renewal, London

OUR CULTURAL FRAMEWORK 

Our refreshed cultural framework, launched in December 2020, provides a simple 
and clear view of our purpose, values and behaviours under our Build to Last strategy. 
The framework reflects who we are now as an international group, who we want to 
be, what we value and what drives the way we work; always Lean, Expert, Trusted 
and Safe, and – if we are to remain a market leader – always Sustainable.

Our purpose – explains the clear and enduring reason our business exists

Building New Futures

We are leading the transformation of our industry to meet the challenges of the future. We harness 
the power of digital and cutting-edge innovation to redefine the possible and drive productivity. Trusted 
by customers to deliver sustainable solutions and strengthen communities we leave a legacy we are 
proud of. Always safe. Always reliable. Always improving lives.

We support each other to deliver and succeed, placing equal value on all perspectives by embracing 
diversity and inclusion. Together we deliver powerful new solutions, collaborating with governments, 
our customers and partners to shape thinking, create skylines and inspire a new generation of talent 
to be the change-makers of tomorrow. Balfour Beatty: Building New Futures. 

Our strategy – is the day-to-day guide we 
use to uphold our purpose

Build to Last

Build to Last is our strategy for continuous improvement. 
It’s fundamental to how we’re building a market leading 
Balfour Beatty for the next 100 years. It’s our platform 
for sustainable growth, productivity, inclusive talent – all 
ensuring the best capability to deliver on our promises 
and our enduring commitment to Zero Harm.

Our values – the way we do business. The norms and beliefs that drive 
the way we work and how we measure ourselves

LEAN

EXPERT

TRUSTED

SAFE

SUSTAINABLE

Our behaviours – reflect the things we will do to consistently deliver 
to the standard set out in our values

TALK  
POSITIVELY

COLLABORATE 
RELENTLESSLY

ENCOURAGE 
CONSTANTLY

MAKE A 
DIFFERENCE

VALUE  
EVERYONE

p22

More about 
our business 
model

p12

More about 
our strategy

p12

More about 
our values

p46

More about 
building a 
positive culture

IN THIS REPORT 

In the following sections, discover Balfour Beatty’s approach to developing 
and leveraging its capabilities and how the Group is creating value for all 
stakeholders through continuous improvement as well as encouraging 
and supporting employees to develop a positive culture.

Leading in 
our markets

We discuss macro trends and opportunities in our 
chosen markets, the way we operate and how we 
create value for all our stakeholders as well as the 
cutting edge solutions we are leveraging to meet 
our customers’ challenges. 

p16 Market review 

p22 Business model 

p24 Stakeholder value

p26 Innovation

Expert  
capabilities

Our three operating divisions outline their key 
achievements throughout 2020 and how they 
are delivering our Build to Last strategy. We also 
look at our Investments portfolio in more detail.

p32 Construction Services 

p39 Support Services

p42 Infrastructure Investments

 ABOVE
UK: Ealing Common Depot track renewal, Transport for London

p44 Directors’ valuation of the Investments portfolio 

 ABOVE
US: Victory Commons 1 Office development, Hillwood Development 

Building a 
positive culture

Our disciplined contracting is further strengthened by our 
approach to building the right culture – where people are 
encouraged and supported to always do the right thing, 
achieve high performance and make a positive difference, 
every day.

p48 Health, safety and wellbeing 

p52 Business integrity 

p55 Sustainability 

p71 Our people

p88 Risk management

 ABOVE
US: Renovation of Hoover High School, San Diego Unified School District

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

CONTENTS

The Group has presented financial performance measures which are 
considered most relevant to the Group and used to manage the Group’s 
performance. An explanation of these measures and appropriate 
reconciliations to statutory measures are provided on pages 12 and 13. 

CONTINUING UNDERLYING 
REVENUE1 £m

CONTINUING UNDERLYING PROFIT 
FROM OPERATIONS (PFO) £m

4
3
2
,
8

2
0
8
,
7

5
0
4
,
8

7
8
5
,
8

1
2
2

5
0
2

6
9
1

2017

2018

2019

2020

2017

2018

2019

2020

1
5

CONTINUING UNDERLYING EARNINGS 
PER SHARE (BASIC) Pence

ORDER BOOK¹  
£bn

3
.
6
2

7
.
6
2

9
.
0
2

7
.
3

4
.
6
1

3
.
4
1

6
.
2
1

4
.
1
1

2017

2018

2019

2020

2017

2018

2019

2020

STATUTORY REVENUE 
£m

STATUTORY PROFIT FOR THE YEAR 
£m

3
1
3
,
7

0
2
3
,
7

6
1
9
,
6

4
3
6
,
6

8
6
1

5
3
1

3
3
1

2017

2018

2019

2020

2017

2018

2019

2020

0
3

STATUTORY EARNINGS PER SHARE 
(BASIC) Pence

DIVIDENDS PER SHARE 
Pence

7
.
4
2

7

.
9
1

0
.
9
1

8
.
4

6
.
3

4
.

4

2017

2018

2019

2020

2017

2018

2019

2020

1 

Including share of joint ventures and associates, before non-underlying item.

1
.
2

5
.
1

BUILDING NEW FUTURES

STRATEGIC REPORT

Financial performance 
Balfour Beatty at a glance 
Our response to COVID-19 
Group Chair’s introduction 
Group Chief Executive’s review 
Our strategy: Build to Last 

LEADING IN OUR MARKETS 

Market review  
Business model  
Stakeholder value 
Innovation  

EXPERT CAPABILITIES 

Operational review
Construction Services  
Support Services  
Infrastructure Investments 
Directors’ valuation of the 
Investments portfolio 

BUILDING A POSITIVE CULTURE 

Our responsibilities
Health, safety and wellbeing 
Business integrity 
Sustainability 
Our people 
Risk management  
Principal risks 

1
2
4
6
8
12

14

16
22
24
26

30

32
39
42

44

46

48
52
55
71
88 
94

Non-financial information statement 
76 
Measuring our financial performance  77
84
Chief Financial Officer’s review 
102
Viability statement 

GOVERNANCE  

Board leadership and Company purpose  105
116
Division of responsibilities 
Composition, succession  
and evaluation 
Committee reports 
Audit, risk and internal control 
Remuneration  
Directors’ report 

119
122
126
134
151

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Independent auditor’s report  
Financial statements  
Notes to the financial statements 

154
162
170

OTHER INFORMATION

Unaudited Group five-year summary  238
239
Shareholder information  

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

1

Strategic report 
BALFOUR BEATTY AT A GLANCE

International 
infrastructure experts 

Balfour Beatty is driving the transformation of the construction and 
infrastructure industry to meet the challenges of the future.

Group highlights

UNDERLYING REVENUE1

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

ORDER BOOK1

£8.6bn

26,000

UNDERLYING PROFIT 
BEFORE TAX

£36m

DIRECTORS’ VALUATION 
INVESTMENTS PORTFOLIO

£1.09bn

Focused on growing markets

 United Kingdom

£9.1bn

 United States

£5.2bn

 Hong Kong

£2.1bn

£16.4bn

55+

GROUP ORDER BOOK

p79

The challenge of building a new and sustainable future requires an industrial transformation. We are leading the way, 
working together with governments, our customers and partners to reshape thinking, reinvent skylines and strengthen 
local communities. Together we deliver powerful new solutions improving lives, leaving a legacy we are proud of and 
inspiring the change-makers of tomorrow.

PROJECTED GROWTH OF BALFOUR BEATTY’S CHOSEN MARKETS

United Kingdom

United States

Hong Kong

2024 

2020 

2019 

£43.3bn

2024 

US$324bn

2024 

HK$163bn

£30.5bn

+42%

2020 

US$264bn

+23%

2020 

HK$155bn

+5%

£32.0bn

2019 

US$315bn

2019 

HK$143bn

Source: Infrastructure and public construction; 
Construction Products Association (Autumn 2020), 
BICS Quarterly Briefing (July 2020)

Source: Infrastructure, buildings and multifamily housing 
construction in Balfour Beatty’s chosen states; Dodge 
Market Forecast (August 2020)

Source: Civils and public and private buildings construction, 
Construction Industry Council (April 2020)

1 

Including share of joint ventures and associates, before non-underlying items.

2

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

+
32
+
13
+
+
J
J
Our  
divisions

Construction  
Services

Support  
Services

Infrastructure 
Investments

MAGIC MOMENTS

MAGIC MOMENTS

MAGIC MOMENTS

Hong Kong: M+ Museum, West Kowloon 
Cultural District Authority. 
Photo credit: Samson Tse

UK: Love Lane Trams Track Renewal, 
Transport for London.  
Photo credit: Owen Stratford

US: Los Angeles Airport Automated 
People Mover, Los Angeles International 
Airport. Photo credit: Paul England

Expert 
capabilities

Balfour Beatty benefits 
significantly from a broad set 
of complementary capabilities 
across the Group.

 \ Our Construction Services 
businesses operate across 
infrastructure and buildings 
markets in the UK, the US and 
in joint venture in Hong Kong

 \ Their capabilities include civil 
engineering, building, ground 
engineering, M&E, refurbishment, 
fit-out and rail engineering

 \ Our Support Services 

 \ Our Infrastructure Investments 

businesses operate principally 
in the UK, designing, 
upgrading, managing and 
maintaining critical national 
infrastructure

 \ Their capabilities span water, 
gas and electricity networks, 
rail and highways

business develops and 
finances both public and 
private infrastructure projects 
in the UK and the US

 \ It operates and maintains 

infrastructure projects and a 
portfolio of military housing and 
student accommodation assets

Selective 
bidding for 
contracts

Our stringent gated lifecycle 
process allows us to carefully 
control our project portfolio on 
an ongoing basis.

Financial 
performance

ORDER BOOK1

£13.7bn

ORDER BOOK1

£2.7bn 

DIRECTORS’ VALUATION

£1.09bn

UNDERLYING REVENUE1

£6,964m

UNDERLYING REVENUE1

£1,067m

UNDERLYING REVENUE1

£556m

UNDERLYING PROFIT 
FROM OPERATIONS

£29m

UNDERLYING PROFIT 
FROM OPERATIONS

£46m

UNDERLYING PROFIT 
BEFORE TAX

£20m

STATUTORY PROFIT 
FROM OPERATIONS

£41m

STATUTORY PROFIT 
FROM OPERATIONS

£50m

STATUTORY PROFIT  
BEFORE TAX

£15m

1 

 Including share of joint 
ventures and associates, 
before non-underlying items.

p32

p39

p42

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

3

Strategic reportOUR RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Our response 
to COVID-19

Our experts have been helping keep the wheels of the economy turning, transport networks 
moving, communities connected and essential services running during COVID-19.

Whilst far reaching in its impact on the 
Group’s operations, the COVID-19 pandemic 
has proven the resilience of Balfour Beatty’s 
Build to Last strategy.

Throughout the pandemic we have 
protected our capabilities and strengths 
and balanced the needs of all 
our stakeholders.

Despite the initial disruption, 95% of our sites 
were open by the end of June with the Group 
safely executing projects and contracts for its 
customers. Through the second half of the 
year, Balfour Beatty’s operations and productivity 
recovered steadily, and today all the Group’s sites 
and operations are open and operating safely. 

Our COVID-19 strategy 

Across its US, UK and Hong Kong 
operations, the Group reacted swiftly 
and decisively to COVID-19 with a clear 
strategy to:  

keep people safe

continue to build and maintain 
the infrastructure economies 
and the public rely on

Keeping people safe 

The health, safety and wellbeing of all those 
who work with and for Balfour Beatty, as well 
as the general public, has remained the 
Group’s priority.

Across the Group, office-based employees 
were encouraged to work from home, supported 
by the accelerated roll out of Office 365 
including the adoption of Microsoft Teams to 
conduct virtual video meetings. 

In the UK, we supported the Government’s 
position to allow the construction and 
infrastructure industry to continue operating 
where it could do so safely. We developed 
COVID-19 Site Operating Procedures and these 
have been followed by all of our operations. 

In the US, we supported the Federal 
Government’s position to classify construction 
workers and residential rental industry 
professionals as essential workers operating 
in critical infrastructure sectors and fully 
adhered to COVID-19 regulations from 
federal, state and local authorities.

In Hong Kong, our 50:50 joint venture 
Gammon adhered to the COVID-19 guidance 
set out by the Government’s Centre for 
Health Protection. 

keep cash flowing through 
the supply chain

Read our paper ‘Seizing the day: positive 
change from Lockdown for the industry’

support employees, whether 
on-site, working remotely 
or furloughed

LEADING THE INDUSTRY 

Building and 
maintaining critical 
infrastructure 

COVID-19 has brought about a welcome 
shift in understanding and recognition of 
what we as a society need and rely on: from 
the roads, rail network and drivers that 
deliver medical supplies to hospitals and 
food to supermarket shelves, to the Wi-Fi 
and power supplies that have kept 
businesses working – and the people which 
keep all of this going. This recognition has 
been why key worker status was granted to 
so many in our sector.

We’re delighted at the way 
Balfour Beatty has responded 
to the COVID-19 crisis.

SHESQ Manager, National Grid

Balfour Beatty, in collaboration with other Tier One contractors and supply chain 
partners, published a COVID-19 industry research report, conducted by Loughborough 
University: “COVID-19 and construction: Early lessons for a new normal?” which 
explores the industry’s health and safety response to the pandemic and potential 
medium to long-term benefits arising from extending and embedding these new 
working practices.

Scan here to read the paper.

4

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 
Throughout the pandemic Balfour Beatty 
continued to construct and maintain this 
critical infrastructure at the backbone of 
economies and people’s daily lives as well 
as projects at the heart of local communities, 
whilst also stepping up to rapidly provide 
critical facilities to support the fight 
against COVID-19.

In the UK, acting as principal contractor, 
Balfour Beatty, along with its local supply 
chain, converted Glasgow’s Scottish Events 
Campus into the NHS Louisa Jordan hospital 
providing over 1,000 beds for patients requiring 
treatment for COVID-19. The team successfully 
completed the works in just 20 days. 

In the US, the Pavilion at Penn Medicine 
project in Pennsylvania opened 120 patient 
rooms 15 months ahead of the facility’s planned 
opening, with Balfour Beatty employees 
working around the clock for 17 days to 
deliver 122,000 square feet of space in the 
emergency department.

In Hong Kong, Gammon helped fast-track 
temporary COVID-19 quarantine facilities 
by providing project management and 
mechanical, electrical and plumbing services 
to construct 110 units at Penny’s Bay in just 
64 days. The team completed 95% of all 
works using modular integrated construction 
methods which reduced the amount of time 
the team were required on site. 

Read more about how we innovated through the 
pandemic in our innovation section on page 29 
or visit: bit.ly/bbcovidmicrosite

Keeping cash 
flowing through 
the supply chain 

Ensuring the liquidity of our supply chain 
partners who are vital in everything we do, 
has never been more important. 

Throughout the pandemic Balfour Beatty 
worked closely with its supply chain partners 
to ensure disruption caused by COVID-19 
was minimised. 

In the UK, our accounting services centre in 
Newcastle is responsible for the processing 
of all payments and effectively implemented 
its business continuity plan, resulting in an 
improvement in the percentage of invoices 
paid within 60 days from 89% in the first half 
of the year to 91% in the second half of the year.

In the US, the team developed a centralised 
supply chain insights resource to provide up to 
date prices and availability of key materials and 
commodities so that projects could find the 
materials they needed quickly from our supply 
chain partners to keep projects on programme. 

Watch our film which thanks our experts 
who have stepped up during COVID-19  
bit.ly/bbsteppedup

Supporting employees 

We ensured all of our 26,000 employees, thousands of them site-based and without easy 
access to IT, had the latest information on COVID-19 as it became available. We did this 
through a range of channels including:

Daily email bulletins 
with the latest 
COVID-19 news updates

Cascade ‘toolbox talks’ 
and site signage using 
centrally driven 
messaging

Health and wellbeing 
webinars and virtual 
conferences 

Weekly site poster packs and videos 
accessible via QR codes to 
communicate safety messages and 
updates to site-based employees

A drumbeat of senior management 
blogs outlining key developments and 
helping to keep employees engaged 
and fully informed

A dedicated page on our corporate 
website hosting training and guidance 
for colleagues who were placed on 
furlough leave 

A new intranet site to host guidance, 
toolkits and FAQs to support line 
managers and their teams, which has 
received 145,000 visits since launch

Summary 
The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant 
impact on the construction and infrastructure 
industry. But it has also provided an 
opportunity to reflect. It will act as an 
accelerant to the pace of change in some key 
areas. Balfour Beatty will play its significant 
part in strengthening and streamlining the 
industry to allow it to emerge stronger from 
the COVID-19 pandemic.

Balfour Beatty’s employee engagement 
index score saw a significant increase to 
75% (2019: 66%). 

Through My Contribution, our employee-led 
change programme, we launched our 
‘Bouncing Back’ campaign which generated 
more than 550 ideas from our employees for 
how we could bounce back from COVID-19. 
Read more on page 28.

In the US, a safety observation app was 
utilised enabling employees to access 
government checklists and guidance on 
outbreak planning, preventative and response 
measures, strategies and other best 
practices to help evaluate COVID-19 
jobsite safety.

Continuing the focus on health and safety, 
the Group launched ‘The Big Conversation’ to 
connect employees from across the UK, US 
and Hong Kong – to encourage open and 
honest conversations about health and 
safety. More than 300 projects participated 
with teams collaborating across the globe.

In the UK, Balfour Beatty continued firm in its 
commitment, despite the pandemic, to 
developing its future workforce with a 30% 
increase in its intake of Graduates, 
Apprentices and Trainees in 2020.

 RIGHT
Laura McWilliams, Superintendent. 
Victory Commons 1, Dallas

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

5

Strategic reportGROUP CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION

We took decisive action to protect the Group’s 
financial strength and capabilities to ensure 
that, as more normal trading conditions 
return, we have the capability and expertise 
to deliver on our impressive order book. 
Working to balance the needs of all stakeholders, 
we cancelled the final 2019 dividend 
announced in March 2020 and did not declare 
an interim dividend in August 2020. The 
Board and Executive Committee volunteered 
to take a temporary 20% reduction in salary 
to relieve some of the cash flow pressures 
and to protect others elsewhere in the 
business. This, combined with a range of 
other actions including stopping all discretionary 
spend, helped us to maintain liquidity – critical 
in support of our thousands of supply 
chain partners. 

Balfour Beatty has weathered many storms 
in its 111-year history to emerge stronger. 
This period will have been no exception. 

As we worked carefully through the challenges 
of 2020, our earnings-based businesses 
recovered through the second half of the 
year. Our order book increased strongly, 
driven in part by the UK Government granting 
HS2 Notice to Proceed in April. I am proud 
that, due to Balfour Beatty’s market-leading 
position, we and our joint venture partner 
VINCI will be helping to deliver such a 
transformational scheme to strengthen 
our national infrastructure. 

Despite delays caused by COVID-19, in the 
second half of the year the Group continued 
to win significant infrastructure projects 
across all its geographies. Key successes 
included over £1 billion of work secured on 
the Third Runway project at Hong Kong 
Airport, the reconstruction and widening of 
Oak Hill Parkway, the interstate highway in 
the West of Texas in the US, and major 
contracts for the M25 and M3 in the UK. 
We are optimistic that output will rebound 
in 2021 and into 2022. 

Now, with our operations seeing a path back 
to their performance levels of 2019, and then 
beyond, and given the strength of our financial 
position at the end of 2020, the Board has 
taken the decision to repay the £19 million 
claimed in 2020 from the UK Government’s 
Job Retention Scheme.

Markets
Governments around the world – and across 
our core markets – are taking decisive action 
to invest in significant long-term fiscal stimuli 
to ignite their economies. That means that 
infrastructure investment will rightly play a 
major role in the global post-COVID-19 
recovery, given its powerful multiplier effect 
on jobs and spending. Many of these plans 
have a specific focus on sustainable 
infrastructure, from which Balfour Beatty 
is well-positioned to benefit.

Infrastructure 
investment will play 
a major role in the 
global post COVID-19 
recovery 

Dear shareholder,

In 2015 when I wrote to you for the first time 
as Chair of Balfour Beatty, I said that we were 
beginning the changes necessary to restore 
the business to strength. The Group had 
once again presented disappointing financial 
results, was plagued with legacy issues and 
had fought off a proposed merger with 
Carillion, a company which entered liquidation 
only three years later in 2018. 

Six years on and having announced I will be 
stepping down this year, I write for the last 
time as your Chair. In doing so, I am able to 
reflect on the transformation that the business 
has undergone. Today, Balfour Beatty is 
focused on growth markets with improved 
governance and risk management; we have 
driven substantial employee engagement 
across the company; dramatically improved 
our customer satisfaction score to 95% in 
2020; significantly reduced our carbon emissions 
and, most importantly, seen a 66% reduction 
in our Lost Time Injury Rate – all whilst building 
one of the strongest balance sheets in the 
sector, including an enviable cash position. 
These efforts have not been without recognition, 
with Balfour Beatty securing Britain’s Most 
Admired Company in our sector for the second 
consecutive year; an award made even more 
notable as it represents the views of our 
peers, financial analysts and city commentators.

In my six years as Chair, I have been pleased 
to work alongside Leo Quinn and the executive 
team. It has been my role to guide, to support, 
to offer counsel, to challenge and to encourage. 
My time at Balfour Beatty has been in equal 
parts, energising and rewarding and I am 
immensely proud of what we have achieved 
together. I shall leave knowing that the Group 
is strong and well-positioned for the world in 
which it operates. 

Navigating COVID-19
This resilience which has been developed 
and embedded over several years, was 
thoroughly tested by the unforeseen events 
of 2020. Throughout the last twelve months, 
our robust processes and the controls developed 
under Build to Last have helped Balfour Beatty 
to navigate a constantly changing and difficult 
environment. I applaud the collective effort of 
our 26,000 employees and our supply chain 
partners, who have enabled us to continue 
to deliver safely for our customers and 
communities. Indeed, they have been an 
inspiration throughout my tenure, but never 
more so than in the last year.

COVID-19 has cast a long financial shadow 
over the entire globe. Balfour Beatty has not 
been immune because, although we have 
kept the majority of our sites and contracts 
open and operating safely, in order to support 
economies and daily life, COVID-19 impacted 
productivity across all our geographies. 

6

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Sustainability 
We decided that in 2020 it was timely to set 
out a new sustainability strategy. We know 
that global construction has a significant 
environmental footprint and, therefore, a key 
role to play in supporting decarbonisation, 
reducing waste and meeting international 
commitments on biodiversity. Having 
achieved our previous carbon emissions 
reduction target ahead of schedule, our new 
ambitions include going beyond net zero 
carbon by 2040. As part of this, in 2020, 
the Group continued to take great strides 
in reducing energy and fuel consumption and 
emissions. In 2020 our carbon intensity from 
our Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduced by 
18.8 tonnes of CO2e/£m revenue, 55% below 
our 2010 baseline. We will continue to work 
collaboratively with customers, industry and 
our supply chain to ensure that we meet our 
targets and ambitions.

Health, safety and wellbeing
The health, safety and wellbeing of our 
employees remains paramount in all we do. 
It is our number one priority.

Notwithstanding COVID-19’s impact on 
working life and team interactions, continued 
improvement in our health and safety practices 
was reflected in a reduction in our lost time 
injury rate (excluding international joint 
ventures) to 0.10, a 66% reduction since 
2014. In addition our UK and US employee 
survey revealed that 84% of our employees 
feel empowered to speak up in the workplace 
if they see anything potentially unsafe – 
contributing to over 200,000 health and 
safety observations made in 2020, including 
best practice, that are helping us take action 
before incidents happen and ensure that we 
continuously improve. 

Despite our focus and drive for continuous 
health and safety improvement, tragically 
four colleagues lost their lives this year while 
working at or with Balfour Beatty. Three fatal 
incidents occurred in Hong Kong and one in 
the UK. Additionally, in the US a member of 
our joint venture partner’s workforce was 
fatally injured. My heart goes out to their 
families, friends and colleagues. We have 
learnt from these terrible tragedies.

As we continue to strive for Zero Harm – 
meaning no injury, ill health or environmental 
incident caused by our work activities – we 
launched Balfour Beatty’s ‘Big Conversation’ 
in November. This campaign leveraged our 
international footprint with hundreds of our 
teams across the UK, US and Hong Kong 
connecting and collaborating remotely to share 
best practice, experiences and expertise. 

The Board
Last year I announced I would be stepping 
down from the Board at the 2021 AGM and 
the search is progressing for my successor. 
The new Chair and the Board will continue 
our commitment to building a diverse and 
inclusive workforce, attracting talented 
people with a broad range of skills and 
experience from all backgrounds into our 
Group, including the Board. Whilst we have 
made good progress over the last few years 
all of us recognise that this is a vital area and 
one where more needs to be done.

Capital returns
Balfour Beatty has announced a new 
sustainable capital allocation framework 
which provides a balanced approach to 
address the investment needs of the 
business, regular dividend payments and 
additional returns to shareholders.

The Group’s profitability in 2020 was impacted 
significantly by COVID-19, but the strength of 
its financial position and its future prospects 
provides the Board with the confidence to 
reinstate the dividend by recommending a 
final dividend for 2020 and announce a 
£150 million share buyback programme for 2021. 

Conclusion 
Although 2020 was an unsettling and 
incredibly difficult year, it was also one which 
demonstrated the immense resilience Balfour 
Beatty has developed since the beginning of 
Build to Last, in creating a business able to 
maintain its disciplines, capability and 
financial strength, in a period of challenge, 
arguably unprecedented in our lifetimes. 

I wish all those who work with and for 
Balfour Beatty the very best as the Company 
delivers on its undoubted capacity for success 
by capitalising on governments’ infrastructure 
stimuli in its chosen markets in the next 
decade. It has been an honour and a privilege 
to play my part in the Company’s history – 
I will leave confident in the knowledge that 
Balfour Beatty has a formidable future ahead. 

Philip Aiken AM
Group Chair

9 March 2021

Section 172 statement

The Directors take their responsibilities to 
shareholders and stakeholders very seriously. 
During 2020, the Board reviewed the Group’s 
main stakeholder groups and existing channels 
of engagement with each so that their views can 
be understood and considered in Board 
discussions and decision-making. In addition to 
having regard to the interests of the Group’s 
stakeholders, Directors also consider the impact 
of the Group’s activities on the communities 
within which it operates, the environment and 
the Group’s reputation. The Directors seek to act 
in good faith in the way most likely to promote 
the success of the Company for the benefit of its 
shareholders in the long term and to act fairly 
between all of the Company’s shareholders. 
Through the Board and its Committees, 
Directors have taken action to promote and 
support these objectives across the Group, 
details of which can be found throughout this 
Annual Report as set out here:

 \ The Company’s purpose, values and 
behaviours in the front cover pull out.

 \ A description of key stakeholder groups and 

how the Board has engaged with 
stakeholders on pages 113 to 115.

 \ Broader Group engagement with 

stakeholders and an assessment of their 
priorities relating to sustainability matters 
on pages 24 and 25.

 \ The range of activities undertaken across the 
Group relating to sustainability matters on 
pages 55 to 70.

 \ Details of how high standards of integrity are 

maintained on pages 52 to 54. 

 \ The proactive and pragmatic approach of the 

Group toward risk on pages 88 to 102.

 \ The framework of the Company’s 

decision-making on pages 116 to 118.

 \ Details of the Company’s governance 

processes and practice on pages 105 to 121.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

7

Strategic reportGROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW

remained open for business as employees 
and partners continued to execute contracts 
for customers safely. At the same time, the 
Group maintained liquidity for its supply chain 
and put in place extensive support for employees 
– whether on-site, working remotely or 
furloughed. In achieving this, Build to Last’s 
investments in upgraded systems, processes 
and leadership proved their value as Balfour 
Beatty demonstrated resilience against 
unforeseeable challenges. 

In response to the pandemic, all stakeholders 
played their part. Governments provided employee 
assistance schemes and tax deferrals. Senior 
employees voluntarily took temporary salary 
reductions, as did the Group’s Board and 
Executive Committee. In addition, the final 
dividend for 2019 was cancelled. 

Between April and October, the Group made 
use of the UK Government’s Job Retention 
Scheme (JRS), and supplemented salaries for 
employees placed on the scheme. The scheme 
worked effectively as it allowed Balfour 
Beatty to retain employees during heightened 
uncertainty when sites were closed and to 
bring them back as sites re-opened. Given 
the strength and resilience of the Group’s 
balance sheet, Balfour Beatty fully repaid the 
UK taxes it had deferred in 2020 during the 
year and will repay the £19 million that had 
been claimed under the JRS. In addition, 
the Board commenced a share buyback 
programme in January 2021 and has 
recommended a final dividend for 2020. 

Financial summary: maintained 
strong cash performance 
In 2020, for the fifth year running, the Group 
delivered positive cash flow with the year-end 
net cash balance at £581 million (2019: 
£512 million) and average net cash at 
£527 million (2019: £325 million). The strength 
of Balfour Beatty’s balance sheet provides 
the flexibility to make the right long-term 
decisions and allowed the Group to repay 
US$46 million of its US private placement 
notes in March 2020 and fully redeem its 
preference shares for £112 million in July 2020. 

For the year ended 31 December 2020, 
the Group reported a significant reduction 
in profitability due to a combination of the 
impact of COVID-19, a reassessment of end 
of contract forecasts in Construction Services 
and the decision to defer any disposals from 
Infrastructure Investments given prevailing 
market conditions. For the first half of the 
year, the Group reported a loss from 
operations, then partially recovered in 
the second half of the year with all 
segments recording a profit resulting in a 
full year underlying profit from operations 
of £51 million (2019: £221 million). 

Well positioned 
financially, 
operationally and 
culturally to deliver 
our goals

Capacity for 
enhanced returns

Balfour Beatty’s goal throughout Build to Last 
has been to create a sustainable foundation 
for its next 100 years. Since 2015, the Group 
has continually upgraded its capability, processes 
and governance to ensure leadership in its 
chosen markets. It has underpinned this with 
a culture which encourages every employee 
to make a difference, consider all stakeholders 
and continually improve performance. At the 
end of 2020, the Group formalised its credentials 
in a future net zero world with a new 
sustainability strategy, Building New Futures.

The best measure of long-term business 
resilience is cash performance – and in 
delivering another year of positive cash flow 
the Group exceeded its external guidance 
with £527 million of average net cash. This 
performance was achieved despite the 
impact on profit from COVID-19, while 
maintaining Balfour Beatty’s key strengths 
and delivering a record £16.4 billion order 
book at year end. With its strong balance 
sheet, medium term visibility and market 
outlook, the Group now has enhanced 
capacity to drive cash generation through 
earnings growth and restarting disposals of 
Investments assets. 

Over the last four years, the Group has 
generated sufficient cash flows to pay down 
over £430 million of debt and preference 

shares, while maintaining its Investments 
portfolio at £1.1 billion. Today, Balfour Beatty 
is announcing a new capital allocation framework 
which provides a balanced approach to 
address the investment needs of the business, 
regular dividend payments and additional 
returns to shareholders. In January 2021, 
the Group commenced a share buyback 
programme, which is today being increased 
to £150 million for 2021. 

Supporting stakeholders through 
the crisis: maintaining strengths 
for the future
The wellbeing and safety of all those who 
work for and with Balfour Beatty, and of the 
public, remains the Group’s priority. Since the 
start of the pandemic, Balfour Beatty’s focus 
has been to manage the rapidly changing 
situation in order to balance the needs of its 
stakeholders while protecting the Group’s 
capability and strength. In achieving this, the 
dedication of the Group’s employees in 
supporting each other and the Group’s 
customers has been outstanding. It is in large 
part due to them that Balfour Beatty has for 
the second year running won the coveted 
Britain’s Most Admired Company award for 
our sector. 

The first decision to minimise the impact of 
COVID-19 was keeping the Group’s sites 
operational in line with government guidance, 
where it was safe to do so. Most sites 

8

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

MAGIC MOMENTS

UK: The installation of a new bridge at Marsh Lane on the M4, Highways England. Photo credit: Leo Quinn

Operations: impact of COVID-19
All the Group’s businesses were impacted by 
COVID-19, although this varied according to 
geographic and operational footprint. 

For the full year, UK Construction recorded 
an underlying loss as site closures, lower 
productivity, additional operating costs and 
lengthening site programmes triggered a 
reassessment of the Group’s contract end 
forecast positions. After adjusting for the 
decision to repay the UK Job Retention 
Scheme, UK Construction did return to 
profitability in the second half of the year but 
specific sectors, such as aviation, have seen 
a material slowdown throughout the year. US 
Construction was also negatively impacted 
by COVID-19 as all geographies were 
affected, most notably Washington State 
where sites were closed in the second 
quarter and in Florida where the hospitality 
sector was materially impacted throughout 
the year. 

At Gammon both revenue and profit 
increased in the year as the impact of 
COVID-19 in Hong Kong has been lower than 
in the UK and US, in part due to Hong Kong’s 
experiences from previous viruses such as 
SARS. Given the timing of the spread of 
COVID-19, the Group was able to take 
learnings from Gammon, such as working 
safely and efficiently in enclosed spaces 
whilst maintaining social distancing, then 
apply them across the rest of the Group. 

In Support Services, the business has been 
resilient with the Group’s contracts generally 
designated as critical infrastructure and as 
such profit was broadly in line with the prior 
year. The Group was able to accelerate road 
and rail maintenance programmes for some 
customers due to lower volumes of traffic in 
the year, but this was offset by general 
disruption on projects and other customers 
reducing maintenance expenditure given the 
economic uncertainty. 

Board of Directors: Group 
Chair succession
Having been the Group Chair since 2015, Philip 
Aiken notified the Board of Directors of his 
intention to step down at the next Annual 
General Meeting in May 2021. The Board 
would like to thank Philip for his tremendous 
leadership and stewardship of the business 
during the transformation of Balfour Beatty. 
The Nomination Committee is overseeing the 
externally supported search for a successor.

Order book: clear visibility over 
the medium term
The Group’s order book at year end increased 
by 15% to £16.4 billion (2019: £14.3 billion). 
The order book now stands at around two years 
of revenue, providing clear medium-term 
visibility. The increase in 2020 was due to 
the addition of over £3 billion of contracts 
following the UK Government issuing Notice 

to Proceed on HS2 in April, including Balfour 
Beatty’s largest ever contract for the Area 
North main civils work. Additionally, Gammon, 
the Group’s 50:50 joint venture based in 
Hong Kong, won its largest ever contract 
with, in total, c. HK$20 billion worth of 
contracts from the Hong Kong Airport 
Authority – a significant existing customer. 

Over the last three years, the order book has 
increased approximately 45%, driven by 
winning large public sector infrastructure 
projects in the UK, US and Hong Kong. In 
addition, the quality of the order book continues 
to improve. At year end, almost 90% of the 
UK Construction order book is with public or 
regulated customers and 80% is under target 
cost or cost reimbursable contracts (including 
the recent HS2 contracts). In the US, where 
the percentage of private customers is higher 
in the Buildings business, price risk is managed 
through construction management contracts. 
The increase in total order book value 
coupled with the shift towards lower risk 
contracts provides increasing confidence that 
the Group will deliver profitable managed 
growth on a sustainable basis. 

Infrastructure: global fiscal stimuli
In November, the UK Government released 
details of its five-year plan, the National 
Infrastructure Strategy (NIS), to deploy 
infrastructure investment to drive economic 
recovery, level up and meet the UK’s net zero 
emissions target by 2050. The £640 billion of 
funding announced for developments in 
roads, railways, power networks, schools, 
hospitals and telecommunications represents 
an increase of around £100 billion compared 
to previously announced plans. 

In January 2021, Balfour Beatty was selected 
as one of 30 companies working in a new 
partnership with the UK Government to steer 
the COVID-19 economic recovery as part of 
the Build Back Better Business Council. 
The council will focus on innovation, 
infrastructure and skills, all key areas of 
focus for Balfour Beatty.

In the US, there is strong bipartisan support 
for accelerated infrastructure investment. 
The new President has announced a Build 
Back Better recovery plan proposing 
significant investment in infrastructure. 
Although nationwide forecasts show a 
decline in the overall construction market, 
Balfour Beatty is positioned in regions that 
are expected to perform better than the 
national forecast as demographic shifts 
continue to favour the Group’s chosen states 
(Southern Smile) in the medium term. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

9

Strategic reportGROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW CONTINUED

Gammon has a material share of the Hong 
Kong market, which has historically benefited 
from significant public sector investment. 
This appears set to continue with the 
Government’s recently announced ambition 
in its February 2021 budget to increase 
spend materially over the medium term.

Build to Last: Lean, Expert, Trusted, 
Safe, Sustainable
Since 2015, the Group’s Build to Last 
strategy has created a self-help culture based 
on four values: Lean, Expert, Trusted, Safe. 
The Group’s progress is measured using cash 
flow and profit from operations, employee 
engagement, customer satisfaction and Zero 
Harm, respectively. In 2020, a fifth value was 
added to this framework – Sustainable, 
measured by CO2 emissions.

Lean: The disciplines learnt during Build to 
Last have served the Group well in ensuring 
effective and efficient operations. In 2020, 
underlying net operating expenses reduced 
further to £226 million (2019: £267 million) – 
a reduction of more than 50% since the start 
of Build to Last (2014: £470 million, adjusted 
for foreign exchange movements). 

The Group’s successful focus on cash 
generation is evidenced by average net cash 
in 2020 at £527 million – ahead of previous 
guidance and over 60% higher than the prior 
year (2019: £325 million). As a key part of its 
strategy to create value by achieving market 
leadership, the Group has invested over 
£600 million since 2015 in equity assets 
(Infrastructure Investments), capex (IT, 
plant and fleet) and capability (training 
and development).

These disciplines in cash management and 
cost efficiencies have been fundamental to 
the Group’s financial transformation and 
today’s announcement of its new capital 
allocation framework. 

Expert: Customers buy Balfour Beatty’s 
services due to the expert capabilities of 
the Group and its employees. The key metric 
for Expert is employee engagement, and the 
challenges presented by COVID-19 have made 
this even more important. It is a powerful 
testament to the progress made since 2015 
that employee engagement in the October 2020 
survey rose to 75% (2019: 66%; 2015: 60%). 
The survey provides a clear tracker of progress 
in creating the kind of company where people 
want to build long-term fulfilling careers, 
which is of key importance given the strong 
order book and growth in chosen markets. 
The survey results are consistent with the 
reduction in the Group’s voluntary attrition 
rate in the UK, with the twelve-month rolling 
average now at 10% (2019: 11%, 2014: 16%). 

For the second year running, Balfour Beatty 
secured the accolade of Britain’s Most Admired 
Company in the Heavy Construction category 
of the longest running annual survey of 
corporate reputation in the UK. Organised by 
leading specialists and academic partners, 
the awards represent a peer-review, considering 
views from board-level representatives, 
financial analysts and city commentators to 
identify Britain’s best public companies and 
leading employers across 25 sectors. Balfour 
Beatty was scored against 13 criteria points, 
securing the highest marks in six categories. 
The Group was praised for its quality of 
products and services, long-term value 
potential, competitiveness and quality of 
marketing as well as its commitment to 
diversity & inclusion, inspirational leadership 
and driving forward world-class projects for 
multinational customers.  

In October, Balfour Beatty signed an open 
letter to Audeliss and INvolve committing to 
engaging and measuring long-term actions 
for black inclusion within its business. This 
UK based initiative saw Balfour Beatty become 
the first in its industry to commit to engaging 
and measuring long-term actions for black 
inclusion. This builds on the Group’s 2018 
Diversity and Inclusion strategy, with initiatives 
such as the reverse mentoring programme, 
focus groups with BAME colleagues, and 
Affinity Networks for under-represented 
groups raising awareness for diverse 
perspectives and experiences within 
the business.

In October, the Group announced a 30% rise 
in its UK graduate intake in 2020 compared to 
2019, which contributed to an increase in the 
total percentage of Balfour Beatty’s UK 
workforce in ‘earn & learn’ positions at year 
end to 6.0% (2019: 5.4%). This commitment 
is consistent with Balfour Beatty placing as 
the sixth most desirable company that 
students aspire to work for once they have 
completed their studies. More than 15,000 
UK-based university students and graduates 
were surveyed, with Balfour Beatty the only 
construction and infrastructure company 
placed in the league table.

During the year, the Group received its 6,000th 
idea from its My Contribution programme 
which crowd sources ideas from employees 
who want to bring about positive business 
change. The milestone idea was from the 
HS2 team to improve the efficiency of concrete 
deliveries via innovative new technology.

Trusted: Balfour Beatty is trusted to “do what 
we say we will do” and is measured on this 
metric by customer satisfaction. In the year, 
around 2,000 customer satisfaction reviews 
were carried out with the Group customer 
satisfaction score at 95% (2019: 94%; 2014: 
77%). The Group continues to focus on 

active risk management underpinning strict 
adherence to the Build to Last values with 
investment in IT-based processes and controls. 
These include the Gated Business Lifecycle 
process, the Digital Briefcase and Project on 
a Page. Together, these provide management 
with a clear, consistent line of sight on all 
stages of work being bid and delivered, 
together with key tools for managing 
commercial risk and project execution. 

The Group has achieved important successes 
in playing its part in the global response to 
COVID-19 through the determination and 
dedication of its workforce. Acting as 
principal contractor, Balfour Beatty converted 
Glasgow’s Scottish Events Campus (SEC) 
into the NHS Louisa Jordan hospital providing 
over 1,000 beds for patients requiring treatment 
for COVID-19. In Pennsylvania, the Pavilion at 
Penn Medicine project opened 120 patient 
rooms 15 months ahead of the facility’s planned 
opening, with Balfour Beatty employees 
working around the clock for 17 days to 
deliver 122,000 square feet of space in the 
emergency department. In Hong Kong, 
Gammon helped fast-track temporary 
COVID-19 quarantine facilities by providing 
project management and mechanical, electrical 
and plumbing services to construct 110 units 
at Penny’s Bay in just 64 days.

In June 2019, allegations about the handling 
of certain work orders were publicised about 
a number of US military bases managed by 
Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC). 
Subsequently, the US Department of Justice 
(DoJ) commenced an investigation into the 
allegations of false claims. Balfour Beatty 
instructed Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, BBC’s 
outside counsel, to conduct its own investigation, 
and BBC proactively contacted the DoJ to 
notify them of the review. Balfour Beatty’s 
own investigation is substantially complete, 
and the Group’s findings have been shared 
with the DoJ. 

Balfour Beatty has made a provision in its 
2020 year end results for an estimate of the 
historical incentive fees that its investigation 
was unable to fully verify and which BBC has 
proposed to be repaid. The Group’s external 
counsel is engaging with the DoJ, with the 
intention of seeking resolution but as the DoJ 
investigation is still ongoing, the Group is not 
able to provide any further indication or measure 
with sufficient reliability the outcome of the 
investigation, including timing or any quantum 
of any possible fine, penalty or damages that 
may arise. 

Safe: Construction is an inherently dangerous 
industry. It is therefore essential that the safety 
and health of everyone who comes into 
contact with Balfour Beatty’s operations is 
the top priority. 

10

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 \ continued investment in organic growth 

opportunities in Infrastructure Investments 
which meet the Group’s return hurdles;

 \ active realisation of Investments assets 
with disposals timed to optimise value 
for shareholders; 

 \ a strong but efficient balance sheet which 
provides the financial platform to make 
long-term business decisions, in response 
to both opportunities and periods of 
market dislocation;

 \ commitment to paying a sustainable ordinary 

dividend, targeted at a pay-out ratio of 40% 
of underlying profit after tax (excluding gain 
on disposal of Investments assets). The 
Board expects dividends to grow over time 
with underlying profit; and

 \ additional cash returns via share buybacks 
(or other mechanisms depending on market 
conditions) broadly based on surplus cash 
delivered from Investments disposals as 
well as surplus operating cash flows. 

As part of this framework, Balfour Beatty is 
increasing its initial £50 million share buyback 
programme, commenced in January 2021, 
to £150 million for 2021, which it expects 
to complete by 31 December 2021. 

Conclusion
Throughout the pandemic, Balfour Beatty 
has focused on balancing the needs of all 
stakeholders whilst protecting the Group’s 
capability, disciplines and financial strength. 
The transformation delivered under the Build 
to Last strategy has enabled the Group to 
successfully navigate these challenges 
and from this platform Balfour Beatty has 
the capacity to deliver enhanced 
shareholder returns.

Leo Quinn
Group Chief Executive 

9 March 2021

During 2020 four individuals working across 
the Group’s operations have lost their lives, 
one in the UK and three in Hong Kong. 
Additionally, an individual working for a joint 
venture partner lost their life in the US. Full 
investigations have been undertaken to 
ensure learnings are shared and implemented 
quickly across Balfour Beatty. In remembering 
those lost, the Group will continue to strive 
for Zero Harm by making conditions as safe 
as possible on its sites.

In August, both the UK and US businesses 
recorded a whole month without a lost time 
injury – for the first time since 2016 –
demonstrating Zero Harm in action. For the 
full year, the Group’s lost time injury rate 
(excluding international joint ventures), calculated 
as the lost time injuries that occur per every 
100,000 hours worked, reduced to 0.10 
(2019: 0.14; 2014: 0.29). All other lagging 
indicators also showed improvement. 

During the year safety assumed an even 
greater emphasis as Balfour Beatty developed 
new COVID-19 Site Operating Procedures to 
support safe working to government guidelines. 
Despite the challenges of adapting operations 
to maintain social distancing, Balfour Beatty 
has seen a positive and significant reduction 
in injury rates. In November, the Group launched 
a new safety engagement approach ‘The Big 
Conversation’ where projects partnered across 
the UK, US and Hong Kong to share learning 
on fatal risk controls and mental health.

Sustainable: In December, Balfour Beatty 
included a fifth Build to Last value and launched 
the Group’s new sustainability strategy, 
Building New Futures. Sustainability has 
always been at the heart of Balfour Beatty. 
From reducing carbon emissions by over 
50% in the past decade, to improving 
biodiversity, training the next generation, 
channelling spend through smaller 
businesses, and looking after employees. 
Balfour Beatty is currently rated AA by MSCI 
and medium risk by Sustainalytics. 

As a key lever of economic growth, the 
construction and infrastructure industry will 
be central to a sustainable recovery. New, 
low carbon infrastructure (HS2, wind power, 
new nuclear, rail electrification, energy efficient 
buildings) will play a leading role in stimulating 
growth. From the Green New Deal proposed 
by the US President, to the Green Industrial 
Revolution launched by the UK Prime Minister, 
governments are investing in ensuring that 
economies come back stronger from COVID-19 
without the increase in carbon emissions that 
accompanied the last financial recovery.

The new sustainability strategy goes further 
and has been developed using a materiality 
assessment with input from key stakeholder 
groups in the UK, US and Hong Kong. It is 

focused on the three areas most important 
to the Group’s business – the environment, 
materials and communities. The strategy 
requires faster, more significant action 
setting out:

 \ 2030 targets, including a formal 

commitment to a science-based target 
to reduce carbon emissions; and 

 \ 2040 ambitions to go beyond net zero carbon, 
to generate zero waste and to positively 
impact more than one million people. 

Outlook: 2021 in line with 2019 
Balfour Beatty’s operations recovered steadily 
through the second half of 2020 and today, 
all the Group’s sites are open and operating 
safely in accordance with local regulations. 

Despite the continuing COVID-19 restrictions, 
the Board expects that the earnings-based 
businesses (Construction Services and 
Support Services) will deliver underlying 
profit from operations for 2021 in line with 
2019 (£172 million). 

As a result of market uncertainty caused by 
COVID-19, in 2020 Balfour Beatty did not 
dispose of any Investments assets. In 2021, 
the Group will re-commence the sale of 
Investments assets timed to optimise value 
to shareholders, as demand for high quality 
infrastructure assets in the secondary market 
is expected to exceed supply. 

For 2022 and beyond, the strength of the 
Group’s order book and positive infrastructure 
markets creates the capacity to drive 
profitable managed growth and sustainable 
cash generation. 

Capital allocation framework: 
sustainable return of surplus capital
Over the last four years, Balfour Beatty has 
repaid over £400 million of debt and preference 
shares, principally from selling approximately 
£100 million per annum of Investments assets 
into the secondary market, whilst reinvesting 
approximately £50 million per annum in new 
Infrastructure Investments opportunities. The 
Group has established one of the strongest 
balance sheets in its sector, with average net 
cash over £500 million and an Investments 
portfolio valued at £1.1 billion. From this 
position of strength, Balfour Beatty commenced 
a share buyback programme in January 2021. 

Balfour Beatty understands the importance 
of delivering attractive total cash returns to 
shareholders. The Group is therefore committed 
to maintaining an appropriate balance between 
investment in the business, maintaining a 
strong capital position and cash returns to 
shareholders. The new capital allocation 
framework comprises: 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

11

Strategic reportOUR STRATEGY: BUILD TO LAST

Delivering 
Build to Last

Launched in 2015, Build to Last is our strategy for continuous 
improvement. It is the day-to-day guide we use to uphold our 
purpose, and underpins everything we do. 

ABOUT BUILD TO LAST

Build to Last is fundamental to 
how we’re building a market-
leading Balfour Beatty for the 
next 100 years. It’s our 
platform for sustainable 
growth, productivity, inclusive 
talent – all ensuring the best 
capability to deliver on our 
promises and our enduring 
commitment to Zero Harm.

The Build to Last strategy is 
measured against our five 
values – Lean, Expert, Trusted, 
Safe and Sustainable.

LEAN

We create value for our 
customers and drive 
continuous improvement 

We’re thoughtful and agile, continuously 
challenging our ways of working to 
improve health and safety and productivity, 
eliminate waste and enhance quality 
to make us more competitive. 

EXPERT

Our highly skilled 
colleagues and 
partners set 
us apart

Our people are leaders. We’re the 
experts of today and inspire the 
leaders of tomorrow. We invest in 
our colleagues, building their skills 
and knowledge, to develop a 
passionate, world-class workforce 
drawn from all parts of our society.

OUR KPIs

Net cash (£m)
excluding non-recourse borrowings

Underlying profit from  
continuing operations (£m)

Employee engagement  
index (%)

1
8
5

2
1
5

1
2
2

5
0
2

6
9
1

5
7

5
6

6
6

0
6

8
5

0
6

5
3
3

7
3
3

3
6
1

3
7
1

7
6

9
6

1
5

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2015

2016

2017 2018

2019 2020

Whilst far reaching in 
its impact on the Group’s 
operations, the COVID-19 
pandemic has proven the 
resilience of the Group’s 
Build to Last strategy. 

2020: 

£581m
p162

2020: 

£51m

2020: 

75%
p71

12

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 
ABOUT BUILD TO LAST

In December 2020, Balfour Beatty included a fifth 
Build to Last value and launched the Group’s new 
sustainability strategy, Building New Futures.

Leo Quinn, Group Chief Executive

TRUSTED

We deliver on our 
promises and we 
do the right thing

SAFE

We make safety 
personal

SUSTAINABLE

We act responsibly to 
protect and enhance 
our planet and society

We build trust every day by 
delivering on our promises, always. 
We’re accountable for our decisions 
and work with the upmost integrity to 
ensure we’re making the right choices. 

Safety is our license to operate. Nothing 
is more important than the health, safety 
and wellbeing of our colleagues and the 
communities we serve. We are unrelenting 
and uncompromising in our commitment 
to achieving zero harm.

We leave a positive legacy for the people 
we work with, the communities we work 
in, and the world in which we operate. 
We want to enhance our impact on the 
environment, working with our supply chain 
partners, customers and communities to 
ensure our choices are sustainable.

OUR KPIs

Customer satisfaction  
average (%)

Lost time injury rate (LTIR)
excluding international joint ventures

Total Scope 1 & 2 emissions (tCO2e) 
per £m revenue

1
9

4
9

7
9

4
9

5
9

2
8

2
2

.
0

1
2
.
0

7
1
.
0

5
1
.
0

4
1
.
0

0
1
.
0

0
.
5
3

4
.
9
2

5
.
4
2

1
.
2
2

3
.
0
2

8
.
8
1

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2020: 

95%
p52

2020: 

0.10 LTIR
p48

2020: 

18.8 tCO2e
p55

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

13

Strategic report 
 
 
 Leading in 

 our markets 

We discuss macro trends and opportunities in our chosen markets, the way we 
operate and how we create value for all our stakeholders as well as the cutting 
edge solutions we are leveraging to meet our customers’ challenges. 

In this section

MARKET REVIEW 

BUSINESS MODEL 

STAKEHOLDER VALUE 

INNOVATION 

Our chosen markets show strong 
underlying drivers and continue 
to deliver significant opportunities 
for the Group.

We are well positioned to ensure 
high-quality outcomes for all our 
stakeholders by operating in 
attractive markets, leveraging 
synergies between our business 
units and continuing to focus on 
world-class delivery. 

In striving to achieve our purpose 
of Building New Futures, we touch 
the lives of many people. Working 
with our stakeholders across the 
industry and beyond, we continue 
to innovate, lead the market 
through driving change, shape 
the debate and inspire a new 
generation of talent to be the 
change-makers of tomorrow.

We harness the power of digital 
and cutting-edge innovation to 
redefine the possible and drive 
productivity. Trusted by customers 
to deliver sustainable solutions and 
strengthen communities, we leave 
a legacy we are proud of. 

Read more on

p16

Read more on

p22

Read more on

p24

Read more on

p26

14

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Ealing Common Depot, London

Pictured here is our team working on the renewal and remodelling of the east end of the Ealing Common Depot as part of our 
ten-year, London Underground Track Renewals contract. Our works were successfully undertaken 24 hours a day during a 
six-week blockade using innovations such as a 3D excavator. The excavator draws information from a 3D model of the site to 
understand where it is, allowing the bucket to be controlled automatically, without input from the operator.

LEAN

EXPERT

TRUSTED

SAFE

SUSTAINABLE

One of the benefits of 
using the 3D excavator is 
that it removes the need 
for further machinery 
such as a dozer, saving 
additional hiring costs.

This type of excavator is 
the first of its kind in the 
UK, exclusively 
developed by Balfour 
Beatty’s expert plant and 
fleet team and its supply 
chain partner, Trimble.

The 3D excavator is one 
of many innovations the 
team use on site to 
deliver cost and 
programme efficiencies 
for Transport for London.

The excavator’s bucket 
level and grade can be 
controlled remotely by 
GPS, allowing a quicker, 
higher-quality installation, 
reducing the time the 
workforce need to spend 
on the network. 

The use of the 3D 
excavator reduces 
the carbon impact of 
the project through 
the significant reduction 
in the number of 
diesel-powered large 
plant required on site.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

15

Strategic reportMARKET REVIEW

Well positioned in 
our chosen markets

Balfour Beatty operates in a number of carefully selected 
markets, based on level of opportunity and ability to 
outperform its competitors.

Build Back 
Better

Boris Johnson
Prime Minister 
of the UK

Joe Biden
President 
of the US

Macro trends

Our chosen markets show strong underlying 
drivers and continue to deliver significant 
opportunities to the Group.

UK public sector spend
In both the short and long term, the 
infrastructure market outlook is positive and 
is boosted by the government’s £640 billion 
National Infrastructure Strategy, providing 
the highest levels of investment in decades.

In the short term, buildings markets have 
been impacted by COVID-19, although this 
has been less severe in Balfour Beatty’s 
focus area of public projects.

The completion of the UK’s trade agreement 
with the European Union creates greater 
certainty in the market and enables the 
government to focus on its broader agenda, 
including build back better, driving 
opportunities for Balfour Beatty.

Strong infrastructure stimulus 
opportunities in the US 
There is strong bipartisan support for 
infrastructure investment and, following his 
recent election victory, President Biden has 
announced a Build Back Better recovery plan 
providing “historic investments in infrastructure” 
and creating opportunities across the market 
for Balfour Beatty. 

November’s election also saw voters approve 
several state bonds earmarked for school 
construction, which will offset declines in 
other buildings markets.

Stable spend in Hong Kong 
Underpinned by the government’s HK$100bn 
a year planned investment, Hong Kong 
continues to deliver a strong pipeline of 
infrastructure and construction projects.
After short term uncertainty, private 
sector investment is expected to return 
over the medium term.

Strong market drivers

Through Build to Last, Balfour Beatty has 
focused its operations on markets with strong 
fundamental market drivers, underpinned by 
macro demographic and economic trends. 

The first of these is public sector spend – 
as monetary policy stimulus reaches its limit, 
governments are increasingly turning to fiscal 
stimulus through infrastructure investment 
to drive employment and economic growth. 
As a trusted partner to public sector clients, the 
Group benefits from not only increasing spend, 
but also long-term certainty around that spend. 

The second is growth, both in population 
and productivity - as infrastructure remains 
a critical pillar necessary to support population 
and economic growth. In the US, the Group 
continues to benefit from population migration 
to our chosen geographies, which necessitates 
increased investment in new and upgraded 
infrastructure, particularly within healthcare 
and transportation segments.

The third factor is increasing emphasis on 
decarbonisation and sustainability. In the UK, 
the government’s target of reaching net zero 
carbon emissions by 2050 is driving an ever 
increasing demand for efficient, decarbonised 
infrastructure solutions able to meet the 
country’s current and future needs. The same 
sentiment is echoed in the US, with the President 
promising to make historic investments in 
clean energy solutions and decarbonisation. 
Balfour Beatty’s focus on being a sustainable 
contractor, as set out in our new sustainability 
strategy, Building New Futures, makes the 
Group a suitable partner to deliver this historic 
level of green infrastructure work. 

The fourth factor is around increasing 
partnership in established infrastructure 
markets. As client organisations mature, 
Balfour Beatty is increasingly able to work 
collaboratively to develop mutually beneficial 
models of working, sharing risk and upside 
appropriately. This is exemplified by the UK 
Government’s Construction Playbook which 
places a greater emphasis on creating social 
value and aims to make the government a 
more responsible buyer.

FORECAST INCREASE IN THE UK, 
THE US AND ASIA INFRASTRUCTURE 
SPEND ON CURRENT TRENDS
2015–2040 (US$ 2015 prices)

United Kingdom

+68.8%

$76bn

2040

$45bn

2015

United States

+57.9%

$390bn

2040

$247bn

2015 

Asia

+76.9%

$2.3tn

2040

$1.3tn

2015

Source: Global Infrastructure Hub

16

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

UK: Construction 
and Support Services
Strong underlying growth
Highways England: unprecedented spend
Funding for the second Road Investment 
Strategy (RIS2) has been increased by a further 
£2 billion to deliver additional projects such 
as the Lower Thames Crossing.

The total spend of £27 billion over the 
2020–2025 period is a significant increase 
over the £15 billion spent in RIS1 between 
2015 and 2020.

Exciting local roads market
The local highways maintenance market 
is forecast to see significant investment 
with the announcement of an additional 

£2.5 billion in funding, increasing local 
council budgets by 45% over the next five 
years. Further, over £700 million of 
outsourced contracts are up for renewal 
between 2021 and 2025. With long-term 
security from its ongoing contracts, Balfour 
Beatty is well positioned to capitalise, win 
new work and achieve sustainable growth.

Investment in rail maintenance 
As the UK rail industry transitions from one 
Network Rail control period to the next 
(CP5 to CP6), the work focus is shifting, 
with maintenance and renewals receiving 
an extra £10bn of funding over the latest 
five-year period. Further, the formation of the 
Project Speed taskforce, to pull forward and 
accelerate infrastructure investment, and the 
ramp up of Transport for Wales’ £700m Core 
Valley Lines programme are expected to 

create a strong pipeline of construction work. 
As an agile operator offering a range of rail 
capabilities, Balfour Beatty is well placed 
to deliver both maintenance and core 
construction work.

Strong power pipeline
The power transmission and distribution 
industry is expected to see a wave of new 
demand as the UK plans for a green industrial 
revolution. Investments in renewable energy 
to become the Saudi Arabia of wind power 
and new nuclear generation capacity are 
pillars of these plans. Trusted and safe 
contractors such as Balfour Beatty are well 
placed to deliver these works and the 
associated infrastructure to enable the 
networks to support this influx of new, 
green power generation.

HIGHWAYS ENGLAND’S ROAD INVESTMENT STRATEGY

  Construction Services   Support Services   Secured work   Future opportunity

Smart Motorways Alliance

M4

M3

M25

Other 
Schemes

£27bn
RIS2 (2021–25)

Regional Development Partnership

£15bn
RIS1 (2015–20)

A19

M25

A2

A57

Lower Thames Crossing

North 
Roads

South 
Roads

M25 Connect Plus

Manage 
and 
Operate

RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE SPEND

  Construction Services   Support Services   Secured work   Future opportunity

Central Rail Systems Alliance

Kilsby 
Tunnel

King’s 
Cross

Crewe

Euston

£53bn
CP6 + TfW (2019–24)

Project Speed

£38bn
CP5 (2014–19)

Transport for Wales

Core 
Valley 
Lines

Maintenance

Midland Main 
Line

Northumberland 
Line

Uckfield 
Electrification

Stoneblower 
service

Multi-
purpose 
vehicles

Tampers

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

17

Strategic reportMARKET REVIEW CONTINUED

Smarter procurement
Construction Playbook
The implementation of the UK Government’s 
Construction Playbook aims to make the 
public sector a more responsible and sustainable 
buyer, emphasising the importance of 
creating value, both socially and in terms of 
work delivered. This new focus matches well 
with Balfour Beatty’s Build to Last values and 
given our strong track record and sustainability 
strategy, Balfour Beatty is well positioned to 
support these goals.

Growth of public sector frameworks
Construction procurement in the UK 
continues to evolve, presenting opportunities 
for progressive and collaborative contractors. 
Leading the way are innovative frameworks 
such as SCAPE, Crown Commercial Services 
(CCS) and NHS Shared Business Services 
(SBS), which are redefining how construction 
is procured nationwide, and Balfour Beatty 
is participating as a major contractor on all. 
This trend is set to continue with SCAPE 
announcing its planned £13 billion next 
generation construction framework in 2021.

Long term strategic alliances 
Public bodies charged with operating and 
maintaining infrastructure assets are 
increasingly embracing longer term alliances 
which encourage industry collaboration to 
drive higher efficiency and service standards. 
Network Rail’s Track Alliances and Highways 
England’s Smart Motorway Alliance bring 
together leading industry players, including 
Balfour Beatty, to collaboratively and quickly 
deliver a combined £10 billion of work over a 
ten-year period. 

Transformational green 
infrastructure agenda 
The Government has prioritised the 
decarbonisation of the transport and energy 
sectors in order to meet the target of net zero 
carbon emissions by 2050. In order to make 
this ambition a reality, a generational investment 
in infrastructure is planned through the 
£640 billion National Infrastructure Strategy. 
With over 110 years of history building Britain’s 
infrastructure, Balfour Beatty is well positioned 
to capitalise and build the infrastructure of 
the future. 

New nuclear
Nuclear has been identified as a key source 
of large scale, low carbon energy for the UK 
and the government is providing £525 million 
to bring forward the next generation of new 
nuclear power stations. Balfour Beatty is 
playing a critical role in constructing Hinkley 
Point C and is well placed for the proposed 
Sizewell C and Bradwell B nuclear plants.

Transportation
The confirmation of HS2 Phases 1 and 2A 
has reaffirmed the government’s commitment 
to rail, with this project set to transform 
connectivity in the UK. The authorisation of 
further phases and the proposed Northern 
Powerhouse Rail programme will continue 
this trend of generational investment in this 
sector for years to come. Balfour Beatty 
is already playing a pivotal part in this 
transformation through its work on both Old 
Oak Common station and the main civils 
works for Area North.

UK: TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECTS GENERAL INVESTMENT IN TRANSPORT AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
Gross addressable client spend per year

£14bn

£12bn

£10bn

£8bn

£6bn

£4bn

£2bn

£0bn

HS2 Phase 2A
All works for Birmingham 
to Crewe section

Northern Powerhouse Rail
New rail project linking major 
cities in the North of England

HS2 Phase 1
All works for London to 
West Midlands section

Sizewell C
Nuclear power 
station in Suffolk

Hinkley Point C
Nuclear power 
station in Somerset 

Crossrail 1
East to West underground 
link across London

Lower Thames Crossing
New road tunnel connecting 
Kent and Essex 

Bradwell B
Nuclear power 
station in Essex

HS2 Phase 2B
All works for Crewe 
to Manchester and 
West Midlands to 
Leeds sections

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

ON TRACK TO NET ZERO: CORE VALLEY LINES ELECTRIFICATION

As a flagship project for Transport for 
Wales (TfW), the “once in a generation” 
Core Valley Lines investment aims to 
provide a faster, greener rail service and 
improve connectivity for over 1.5 million 
people within the Cardiff Capital Region. 
The £738m infrastructure investment 
includes electrifying over 170km of 
track, allowing electrified trains 

to replace the carbon-heavy diesel stock 
currently in use, and is set to provide 
numerous economic and environmental 
benefits. TfW has a target for 100% 
of the traction load to come from 
renewable sources, with solar panels 
installed along the route set to provide 
a portion of the project’s energy needs. 

18

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

US: Construction Services
Our chosen markets are well diversified. Change shown between 2019 and 2024

Transportation
Investment in transport infrastructure is 
expected to see strong growth, receiving 
bipartisan support at a federal level with 
investment packages up to US$2 trillion 
currently in discussion. 

 +26%

Education
Several recently approved state level education 
bonds, including US$13 billion in California, 
are expected to drive strong spend on school 
building construction.

 +13%

Commercial
The commercial buildings market is projected 
to recover slowly over the coming years, 
recovering to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. 

 0%

Health
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the 
need for urgent investment in the health 
sector and, along with an ageing population 
demographic, is expected to drive continued 
growth in healthcare construction demand.

 +28%

Multifamily housing 
Although impacted by the COVID-19 
pandemic, a strong economic recovery is 
expected to drive demand in the multifamily 
housing market as unemployment reduces to 
pre-pandemic levels and migration continues 
to Balfour Beatty’s chosen states.

 +5%

Hospitality and leisure
The hospitality and leisure sectors 
were substantially impacted by the 
COVID-19 pandemic. These sectors 
are expected to see slow recovery 
in the medium term. 

 -11%

Our chosen states are the fastest growing in the US
Balfour Beatty’s US operations are focused on specific, high growth regions known internally as ‘The Southern Smile’. 
This starts in the Pacific Northwest, runs through California, Texas, Florida and up through Georgia and the Carolinas to 
Washington D.C. These areas are population hubs with growth and migration projected to continue driving increased 
investment, particularly in transportation and social infrastructure. 

California Schools Bonds
US$13bn made available for 
construction of new schools.

NATIONWIDE

2020
US$884bn

-2.0% p.a.

2024
US$816bn

OUR CHOSEN STATES

2024
US$324bn

+5.3% p.a.

2020
US$264bn

Unified Transportation Program
10 year plan guiding the development of 
major transportation projects. Over 
US$20bn of funding in 2020.

ATL Regional Transit Plan 
Proposed US$27bn mass transit 
expansion program in Georgia.

Sources: Dodge and FMI Market Forecast

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

19

Strategic reportMARKET REVIEW CONTINUED

Gammon
Stable core markets
Hong Kong
Significant investments in transportation 
and social infrastructure are expected to 
drive growth in Hong Kong. Investments 
into major expansions of Hong Kong Airport 
and the MTR subway system have started, 
bringing a strong pipeline of infrastructure 
projects which will be further supported 
by the government’s recent announcement 
to materially increase investment in the 

medium term. This increase in public 
spend is set to offset a slowdown in 
the commercial construction sector.

Singapore
Project delays have materially impacted 
the Singapore market in the short term. 
However, these projects are scheduled to 
proceed in 2021, driving a quick recovery 
in this market as public spend commences 
on infrastructure works such as the Cross 
Island MRT line and the Jurong Lake 
district development.

Hospital Development Plans
Over HK$500bn earmarked to expand, 
redevelop and construct new hospitals 
to serve 500,000 more patients by 2036. 

Long Term Aviation Investment
The HK$144bn third runway 
development at Hong Kong Airport 
marks the beginning of a long-term 
investment in aviation, with a 
further HK$9bn expansion 
programme already underway.

2024
HK$163bn

CIVILS AND BUILDINGS 
CONSTRUCTION

+1.3% 
p.a.

2020
HK$155bn

Source: Construction Industry Council 
(April 2020)

Residential and Rail Developments
Over 15 sites have been designated 
for sale in 2021-22, to provide up to 
16,500 new homes and three new 
railway developments as the 
government aims to meet its target of 
building 430,000 new homes by 2029.

HK$1 Trillion Infrastructure 
Investment
Over the next decade, the Hong Kong 
government plans to invest over 
HK$1 trillion in developing 
infrastructure.

GREEN GUARANTEES: A PIONEER IN ASIA-PACIFIC 

As a market leader in sustainable 
construction Gammon has implemented 
one of the first green guarantees in the 
Asia-Pacific on a Kai Tak residential 
project which will cover nearly 
40,000m2 and will be built to a BEAM 
Plus Gold rating, one of the highest 
building sustainability certifications in 
Hong Kong. To achieve this Gammon is 
delivering the project using sustainable 
construction practices to reduce the 
environmental impacts of construction, 
improve environmental quality and 
prioritise end-user wellbeing. Gammon 
has also replaced diesel generators 
with a jointly developed battery power 
system, the Enertainer, to reduce noise 
and air pollution, increase energy 
efficiency and cut carbon emissions 
by 85% on site.

20

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Investments: 
UK & US
Attractive range of opportunities 
continue to come to market
Student accommodation:  
strong US/UK demand 
Though impacted in the short term, student 
accommodation remains a significant and 
recession-resilient investment opportunity in 
the US and the UK, the two largest markets 
globally. Balfour Beatty will continue to leverage 
its strong reputation for both investment and 
construction in the sector.

States, counties and cities using P3
The US has become an increasingly exciting 
market for public-private partnership and, to 
date, 37 states (plus D.C.) have passed 
legislation allowing P3 projects. The 2015 
federal FAST Act helped to expedite P3 
planning processes and led to some major 
local projects, such as the newly approved £9 
billion Maryland I-270 project, one of the 
largest P3 projects in the country. Any future 
infrastructure stimulus package is expected 
to further support this growth.

Housing opportunities
Balfour Beatty Communities continues to 
see attractive multifamily accommodation 
come to market, providing ample opportunity 
to invest profitably in the regeneration of 
these properties.

LOWER FOR LONGER RATES 
CONTINUES TO DRIVE DEMAND

The infrastructure asset market has 
undergone a significant shift in recent 
years. Low interest rates have 
increased the attractiveness of 
alternative, yield bearing assets such 
as infrastructure. This trend has been 
evident in the UK and US with 
investors attracted to infrastructure 
assets by solid fundamentals, strong 
returns and the perceived low risk 
nature. This rising demand and 
increased investor confidence has 
been reflected in the steady increase 
in valuations across the infrastructure 
asset class. With a well-established 
Investments portfolio Balfour Beatty 
is well placed to deliver strong, long 
term returns.

Source: Preqin

UK

US

S
T
N
E
M
G
E
S
T
E
G
R
A
T

Student accommodation
University procured on-campus student housing and other buildings.

Residential/Regeneration
Urban regeneration in partnership with local councils. 

Student accommodation
University procured on-campus student housing and other buildings.

P3 social and transport
Courthouses, schools and other government buildings. 
Mass transport and roads.

Military housing
Unaccompanied personnel housing renovations and improvements.

Multifamily housing
Acquiring and renovating housing focusing on geographies with strong 
population and existing Balfour Beatty Investments presence.

GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT
US$bn

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

21

Strategic report 
BUSINESS MODEL

Designed to 
deliver value

The Group is well positioned to ensure high-quality outcomes 
for all its stakeholders by operating in attractive markets, 
leveraging synergies between its business units and continuing 
to focus on world-class delivery.

Why our customers choose us

World class track record
With over 110 years of experience 
successfully delivering transformational 
infrastructure projects, Balfour Beatty has 
cultivated a strong track record of quality 
and reliability.

Expert people
Our engineering and project management 
expertise allows us to deliver complex, 
one-of-a-kind projects and has made us a 
trusted construction partner for public and 
private sector alike. 

Build to Last values
Balfour Beatty has built an industry-leading 
brand on its reputation as a partner that is 
Lean, Expert, Trusted, Safe and Sustainable 
– our five Build to Last values.

Financial stability
Balfour Beatty’s strong balance sheet 
is a testament to strong governance. 
It gives customers confidence we are 
able to deliver, and we are here for the 
long term.

Innovation
Innovation is part of the Balfour Beatty 
culture, harnessing the power of digital and 
cutting edge technology to drive productivity 
and redefine the possible.

Sustainable focus
Balfour Beatty takes its responsibility as 
a custodian of the planet seriously and that it 
leaves a positive legacy in the communities 
it works in. 

Reducing risk in 
our order book

As part of our Build to Last strategy, Balfour 
Beatty has strengthened its governance, 
focusing on reducing risk in its order book by 
selectively bidding for work it is best placed 
to deliver on terms that are attractive to the 
Group. This reduction has been most 
noticeable in the UK Construction Services 
business, where the proportion of fixed price 
work has fallen to 20% at the end of 2020, 
partly as a result of the HS2 Area North contract.

 Fixed price 

 Target cost 

 Cost plus 

HY2018  FY2020

50% 

20%

46% 

70%

4% 

10%

i

R
s
k

22

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

4%

50%

HY 2018

£2.7bn

10%

20%

FY 2020

£6.4bn

46%

70%

UK Construction 
order book

 
 
 
How our Group works together

Multi-disciplinary collaboration is core to Balfour Beatty’s identity; our Construction Services, 
Support Services and Infrastructure Investments teams work closely together to ensure 
high-quality outcomes for our stakeholders. The Group’s business model has not changed as 
a result of COVID-19 or the UK leaving the European Union.

Profitable work for construction business

Cross-selling across customer base

INFRASTRUCTURE  
INVESTMENTS (II)

A proven track record 
of developing and 
financing projects.

CONSTRUCTION  
SERVICES (CS)

We manage strong 
construction businesses  
in the UK, US and  
Hong Kong.

SUPPORT  
SERVICES (SS)

We maintain, upgrade and 
manage vital services across 
the power transmission, 
utilities, road and  
rail sectors.

Delivery skills support investment opportunities

Knowledge transfer

Working collaboratively across the Group

East Slope Residences, UK
Balfour Beatty financed, constructed 
and is operating a new on-campus 
student accommodation development for 
University of Sussex, providing rooms 
for over 2,000 students. 

Los Angeles Airport Automated 
People Mover, US
Balfour Beatty, with its joint venture partners, 
is financing and constructing the US$1.95 
billion project to develop a 2.25-mile 
above-ground airport transport system 
connecting passengers with airline terminals.

Littlebrook Substation, UK 
As part of National Grid’s transformation 
programme, Balfour Beatty is replacing 
the high voltage Littlebrook substation. 
This project combines multiple aspects 
of the Group’s construction and support 
services capabilities, including ground 
engineering and power. 

II

CS

II

CS

CS

SS

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

23

Strategic report 
 
 
STAKEHOLDER VALUE

Sharing the value we create 

In striving to achieve its purpose of Building New Futures, Balfour Beatty touches the lives 
of many people. Working with its stakeholders across the industry and beyond, the Group 
continues to innovate, lead the market through driving change, shape the debate and inspire 
a new generation of talent to be the change-makers of tomorrow.

Customers

Employees

Supply chain and 
strategic partners

Why are they important?
Collaborative and long-term mutually beneficial 
relationships with our customers are the foundation 
of our success.

Our priorities
 \ Be the partner of choice by delivering on 

our promises

 \ Selective bidding to ensure we are pursuing 
the right opportunities with partners who 
value our expertise

 \ Deliver high-quality, safe, sustainable solutions

2020 engagement examples 
 \ Regular communications with our customer base 

at operational, management, executive and 
Board level

 \ The use of MAP as our customer satisfaction 

and feedback tool. MAP is aligned to ISO 44001, 
the international accreditation for collaboration

 \ Customer account management plans

Why are they important?
Talented and engaged employees committed to 
upholding our values, enable us to deliver on our 
Build to Last strategy, ensuring we win the best 
and most exciting projects and continue to build 
a great place to work.

Why are they important?
Our many supply chain partners, large and small, 
are an invaluable resource fundamental to the 
successful delivery of all of our projects. We also 
work with trusted partners in a number of long-term 
joint ventures which are critical to our success.

Our priorities
 \ Zero Harm – no injury, ill health or environmental 

Our priorities
 \ Zero Harm – no injury, ill health or environmental 

incident caused by our work 

incident caused by our work

 \ Be the partner of choice by delivering on our promises
 \ Digital technology implementation to enhance 

efficiency and consistency (UK Constructionline, 
e-catalogues, DocuSign)

 \ Keep cash flowing through the supply chain 
 \ Develop a sustainable supply chain in 

collaboration with our suppliers

2020 engagement examples
 \ A dedicated supply chain webpage and regular 

newsletters during COVID-19 pandemic 

 \ Local virtual ‘Meet Balfour Beatty’ supply chain events
 \ Membership of the UK Supply Chain 

Sustainability School

 \ Development of collaborative business partnership 
with our key partners in line with ISO 44001:2017

 \ Attraction and retention of talented people from 

a diverse range of backgrounds 
 \ Improved employee engagement

2020 engagement examples 
 \ A refreshed cultural framework providing a simple 

and clear view of our purpose, values and 
behaviours under our Build to Last strategy

 \ Enhanced communications to keep our people well 
informed such as daily e-newsletters, health and 
wellbeing webinars, impactful toolbox talk material 
and virtual conferences

 \ Group-wide surveys to measure and understand 

employee engagement and identify 
improvement priorities

 \ My Contribution ‘Bouncing Back’ campaign to 
crowd source employee ideas for positive 
business change

 \ Employee-led affinity networks for 

under-represented groups to encourage and 
support diversity and inclusion 

 \ Launch of the ‘Big Conversation’ to connect 

employees from across the UK, US and Hong Kong 
and encourage open and honest conversations 
about health and safety

OUTCOMES 

 \ Lean, Expert, Trusted, Safe and 

 \ Lean, Expert, Trusted, Safe and 

 \ Lean, Expert, Trusted, Safe and 

Sustainable solutions

 \ Collaborative relationships

Sustainable solutions

 \ Improved employee retention rate 

Sustainable solutions

 \ Local employment 

 \ Improved customer satisfaction score

 \ Increased employee engagement index score 

 \ Collaborative and long-term relationships 

 \ Continued delivery of essential services and 
projects throughout the COVID-19 pandemic 

 \ 550+ My Contribution ideas raised to help us 
‘bounce back’ from the COVID-19 pandemic 

 \ Over £1.1 million spent with SMEs in the UK

 \ Prompt payment of supply chain partners

24

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

The Balfour Beatty handling of the COVID-19 
situation is impeccable and unsurpassed.

Niccolo Barattieri di San Pietro 
Chief Executive Officer, Northacre

Communities

Governments

Shareholders

Why are they important?
Our activities can have a lasting impact on the 
communities in which we operate – we strive 
to leave a lasting legacy.

Our priorities
 \ Delivering the Group’s sustainability 2030 targets 

and 2040 ambitions to go Beyond Net Zero Carbon, 
Generate Zero Waste and Positively Impact More 
than 1 Million People 

 \ Work in partnership with communities to 

understand and support local needs

 \ Establish relationships with key community 
stakeholders to develop a programme of 
impactful community investment activities

 \ Contribute to environmental wellbeing

2020 engagement examples 
 \ Community engagement plans for projects 

through Involved in the UK and Green and Caring 
in Gammon as well as local initiatives in the US. 
This includes STEM activities with schools, 
colleges and universities, charity and volunteering 
activities, and promotion of local jobs and 
business opportunities for SMEs and minority 
owned businesses

 \ Communication with communities under the 

Considerate Constructors Scheme (UK)
 \ Developing training programmes such as 

apprenticeships, graduates and work experience as 
part of our commitment to The 5% Club in the UK
 \ Bringing construction to the classroom with virtual 
work experience, collaborating with SCAPE and 
Learn Live to encourage young people to consider 
a career in construction in the UK

OUTCOMES 

 \ The proportion of UK employees in earn and 
learn positions (graduates, apprentices, 
trainees and industrial placement students) 
increased to 6.0%

 \ Employees raised £721,939 in 

charitable donations

 \ Above industry average score for the 

UK’s Considerate Constructors Scheme 
at 41.8 out of 50

Why are they important?
Public policy, laws and regulations define the business 
environment in which Balfour Beatty operates. 
Governments – and their associated bodies – 
are also Balfour Beatty’s largest customers.

Why are they important?
Shareholders are the owners of Balfour Beatty. 
The Board places great importance on having positive 
relationships with all shareholders and seeks to ensure 
there is an appropriate level of dialogue with them.

Our priorities
 \ Support governments’ understanding of the 

potential impact of proposed new policies and 
legislation on the markets in which we operate 
and our activities

Our priorities
 \ Provision of financial and non-financial information 
to shareholders (retail and institutional) in a timely 
and accurate way

 \ Presentation of investor feedback to the Board 

 \ Active engagement on key issues within the 

and management

political arena

 \ Enable the market to fairly reflect the fundamental 

 \ Promote the value of the construction and 

value of the Company in the share price

2020 engagement examples
 \ Delivering half year results virtually, for the first 

time in response to COVID-19 

 \ Regular briefings via regulatory announcements, 

webcasts and presentations as well as annual and 
sustainability reporting

 \ Regular direct engagement via meetings 

and conferences 

 \ Dedicated Investor Relations department
 \ Regular updates to the Investor Relations web pages 

infrastructure industry for wider economic prosperity 
to secure ongoing infrastructure investment

2020 engagement examples
 \ Meeting key public officials and their staff
 \ Response to government consultations, inquiries 

and hearings

 \ Published ‘Seizing the day’ thought paper, which 
outlines nine key points and recommendations 
and explores how change can be accelerate to 
allow the industry to thrive post lockdown
 \ Engagement with the UK Government’s 

‘Acceleration Unit’ aimed at removing barriers and 
speeding up the commissioning of key 
infrastructure schemes 

 \ Briefing the Prime Minister’s office in advance of 
the publication of our new sustainability strategy 
and receiving a public endorsement from the 
Prime Minister

 \ Trusted delivery partner for governments

 \ Clear and consistent information for existing 

 \ Publication of UK Government’s Construction 
Playbook, which Balfour Beatty contributed 
to and helped to shape

 \ Infrastructure at the heart of plans for 

post-COVID-19 recovery in all of our key 
markets, and seen as a positive driver for 
economic growth 

and potential shareholders 

 \ Increased engagement on ESG matters

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

25

Strategic reportINNOVATION

Cutting edge outcomes to 
benefit all our stakeholders 

Balfour Beatty continues to drive innovation, foster an innovation culture and 
invest in value-adding initiatives across the UK, the US and Hong Kong. 

Using digital tools 
to deliver better 
outcomes

During 2020, Balfour Beatty continued to 
drive forward its digital transformation. 
The focus was particularly on increased 
digital integration between Balfour Beatty 
and its supply chain partners to streamline 
processes, improve accuracy, accelerate 
delivery and reduce costs. These developments 
have seen an increase in on-time delivery and 
improved customer engagement and outcomes. 

 \ Balfour Beatty has been accredited to 

international Building Information Modelling 
(BIM) standard ISO 19650, an international 
standard which defines the collaborative 
processes for the effective management 
of information. Only a handful of Tier 1 
contractors are certified to ISO 19650. This 
means that by following an international 
standardised way of managing information, 
we can work more productively and 
professionally, while clients benefit from 
more efficient and predictable outcomes. 
Gammon, our Hong Kong based joint 
venture, has also successfully received the 
ISO 19650 Kitemark certification – one of 
the few companies in Hong Kong and 
Asia to be recognised for their wider 
digital transformation.

 \ Balfour Beatty’s Mid-Atlantic team has 

been using Twinmotion, a real-time rendering 
tool that allows users to quickly import 3D 
models and produce high-quality images, 
panoramas, and standard or 360-degree 
Virtual Reality (VR) videos. This powerful 
visualisation tool can also be used to create a 
360-degree immersive VR experience of 
any space without a VR headset: it can be 
accessed as a 3D walkthrough on a 

standard work computer. The team has 
used the technology to help design its new 
office space in Falls Church, Virginia.

 \ Balfour Beatty, in collaboration with 
construction workforce technology 
specialists MSite, has adopted an 
innovative mobile phone application. 
Downloaded directly onto employees’ 
mobile phones, the app provides each 
employee with a digital identity, enabling 
contactless entry to site using biometrics. 
The technology also reduces the need for 
employees to touch surfaces when entering 
sites, as well as collecting data to accurately 
monitor site attendance levels.

 \ On the A63 road improvement scheme in 
Hull, the project is using three of the first 
JCB electric mini excavators to eliminate 
tailpipe emissions. These electric excavators 
need to be charged daily on a site that has 
no mains power. Previously a diesel generator 
would have run 24/7 to provide on-site 
power, but this would have eliminated the 
environmental benefits gained through the 
electric excavators. Innovating again, the 
team used a Prolectric ProPower Solar 
Hybrid Generator to reduce emissions, 
noise and fuel use and provide clean 
energy for the electric excavators.

 \ Balfour Beatty’s US Buildings team have 

taken training out of the classroom and into 
a virtual environment. Due to COVID-19 
and the cancelling of in-person safety training, 
the team recognised the need to provide 
another avenue for safety training. These 
are now provided online through Microsoft 
Teams. Colleagues can tune in for live 
presentations or catch up later, accessing 
programme materials such as playbooks 
and safety exhibits. This flexibility has seen a 
significant increase in attendee numbers.

 \ Connect Plus, a consortium comprising 

Balfour Beatty, Edge Orbital Holdings Ltd 
and Egis Investment Partners, which operates 
and manages the M25 and its key arterial 
routes on behalf of Highways England, has 
successfully digitally mapped all 120 miles 
of the M25 – together with strategic 
partners Connect Plus Services, Sensat 
and Osborne. This involved using drones to 
remotely capture physical photogrammetric 
survey data safely and efficiently, without 
the need for traffic management or lane 
closures. Over 30 days, the team undertook 
the largest drone mapping endeavour to 
have taken place in the UK to date. This 
resulted in the production of highly accurate, 
geo-referenced 2D and 3D representations 
of the UK’s busiest motorway and its adjoining 
trunk and slip roads without disruptive 
closures. The data is being used to create 
a digital representation of the M25 
environment which will become a key source 
of detailed information, supporting the team 
in planning and decision-making, ultimately 
reducing the need for physical surveys to 
be carried out in a live highways environment.

 \ Gammon established the Hong Kong 

construction industry’s first on-site 5G 
Smart Control Centre to support the 
design and fabrication of 700 COVID-19 
quarantine units in 87 days and the build of 
a dedicated quarantine facility at Penny’s 
Bay, ahead of the 90-day contract period. 
Over 95% of the works were completed 
using Modular Integrated Construction 
(MiC) methods. The quarantine units were 
fully fitted out in mainland China while a 
‘flying factory’ onsite was used to fabricate 
underground pipe modules. Manufacturing, 
logistics and testing and commissioning 
status such as those for quality checks, the 
location of the MiC unit deliveries and 

26

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

testing results are available at the touch of 
a key, with data relayed from detection 
systems on the site – including those 
monitoring the wearing of safety helmets, 
demarcation of danger zones and the 
presence of fire or smoke.

 \ To improve site safety, Balfour Beatty 
VINCI (BBV) worked with HS2 Ltd and 
innovative software developer 3D Repo to 
develop advanced 4D learning technology 
that enables site teams to identify, record 
and resolve site hazards as part of their 
virtual construction sequence evaluation 
and training. The technology, SafetiBase4D, 
sees site workers enter the Mission Room, 
which creates a four dimensional, 360º 
virtual version of a BBV construction site 
on HS2’s area north route. In the safety of 
an office environment workers can go on 
site and explore, discuss and agree the 
project’s delivery sequence, and identify 
safety issues and agree how to resolve them. 
Teams inside the Mission Room and others 
joining remotely via the internet are able to 
virtually tag hazards at a specific place and 
time in the virtual build sequence.

THE WORLD’S FIRST DIGITAL TWIN OF SITE CONCRETING

Gammon has made significant concrete 
waste savings by integrating concrete 
sensor data with BIM in what we believe 
to be the world’s first digital twin of site 
concreting. The new cellular gateway 
introduced in ConcreteDNA Pro, Converge 
Signal, automatically transmits sensor 
data (measuring the compressive strength 
of concrete as it cures) to the cloud in real 
time. ConcreteDNA Pro introduces 
concrete performance and temperature 
differential analytics, which means project 
teams can track and ensure concrete is 
meeting expected standards. Gammon 
has reduced by one third the amount of 
concrete used and saved more than 
110 tonnes of concrete waste using this 
technique on its Hong Kong Science & 
Technology Parks Corporation’s Advanced 
Manufacturing Centre project, significantly 
lowering the project’s carbon footprint.

Energy efficiency

Scan the QR code to 
watch our EcoNet 
animation

Reducing carbon 
emissions with 
EcoNet technology

In the UK, Balfour Beatty, 
in collaboration with 
Sunbelt and Invisible 
Systems, has developed 
state-of-the-art technology 
to manage the power 
supply of site compounds 
and reduce carbon 
emissions across its 
construction sites by up 
to 80%. The system, 
known as EcoNet, works 
by controlling and 
reducing the energy 
output from key 

appliances in cabins, 
such as those in 
kitchens, drying rooms 
and office spaces. Once 
fully embedded, it is 
expected that Balfour 
Beatty will save a 
minimum of 2,200 
tonnes of CO2 emissions 
every year, with individual 
sites reducing their 
carbon emissions by 
between 30% to 80% 
of their normal levels.

EcoNet

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

27

Strategic reportINNOVATION CONTINUED

My Contribution (MyC)

Critical to the success of our Build to Last 
strategy is ensuring that every member of 
our workforce is engaged and has a personal 
stake in making the business stronger and 
helping us to deliver continuous improvement 
for all our stakeholders. 

My Contribution is an online collaboration 
platform which encourages and empowers 
everyone to be an innovator and for 
innovation to take place across every part 
of our business. It has played a key role in 
helping Balfour Beatty go from strength 
to strength over the past six years, and has 
proven its value most recently during the 
COVID-19 pandemic.

Measuring performance is a fundamental 
part of My Contribution. As part of the MyC 
upgrade in 2020, we launched a suite of new 
and improved dashboards providing complete 
transparency and real time reporting on the 
progress and delivery of ideas.

In December 2020, we ran our first annual 
My Contribution Kudos Awards – our 
opportunity to showcase and recognise the 
outstanding improvements and contributions 
across the UK business during the year, and 
the people who have made them happen. 
With a final showcase of 11 ideas each 
sponsored by an Executive Committee 
member, our winning entries were:

Employee Voted Winner: QR Code 
Permits – This winning idea submitted by 
Leigh Clarke, Site Manager was to streamline 
the daily issuing of work permits, by using 
QR codes linked to BIM 360 Field this 
allowed project team members to check 
the permit request is completed correctly 
and is in order before work commences. 
This simple and effective use of existing 
technology was trialled on the Badenoch 
and Strathspey Community Hospital project 
in Aviemore, Scotland, and has huge potential 
to be deployed across the business. After 
sponsoring the idea during the Kudos Awards, 
the CEO for Balfour Beatty’s US Operations 
saw its potential and has made a commitment 
to rolling it out to all US projects.

Group Chief Executive Kudos Award: 
Next Level Project Integration – in a world 
where we have multiple digital systems, the 
concept of Common Coding builds a single 
language across all departments, meaning 
our data can be integrated across one 
powerful ecosystem. This idea should deliver 
cost savings of £15 million over five years on 
the HS2 Area North project alone and will be 
a game-changer across Balfour Beatty.

My Contribution 
and COVID-19: 
Bouncing Back 
campaign 

In April 2020, the Group ran a My Contribution 
campaign called ‘Bouncing Back’. The aim 
of the campaign was to make sure Balfour 
Beatty was in the best possible position to 
bounce back from COVID-19. 

Over the course of the campaign, our 
workforce in the UK and US generated 
more than 550 ideas. These fell into four 
core themes: 

 \ A Great Place to Work: This includes 

new ways of working from encouraging 
more flexible approaches to reducing 
travel and carbon emissions. 

 \ Digital Future: Exploring how we can 
use technology to enhance how we 
operate as a business, reduce our 
carbon emissions, and deliver better 
for our customers. 

 \ Back to Business: Considering how 

our sites can scale back up in the new 
normal, from embedding new 
approaches using technology to ongoing 
social distancing. 

 \ New Markets and Capabilities: 

Examining opportunities for utilising our 
skills and expertise, in new and adjacent 
markets as well as optimising the use of 
internal capabilities from across the Group. 

Combined, the ideas in these 
themes formed a strategic roadmap 
which is helping make sure that Balfour 
Beatty bounces back from COVID-19 
even stronger.

 LEFT
New and improved MyC 
dashboard 

28

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Innovating through the COVID-19 pandemic

 ABOVE
4D modelling on the M4 J3-12 Motorway upgrade

Balfour Beatty has relied on its ability to 
innovate and to adopt new technologies, 
techniques and approaches throughout the 
COVID-19 pandemic to keep its workforce 
safe, keep sites open and continuing to 
deliver for its customers. In many cases 
we have had to entirely rethink how we 
carry out operations in order to meet 
social distancing requirements, reduce 
the number of our workers out on site 
and respond to more rigorous 
hygiene requirements.

 \ Balfour Beatty adapted its in-person tours 
which showcase the amazing work that’s 
being carried out on schemes such as the 
Manchester Engineering Campus 
Development and the Midland Metropolitan 
University Hospital, by making tours 
virtual. This allows viewers to take a remote 
walk-through, and provided detail on key 
aspects including social value, mechanical 
and electrical works and design. 

 \ Our team delivering the Hoover High 

School Theatre and Classroom Building 
Additions project in San Diego brought in 
QR codes to provide contactless access 
to vital information. By scanning the QR 
codes workers or visitors can access 
important materials, including Balfour 
Beatty’s Zero Harm safety video, job site 
orientation documents, logistics plans and 
more. The QR codes also replace paper 
sign-in sheets by directing workers and 
visitors to an online check-in form, facilitating 

compliance with local government 
mandates. With this technology in place, 
any person entering the job site has 
access to documents via mobile devices 
that would have previously been handled 
by multiple people. 

 \ The M4 J3-12 Motorway team are using 
4D modelling on the project to plan the 
large-scale weekend closures required to 
demolish and install the new motorway 
bridges. This modelling incorporate a 
two-metre bubble around each person to 
help the team plan socially distanced 
activities and identify specific tasks. 
Where these have been identified the 
team have found ways to change the way 
that task is undertaken. 

 \ Balfour Beatty took part in Learning in 
Lockdown, a virtual work experience 
programme led by SCAPE and their 
partners, Class Of Your Own, Engineering 
Development Trust and Learn Live. The 
programme gave nearly 2,000 students 
in year 10/S4 from 300 secondary schools 
across England, Scotland and Wales the 
unique opportunity to complete a week 
of work experience during the COVID-19 
lockdown, which would otherwise not 
have gone ahead. 

Visit our COVID-19 microsite for more 
examples of innovations and best practice:  
bit.ly/bbcovidmicrosite

Leveraging technology to 
work collaboratively with 
supply chain partners
In 2020, Balfour Beatty focused on accelerating 
digital initiatives to improve the way it works 
with its supply chain, increase efficiency, 
digitise manual processes and create cost 
and time savings. 

One of the most noteworthy components of 
the digital supplier journey is DocuSign – a 
digital tool for remote, online contract signing. 
Where contracts were once signed on paper 
and copied multiple times for relevant parties 
sent via the postal system, this has now 
been taken online, increasing the speed of 
completion and reducing paper waste. In 
2020, 2,600 contracts were digitally signed 
with 82% signed within 48 hours and some 
even being returned within the hour. This 
significant improvement shows the true 
benefits of maintaining momentum around 
the digitisation of manual processes for 
advantages in time saving and efficiency as 
well as further developing our relationship 
with sour supply chain partners. 

Summary
This year has seen Balfour Beatty successfully 
continue its digital transformation, accelerate 
its adoption of new technology such as 
Microsoft Teams, and continuously innovate 
to adapt to new ways of working imposed by 
the COVID-19 pandemic to not only support 
our recovery but also to emerge stronger than 
before. We have worked with our customers, 
supply chain partners and with governments 
more closely than ever before, innovating at 
pace to ensure the industry could safely keep 
essential operations running, supporting jobs 
and economic growth at a time when this was 
desperately needed.

SCAN HERE TO WATCH VIDEOS OF 
OUR LATEST INNOVATIONS 

Virtual Site 
Tours

5G Smart 
Control Centre

4D Modelling

Concrete 
Sensors

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

29

Strategic report Expert 

 capabilities 

Our three operating divisions; Construction Services, Support Services and 
Infrastructure Investments in our three chosen geographies – the UK, the US 
and Hong Kong, outline their key achievements throughout 2020 and how 
they are delivering our Build to Last strategy.

WHAT WE DO

In the UK, Balfour Beatty 
operates across construction 
and infrastructure support 
services. These projects range 
from generational projects like 
HS2 to long term maintenance 
contracts for local councils.

The Group’s US and Hong 
Kong businesses operate 
across transport infrastructure 
and buildings construction 
segments with projects 
spanning social infrastructure 
such as hospitals and schools 
to heavy infrastructure 
projects such as the Los 
Angeles Airport automated 
people mover and the third 
runway at Hong Kong Airport.

Construction Services

UK

US

Support 
Services

Gammon

Infrastructure 
Investments

E ROADS

R
U
T
C
U
R
T
S
A
R
F
N

I

RAIL

ENERGY

BUILDINGS

IN THIS SECTION

p34

p36

p39

p37

p42

30

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Victory Commons 1, Dallas, Texas

This US$101 million project involves the construction of a 375,000 
square foot, 12-storey office building comprising 11 levels of office 
space and a seven-storey parking garage to be completed in 2021. 

LEAN

EXPERT

TRUSTED

SAFE

SUSTAINABLE

The project utilises pull 
planning, a visual and 
collaborative lean 
construction practice, 
which allowed the team 
to complete the garage 
early and top-out the 
building on schedule, 
despite the challenges of 
the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team leveraged 
established and 
collaborative supply 
chain relationships to 
ensure a cost effective 
solution and timely 
project commencement 
in 2019.

Balfour Beatty is the 
partner of choice for the 
customer, Hillwood 
Development, having 
worked with them for 
over 15 years and 
successfully delivered 
numerous projects 
including the 14-storey 
Perot Museum Nature of 
Science building.

The team carefully 
planned project 
deliveries to the site 
coordinating with the 
City of Dallas and Dallas 
County to ensure the 
safety of visitors to the 
adjacent temporary 
COVID-19 testing facility.

Approximately 96% of 
all waste hauled from 
the Victory Commons 1 
construction site is 
recyclable, befitting a 
project that is targeting 
LEED Silver certification, 
an internationally 
recognised green building 
certification accreditation. 

VICTORY NORTH 
PARKING GARAGE 
COMPLETED 
IN 2015

DALLAS HORSESHOE 
ROAD IMPROVEMENT 
SCHEME COMPLETED 
IN 2017

LOWEST STEMMONS 
ROAD IMPROVEMENT 
PROJECT TO BE 
COMPLETED IN 2021

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

31

Strategic reportOPERATIONAL REVIEW

Construction 
Services

Our Construction Services businesses operate 
across infrastructure and buildings markets in the 
UK, the US and in joint venture in Hong Kong. 

TOTAL REVENUE1

81+

81%

2019: 82%

UNDERLYING REVENUE1

£6,964m

2019: £6,858m

STATUTORY REVENUE

£5,968m

2019: £5,951m

UNDERLYING PROFIT 
FROM OPERATIONS

£29m

2019: £125m

STATUTORY PROFIT FROM  
OPERATIONS

£41m

2019: £126m

ORDER BOOK1

£13.7bn

2019: £11.1bn

1 

Including share of joint ventures and associates, 
before non-underlying items.

Discover more at  
balfourbeatty.com

Key points
 \ Resilient revenue performance following 

2019 order book increase

due to public transport availability, led to 
a lengthening of site programmes which 
triggered a reassessment of the Group’s 
contract end forecast positions. 

 \ Material impact on profit as a result 

of COVID-19

 » UK Construction impacted by site 

closures, lower productivity, additional 
operating costs and contract re-assessments

 » £8 million profit in H2 adjusting for 

repayment of UK Job Retention Scheme

 » US Construction impacted by site 

closures, slowdown in hospitality sector 
and contract re-assessments

 » Revenue and PFO up 10% at Gammon; 

Hong Kong less impacted due to lessons 
learnt from SARS experience 

Financial review
COVID-19 had a material impact on the financial 
performance of Construction Services in 
2020. The underlying revenue increased by 
2% to £6,964 million (2019: £6,858 million), 
a 2% increase at CER, as a result of higher 
volumes at Gammon. Underlying profit from 
operations reduced to £29 million (2019: 
£125 million) with the UK particularly impacted 
by COVID-19. The order book increased to 
£13.7 billion (2019: £11.1 billion) following 
Notice to Proceed at HS2. 

Revenue in the UK decreased by 1% to 
£2,190 million (2019: £2,213 million) as an 
expected increase given prior year order book 
growth was offset by site closures and other 
disruption caused by COVID-19. The national 
lockdown in the second quarter of the year, 
where Scotland was effectively closed 
and productivity in London was limited 

UK Construction reported an underlying loss 
from operations of £23 million in the first half 
of the year. This increases to a £34 million 
loss after adjustment for the intended repayment 
of funds received through the UK Job Retention 
Scheme which together with a profit of 
£8 million for the second half resulted in a 
full year underlying loss from operations of 
£26 million (2019: £47 million profit). Specific 
sectors, such as aviation, have seen a 
material slowdown throughout the year. 

The UK Construction order book more than 
doubled during the year to £6.4 billion (2019: 
£3.0 billion) following Notice to Proceed at 
HS2. Balfour Beatty, in joint venture with 
VINCI, will deliver Lots N1 and N2 south of 
Birmingham – comprising extensive earthworks, 
ground engineering, viaducts and tunnels 
along a 90-kilometre stretch – and the London 
hub station at Old Oak Common. The increase 
in order book occurred whilst maintaining the 
Group’s policy of selective bidding. During 
Build to Last, there has also been a shift 
towards a lower risk contract portfolio in UK 
Construction, with a reduction in the number 
of fixed price contracts offset by an increase 
in target cost contracts and framework 
agreements. Both target cost contracts and 
framework agreements require early contract 
involvement with the customer to ensure 
greater clarity around scope, schedule and 
cost which, in combination, reduces delivery 
risk for all parties. As at December 2020, the 
UK order book was 80% target cost and cost 
reimbursable compared to 50% at June 2018.

32

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

19
+
N
MAGIC MOMENTS

UK: Gedling Access Road, Nottinghamshire County Council. Photo credit: Paul Stephenson

MAGIC MOMENTS

Revenue in the US increased marginally 
by 1% (2% at CER) to £3,789 million 
(2019: £3,752 million) as an expected 
increase given prior year order book growth 
was broadly offset by site closures and other 
disruption. In part due to the impact of 
COVID-19, there were a number of civil 
infrastructure projects where operational 
developments led to contractual recoveries 
and end of contract forecast positions being 
re-assessed which contributed to the 
underlying profit from operations for the year 
reducing to £26 million (2019: £52 million). 
Following a 25% rise in 2019, the order book 
decreased 20% to £5.2 billion (17% at CER) 
following a slow down of orders in the second 
half of the year. Although nationwide forecasts 
show a decline in the overall construction 
market, Balfour Beatty is positioned in 
regions that are expected to perform better 
than the national forecast as demographic 
shifts continue to favour the Group’s chosen 
states (Southern Smile) in the medium term. 

At Gammon, Balfour Beatty’s 50:50 joint 
venture based in Hong Kong, the Group’s 
share of revenue increased by 10% (10% at 
CER) to £985 million (2019: £893 million). 
Underlying profit increased to £29 million 
(2019: £26 million), as the impact of COVID-19 
in Hong Kong has been lower than in the 
other geographies in which the Group operates 
and in response to the pandemic the Government 
provided an employee assistance scheme. 
This is partly due to Hong Kong’s experiences 
from other viruses such as SARS which has 
meant that wearing face masks in public is 
part of the culture. Given the timing of the 
spread of COVID-19, the Group has been 
able to take learnings from Gammon, such as 
working safely and efficiently in enclosed 
spaces whilst maintaining social distancing, 
and apply them across the rest of the Group.

UK: Regent Street bridge lift, Leeds City Council. Photo credit: Catherine Morgan

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

2020

2019

UK
US
Gammon
Underlying2
Non-underlying
Total

Revenue 1
£m

2,190
3,789
985
6,964
6
6,970

PFO 
£m

(26)
26
29
29
12
41

Order book  1
£bn

Revenue 1
£m

6.4
5.2
2.1
13.7
–
13.7

2,213
3,752
893
6,858
6
6,864

PFO
£m

47
52
26
125
1
126

Order book 1
£bn

3.0
6.5
1.6
11.1
–
11.1

Including share of joint ventures and associates.

1 
2  Before non-underlying items (Note 10).
A reconciliation of the Group’s performance measures to its statutory results is provided in the Measuring our financial performance section. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

33

Strategic reportOPERATIONAL REVIEW CONTINUED

The order book at Gammon increased by 
31% (31% at CER) to £2.1 billion (2019: £1.6 
billion) following significant wins at Hong 
Kong Airport, which is expanding capacity by 
adding a third runway. Gammon has been 
awarded contracts for the expansion of the 
Terminal 2 building and to deliver tunnels and 
associated works for an automatic people 
mover and baggage handling system. In 
addition, Gammon won another Central 
Kowloon Route contract to deliver buildings, 
mechanical and electrical works for the 
Highways Department. 

Operational review
UK Construction
In November, the UK Government released 
details of its five-year plan, the National 
Infrastructure Strategy (NIS), which sets out 
the UK Government’s plans to transform 
infrastructure to drive economic recovery, 
levelling up and meeting the UK’s net zero 
emissions target by 2050. The £640 billion of 
funding for developments in roads, railways, 
power networks, schools, hospitals and 
telecommunications represents an increase of 
around £100 billion compared to the status quo. 

Included within the NIS are budgets for some 
of the Group’s key customers such as Highways 
England and Network Rail. At Highways England 
the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) 
has been increased by a further £2 billion for 
delivery of additional projects such as the 
Lower Thames Crossing. The total budget of 

£27 billion over the 2020–2025 period is a 
significant increase over the £15 billion spent 
during RIS1 (2015–2020). At Network Rail 
the work focus is shifting with maintenance 
and renewals receiving an extra £10 billion of 
funding as part of the total CP6 budget at 
£53 billion (2019–2024) – materially higher 
than CP5 where £38 billion was spent in the 
period 2014–2019. 

In December, the UK Government launched 
the Construction Playbook, which sets out a 
shared ambition between government and 
industry for the sector to deliver public sector 
works in a more modern and efficient way. 
The 14 key policies in the Playbook set out 
how the Government will assess, procure 
and deliver construction and outlines the role 
the construction sector will play in both the 
UK’s recovery from COVID-19 and work to 
bring greenhouse gas emissions down to net 
zero by 2050. The publication of the Playbook 
builds on the great strides made by industry 
and the Government in recent years, notably 
during COVID-19, and is instrumental in 
ensuring the sector moves forward together 
with its key customer. 

Balfour Beatty is one of 30 companies working 
in a new partnership with the Government to 
steer the COVID-19 economy recovery as 
part of the Build Back Better Business 
Council. The council will focus on innovation, 
infrastructure and skills – all key Balfour 
Beatty themes.

MAGIC MOMENTS

UK: Hinkley Point C, EDF Energy. Photo credit: Patrick Brady

34

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Whilst the infrastructure market, with the 
highest level of investment in decades, 
is positive the buildings market is more 
challenging. Balfour Beatty will continue 
to be selective in the work that it bids, 
through increased bid margin thresholds, 
improved risk frameworks and improved 
contract governance.  

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, 
the Group mobilised a dedicated team to review 
its approach to building fire safety. This 
included expert advice, enhancing its training 
and development approach and establishing 
a Fire and Building Safety resource. The current 
landscape around building fire safety in the 
UK is complex, involves multiple stakeholders 
and is an industry-wide issue. In the UK, the 
Group is currently investigating a small 
number of completed building projects with 
cladding, alongside the building owners or 
the developers, to agree the right course 
of action. 

The Brexit transition period between the EU 
and UK came to an end on 31 December 2020 
and the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, 
which governs significant aspects of the 
trade relationship between the UK and EU, is 
now in force. Balfour Beatty’s Group-wide 
committee continues to monitor developments 
and issue guidance, particularly in relation to 
the flow of goods and people across borders. 
Specific risks and mitigations continue to be 
monitored at a project level and controlled by 
individual business units.

The UK Construction business is organised 
into two business units consisting of:

 \  Major Projects: focused on complex 

projects in key market sectors such as 
transportation (road and rail), heavy 
infrastructure and energy; and

 \  Regional: civil engineering, ground 

engineering, mechanical and electrical 
engineering, and building, providing private 
and public customers with locally delivered 
flexible and fully integrated civil and 
building services. 

At Major Projects, the A14, Britain’s largest 
road project, opened to traffic in May, eight 
months early. The Balfour Beatty joint venture 
upgraded the 21-mile stretch between 
Cambridge and Huntingdon from two to 
three lanes in each direction and built a new 
12-mile bypass south of Huntingdon. To open 
the scheme early, the integrated delivery 
team focused on innovative and sustainable 
construction methods with the use of digital 
asset management and in-field visualisation 
software. In addition, the Group also opened 
the M6 Junction 2-4a Smart Motorway 
project on time in March 2020. 

MAGIC MOMENTS

UK: Vine Street student accommodation, Urbanest. Photo credit: Tim Moat

At the M4 Smart Motorway contract, 
a Balfour Beatty VINCI joint venture is 
converting the hard shoulder into an 
additional lane for traffic and introducing 
electronically policed variable speed restrictions 
between junctions 3 and 12. During the year, 
the scheme reached a major milestone by 
completing its final bridge demolition. The 
project has now passed the halfway point 
and remains on track for completion in 2022. 

At the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, 
Balfour Beatty achieved two important 
milestones in the year, completing the 
tunnelling for intake tunnel 1 and the final 
concrete pour on the first intake head which 
will sit on the sea-bed. The project, to 
construct a pair of underwater tunnels to 
supply the nuclear power station with cooling 
water and a third tunnel to discharge heated 
water back into the Bristol Channel, is using 
three tunnel boring machines to excavate 
around nine kilometres of tunnel. 

At HS2, Notice to Proceed was issued in 
April with the formal start of construction in 
September. Balfour Beatty, in joint venture 
with VINCI, will deliver the c. £5 billion Area 
North section south of Birmingham. Balfour 
Beatty’s in-depth expertise in delivering 
critical major infrastructure across the UK 
will combine with and complement VINCI’s 
global capability in high speed rail. Construction 
is already well underway, with over 250 
Balfour Beatty employees transferred to the 

project, as all four key dates required in 2020 
were delivered to schedule. 

HS2 also awarded a Balfour Beatty/VINCI/
SYSTRA joint venture a c. £1 billion construction 
management contract for the Old Oak 
Common station in London. Balfour Beatty 
and VINCI each have a 41.75% share in that 
joint venture, with SYSTRA having the 
remaining 16.5%. Procurement processes 
continue across multiple HS2 workstreams. 
In December, a Balfour Beatty/VINCI/TSO 
joint venture was shortlisted for four lots of 
track systems contracts and a Balfour Beatty 
/ NG Bailey joint venture was shortlisted for a 
tunnel and M&E systems contract. The 
Group will also tender for contracts on Phase 
2a, which was approved by parliament in 
February 2021, as the line extends north of 
Birmingham to Crewe.

In addition to adding HS2 contracts to the 
order book, Balfour Beatty secured a place 
on Highways England’s Smart Motorway 
Alliance (SMA). The Group was named as 
one of three contractor delivery partners in 
the SMA that will deliver the future smart 
motorway programme worth up to £4.5 billion 
over 10 years. Of the three delivery partners, 
Balfour Beatty will be predominantly responsible 
for Southern England where the Group will 
manage and deliver construction activity and 
associated engineering works, including the 
conversion of existing motorway infrastructure, 
reconstruction of bridges and installation of 

roadside technology, to improve the safety 
and capacity of the strategic road network.

The Regional business comprises:

 \ Regional Construction: public and private 
projects, providing customers with locally 
delivered, flexible and fully integrated civil 
and construction services; 

 \ Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering: 

specialist geotechnical contractor providing 
innovative piling and ground improvement 
solutions; and

 \ Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick: heavy mechanical 

and electrical (M&E) installations and 
building services.

Construction procurement in the UK 
continues to evolve, presenting opportunities 
for progressive and collaborative contractors. 
Leading the way are innovative frameworks 
such as SCAPE, Crown Commercial Services 
(CCS) and NHS Shared Business Services 
(SBS) which are redefining how construction 
is procured nationwide, and Balfour Beatty is 
participating as a major contractor on all. The 
frameworks allow local authorities, local 
enterprise partnerships and other public 
sector bodies to commission works through 
a procurement process that provides the 
fastest route to market. In October 2018, it 
was announced that Balfour Beatty had been 
appointed as the sole contractor to SCAPE’s 
second-generation civil engineering 
frameworks, valued at a combined total of up 
to £2.1 billion over four years (2019–2022). In 
December 2020, as part of the £10.5 billion 
NHS SBS, it was announced that Balfour 
Beatty had been selected as one of seven 
contractors on Lot 5: Public Sector (National) 
£35m+. As part of the UK Government’s 
Build Back Better initiative these frameworks 
will become increasingly important to help 
kick start the UK economy.

In the year, the Regional business successfully 
completed the new temporary NHS Louisa 
Jordan hospital, at Glasgow’s Scottish Events 
Campus (SEC), on behalf of the Scottish 
Government. Acting as principal contractor, 
Balfour Beatty, along with its local supply 
chain and partner contractors, completed the 
works in just 20 days. In addition, the Group 
is currently constructing a ‘mega lab’ in the 
Midlands which, when completed, will 
materially increase the UK’s coronavirus 
testing capability. 

Despite the impact of COVID-19, which led 
to delays on projects in the Regional business, 
good progress continues to be made on 
many of its contracts with a major milestone 
reached following completion of Eastern 
Gateway Phase 1, part of the Wokingham 
Major Highways programme which 
comprises 10 road projects that are being 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

35

Strategic reportOPERATIONAL REVIEW CONTINUED

delivered under the SCAPE framework for 
Wokingham Borough Council. Other material 
ongoing projects include: the seven-storey 
‘MEC Hall’ building at the £287 million 
Manchester Engineering Campus Development 
(MECD) project; the £267 million contract to 
complete the Midland Metropolitan University 
Hospital in Birmingham; the £186 million 
contract to construct student accommodation 
at the University of Sussex; the £96 million 
Caernarfon bypass project in North Wales; 
the £83 million East Leeds Orbital Road 
project; and phase one of the East Wick and 
Sweetwater residential project at the Queen 
Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Although COVID-19 has delayed the contract 
signing of some large projects in the Regional 
pipeline the Group was awarded a £197 million 
contract to construct Phase Two of the 
Lewisham Gateway regeneration scheme on 
behalf of Lewisham Gateway Developments. 
The contract will see Balfour Beatty construct 
four mixed-use buildings, including 530 
homes for rent, 119 co-living units, a cinema 
and gym, office facilities, as well as retail and 
restaurant areas. Included in awarded but not 
contracted (ABNC) at 31 December 2020, 
the Group has been selected as preferred 
bidder for a new Mayfield Riverside 
retirement complex.

US Construction
There is strong bi-partisan support for 
accelerated infrastructure investment in the 
US. The new President’s economic recovery 
plan, called Build Back Better, includes 
investing in modern, sustainable infrastructure 
– from roads to bridges, to energy grids and 
schools. In the US approximately 80% of 
revenues are generated from the general 
building market (Buildings), with the civil 
infrastructure market (Civils) accounting for 
the remaining 20%. 

The US Buildings business operates in 
specifically chosen growth regions. As the 
population further migrates south and west, 
it continues to drive urbanisation and demand 
for buildings and social infrastructure. The 
construction management business (lower 
risk contract with the contractor principally 
responsible for delivery risk) is focused on 
specific states, known internally as ‘The 
Southern Smile’. This starts in the Pacific 
Northwest, runs through California, Texas, 
Florida and up through Georgia and the 
Carolinas to Washington D.C. The core 
markets remain as commercial, education, 
hospitality, residential and healthcare. Balfour 
Beatty was recently named the Southeast’s 
No.1 contractor in the education sector for 
2020 (Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee) and has 
long been one of the largest education 
contractors in California (ENR rank No.2). 

MAGIC MOMENTS

US: The Atelier residential tower, Zom Living. Photo credit: Cameron Wahl  

This diversified geographical and operational 
capability provides resilience against the recent 
slowdown in the Buildings market as a result 
of COVID-19. With blue-chip repeat customers 
and significant state-backed education bonds, 
including another US$13 billion approved in 
California at the same time as the Presidential 
election in November, the Group’s opportunities 
remain robust in the medium term. 

In the year, Buildings completed several 
notable projects including: 

 \ 1331 Maryland: In October, Balfour Beatty 
completed a 14-storey luxury apartment 
project providing residents with unrivalled 
views of Washington D.C. The project has 
won a number of awards, including being 
named ‘Best Project’ in the Speciality 
Construction category by ENR MidAtlantic; 

 \ Jacksonville Regional Transportation 

Centre (JRTC): the 67,000 square foot 
project delivered 21 bus bays, seven bus 
staging bays and space for future micro 
and e-mobility solutions. The JRTC was 
awarded ‘Project of the Year’ by the 
Associated Builders and Contractors, 
Florida First Coast Chapter in the 
institutional US$25-100 million category; 

 \ Hoover High School: located in San Diego, 
California, Balfour Beatty demolished three 
buildings replacing them with new 
classrooms, administrative building, 
theatre and outdoor courtyard; 

 \ Legacy Magnet Academy: located in Tustin, 
California, Balfour Beatty constructed this 
new 1,400 pupil school in time for the 
2020/21 academic year. The project was 
built on a former Marine Corps Air Station 
and was designed to mimic aircraft hangers 
and incorporate elliptical glulam beams and 
trellis steel on a 32-acre site which also 
includes an outdoor amphitheatre; 

 \ Capitol Crossing: located in Washington 

D.C., a 2.2 million square foot multi-phase 
development including two LEED Platinum 
certified 12-storey office buildings and a 
700,000 square foot parking garage; and

 \ River Landing: located in Miami, Florida, 
Balfour Beatty delivered 360,000 square 
feet of commercial space, 118,000 square 
feet of office space, 528 apartments, more 
than 2,000 parking spaces and a 
landscaped riverwalk.

During the year, progress has been made on 
significant projects including: 

 \ Pavilion at Penn: in response to COVID-19, 
the Pavilion at Penn Medicine project in 
Pennsylvania fast-tracked 120 patient 
rooms 15 months ahead of the facility’s 
planned opening, with Balfour Beatty 
employees working around the clock for 
17 days to deliver 122,000 square feet of 
space in the emergency department as 
part of the project to deliver a 1.5 million 
square foot hospital with 47 operating rooms;

 \ The University of North Carolina at 

Wilmington: Balfour Beatty completed the 
first phase of the project with over 1,000 
beds available for freshman students from 
August. The second phase of the project, 
providing a further 776 beds, will be 
delivered in August 2021;

 \ Bowie State University (BSU): construction 

of the BSU project commenced in 
February 2020 and in November, Balfour 
Beatty topped out the project in Maryland. 
Scheduled to open in August 2021, the 
170,000 square foot housing community 
will bring 557 beds to the campus, as well 
as a variety of amenities; and

36

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 \ Pacific Beach Middle School: in December, 

Balfour Beatty topped out work on a 
two-storey classroom hall. In addition, 
there will be three new classrooms in the 
library media centre, as well as renovation 
and expansion of other amenities. 

In the year, the Buildings business 
booked material new phases of existing 
contracts and standalone new contract 
awards as follows: 

 \ Microsoft Redmond Campus: in 2018, the 
Group was selected, in joint venture with 
Skanska, as general contractor on Microsoft’s 
head office refresh in Redmond, Washington. 
The next phase of the project which in total 
will deliver 18 new buildings, clustered into 
four distinct villages to create a unified 
campus, was signed in March 2020;

 \ Broward County Convention Center: in 

2019, Balfour Beatty signed a construction 
agreement for the expansion of the Broward 
County Convention Center and new 
construction of an 800-room hotel. In 
January 2020, the second phase (of five) 
of the US$780 million project in Fort 
Lauderdale, Florida, was signed;

 \ Museum Place: Balfour Beatty has been 
awarded a US$127 million contract for a 
redevelopment project that will renovate 
the historic Randall School creating a 
vibrant arts campus and new residential 
apartment building in Washington D.C.;

 \ Epic Phase II: having successfully 

completed Epic Phase I in 2019, Balfour 
Beatty has been selected to construct the 
next phase of the project in downtown 
Dallas, Texas which will include the largest 
Uber office outside of San Francisco; and

 \ Walter Tower: Balfour Beatty has been 

contracted to construct the US$100 million 
Walter Tower, a premier luxury residential 
tower which will be one of the tallest 
residential buildings in Raleigh, 
North Carolina.

Included in ABNC at year end, US Buildings 
has been made preferred bidder for: 
a US$160 million project for the Oxnard 
Union High School District, California; 
and a US$110 million luxury apartment 
development featuring two 24-storey 
towers in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

In Civils, the Group is focused on highway 
projects in Texas and North Carolina and mass 
transit rail projects in major cities across the 
US, including the electrification of existing 
lines. These large and growing markets are 
supported by the c. US$77 billion 2020 Unified 
Transportation Program (UTP) from the 
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) 
and a number of state-backed infrastructure 

At IH-635 (45% Balfour Beatty, 55% Fluor 
Corporation) in Texas, the design is complete 
and construction activities have commenced. 
In August, Balfour Beatty was awarded, 
in joint venture with Fluor Corporation, 
a contract to deliver the Oak Hill Parkway 
infrastructure project for TxDOT. The project 
will reconstruct and widen approximately 
seven miles of interstate highway and 
improve long-term mobility for communities 
in Austin, Texas.

Gammon 
Gammon has a material share of the Hong 
Kong market which continues to deliver a 
strong pipeline of infrastructure and 
construction projects. Historically the Hong 
Kong market has benefited from high public 
sector investment, which appears set to 
continue with the Government’s recently 
announced ambition (budget speech in 
February 2021) to increase this spend 
significantly over the medium term. Major 
expansions of the Hong Kong Airport and 
MTR subway system have started and are 
expected to continue in the coming years, 
whilst social infrastructure programmes to 
develop hospitals and universities are well 
underway. This increase in public spend is 
set to offset a slowdown in the commercial 
construction sector. 

In Buildings, the focus is on the use of 
Design for Manufacture and Assembly 
(DfMA) and modular construction to improve 
productivity and efficiency and expanding the 
customer base on a selective basis. In Civils, 
the strategy is to lever engineering 
excellence, with a key area of future work 
likely to be from significant infrastructure 
programmes in Hong Kong and in Singapore. 

bonds (over US$200 billion of multi-state 
transportation bonds). As part of the ongoing 
process to focus the business, Balfour Beatty 
has decided to exit the water sector.

In October, a Balfour Beatty joint venture 
team opened the US 183 South expressway 
to traffic in Austin, Texas. After four years 
of construction, over 95% of the US 183 
corridor from US 290 to SH 71 is now operating 
as the primary route to and from the airport 
serving as an alternative to I-35 and providing 
significant improvements to the corridor, 
including new multi-modal transportation 
options, improved safety, system connectivity, 
travel times and congestion relief. In September, 
the North Metro Rail line project (known as 
the ‘N line’) officially opened to the public in 
Denver, Colorado, following completion of six 
new stations and 13 miles of track. 

Significant progress has also been made on 
key projects with the following all now over half 
way through construction: the US$625 million 
Southern Gateway (45% Balfour Beatty, 55% 
Fluor Corporation) project; the US$1.08 billion 
Green Line extension (25% Balfour Beatty) 
project; and the Caltrain project, a US$697 
million contract for the electrification of the 
52-mile rail corridor between San Francisco 
and San Jose. Following the joint venture 
(Balfour Beatty 30%) breaking ground on the 
Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) 
Automated People Mover (APM) project in 
2019, the project took a significant step with 
the placing of concrete for the first segment 
of the 2.25 mile elevated guideway and 
completing structural steel erection activities 
for the Maintenance and Storage Facility 
(MSF). Once complete, the APM will 
transport travellers into and out of LAX. The 
APM electric train system will connect LAX 
passengers to airline terminals, a rental car 
facility, a parking facility and the Metro’s 
regional transit system. 

MAGIC MOMENTS

US: Thunderbird flyover over the Pavilion Penn Medicine project. Photo credit: Joseph Ebert

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

37

Strategic reportOPERATIONAL REVIEW CONTINUED

During the year, the Buildings business 
helped fast-track temporary COVID-19 
quarantine facilities by providing project 
management and mechanical, electrical and 
plumbing services to construct 110 units at 
Penny’s Bay in just 64 days. Subsequently in 
June, Gammon was awarded a contract for 
Phase II of the temporary quarantine facilities 
including construction of a 5G Smart control 
centre giving the project management team 
control over all aspects of the works at all 
phases, whether on-site or off-site. The 
centre ensured all members of the team had 
access to the latest design and enhanced 
collaborative working such that over 700 
units were installed in just one month. The 
business also designed and installed the 
heaviest DfMA thermal tanks in Hong Kong 
at the Global Switch Data Centre (Phase 2) 
project in Tseung Kwan O. 

Work has continued on major Buildings 
projects including the construction of M+, 
a new 33 gallery museum in the West 
Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong and 
the Lohas Park project to deliver three 54-56 
storey residential towers. Work has also 
continued on a number of Civils projects in 
Hong Kong, including Tuen Mun-Chek Lap 
Kok Link Northern Connection, where 
Gammon is providing electrical and mechanical 
facilitation to serve the newly constructed 
5-kilometre tunnel, and the Sai Sha Road 
widening project. 

In December 2019, Gammon moved into a 
new office it has constructed at Quayside. In 
2020, the building achieved Gold level WELL 
Precertification, making Gammon the first 
construction company in Hong Kong to have 
been awarded this international designation. 
The WELL Building Standard is awarded by 
the International WELL Building Institute and 
has become a central certification in the 
growing importance of developing buildings 
that promote the health and wellbeing of its 
users. WELL focuses on seven categories of 
building performance: air, water, nourishment, 
light, fitness, comfort and mind. 

In addition, Gammon’s plant yard was 
awarded a top prize at the China Light and 
Power Smart Energy Awards. Gammon 
Technology Park which incorporates all plant 
and equipment operations, including design 
and development, maintenance, assembly 
and disassembly capabilities won the Grand 
Award in the category of best renewable 
energy for the installation of a new solar 
panel system on the roof of the main building. 
Gammon has also received the ISO 19650 
Kitemark certification, making it one of the 
few companies in Hong Kong to be recognised 
for its wider digital transformation. The 
British Standards Institute (BSI) Kitemark for 
innovation management has been designed 
to help organisations improve their 

MAGIC MOMENTS

MAGIC MOMENTS

Hong Kong: Central Kowloon Route - buildings, 
mechanical and electrical works, Highways Department, 
HKSAR Government. Photo Credit: Lee Ho Hang 

Hong Kong: Central Kowloon Route - Kai Tak West, 
Highways Department, HKSAR Government.  
Photo credit: Lunggy Fung

 \ Central Kowloon Route M&E: a 

HK$5.7 billion contract by the Highways 
Department of the Government of the 
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 
to construct buildings, mechanical and 
electrical works for the Central Kowloon 
Route (CKR). Gammon is also constructing 
the Kai Tak West Section of the CKR which 
includes underwater and cut-and-cover 
tunnels, as well as roads.

performance and demonstrate the value and 
impact of their innovation outcomes to 
stakeholders and customers. 

Gammon had a number of notable new 
contract awards in the year including:

 \ Hong Kong Airport Terminal 2 expansion: 
Gammon’s largest ever award, a HK$12.9 
billion contract for Airport Authority Hong 
Kong to expand the main Terminal 2 
building and construct interconnecting 
bridges, mechanical and electrical works 
as well as associated viaducts and roads. 
The expansion of Terminal 2 forms part of 
the three-runway system project, which on 
completion will allow for both arrivals and 
departures from one terminal and increase 
overall passenger capacity; 

 \ Hong Kong Airport automatic people mover 
(APM): a HK$7.2 billion contract for Airport 
Authority Hong Kong to construct tunnels 
and related works for an APM and baggage 
handling system (BHS). The scope of work 
includes combined 1.8 kilometre-long 
eight-cell tunnel structures for the APM and 
BHS systems, 19 ancillary buildings, as 
well as building services and airport 
systems; and 

38

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Support 
Services

Our Support Services businesses operate principally 
in the UK, designing, upgrading, managing and 
maintaining critical national infrastructure.

TOTAL REVENUE1

12+

12%

2019: 12%

Key points
 \ Revenue and profit demonstrate 

strong resilience

» Contracts generally designated as

critical infrastructure

» Acceleration of some road and rail

projects, offset by economic uncertainty

 \ Focus on power, road and rail maintenance

 \ Exiting UK gas and water markets 

Financial review
Although impacted by COVID-19, Support 
Services has shown strong resilience in the 
year. The Group was able to accelerate road 
and rail maintenance programmes for some 
customers due to lower volumes of traffic 
in the year, but this was offset by other 
customers reducing maintenance expenditure 
given the economic uncertainty. 

Support Services revenue increased by 4% 
to £1,067 million (2019: £1,023 million) as 
a result of higher volumes at power transmission 
and distribution, and transportation. Underlying 
profit from operations for the year was 
broadly in line at £46 million (2019: £47 million) 
as the increase in volume was offset by 
disruptions caused by COVID-19. The order 
book decreased to £2.7 billion (2019: 
£3.2 billion) following the Group’s decision 
to withdraw from the gas and water sectors. 

Operational review
The Support Services segment comprises 
utilities and transportation businesses. Utilities 
operates across power transmission and 
distribution and the gas and water sectors. 
Transportation operates across rail, highways 
and managed road schemes for local authorities. 
The overall market is positive with areas of 
growth in power, road and rail partially offset 
by areas of decline in gas and water where 
Balfour Beatty is withdrawing from the 
market as future opportunities do not meet 
the Group’s selective bidding criteria. 

The power transmission and distribution 
sector is likely to see a wave of new demand 
as the UK’s Build Back Better initiative is 
underpinned by key environmental targets. 
Investments in renewable energy (wind 
power and new nuclear generation capacity) 
will provide the power business with material 
opportunities over the medium term. The 
highways maintenance market is forecast to 
see significant investment with the announcement 
of an additional £2.5 billion in funding, increasing 
local council budgets by 45% over the next 
five years. Further, over £700 million of 
outsourced contracts are up for renewal 
between 2021 and 2025. The rail maintenance 
market also has a positive trajectory with an 
additional £10 billion of funding for renewals 
as part of the latest Network Rail control 
period (CP6). 

Utilities revenue increased by 3% to £565 million 
(2019: £551 million) whilst the order book 
decreased to £0.7 billion (2019: £1.0 billion), 
as the current regulatory cycles in gas and 
water reach the end of their periods in 2021 
and 2020 respectively. 

UNDERLYING REVENUE1

£1,067m

2019: £1,023m

STATUTORY REVENUE

£1,037m

2019: £991m

UNDERLYING PROFIT 
FROM OPERATIONS

£46m

2019: £47m

STATUTORY PROFIT/(LOSS) FROM  
OPERATIONS

£50m

2019: £(11)m

ORDER BOOK1

£2.7bn

2019: £3.2bn

1 

Including share of joint ventures and associates, 
before non-underlying items.

Discover more at  
balfourbeatty.com

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

39

Strategic report88
+
N
OPERATIONAL REVIEW CONTINUED

Performance at power transmission and 
distribution continues to improve, with a clear 
plan to deliver key projects such as Hinkley 
Point C overhead cabling, Viking Link, 
Inveraray-Crossaig and the National Grid 
and SSE portfolios. During the year, work 
commenced at the Viking Link project, a 
£90 million contract to deliver the onshore 
civil works for the Viking Link interconnector 
project with National Grid Ventures. As part 
of the four-year contract Balfour Beatty will 
be responsible for the civil engineering and 
installation of 68 kilometres of high voltage 
cabling across Lincolnshire. 

In December, the Group was awarded a 
£48 million contract to design and build a 
new 400 kilovolt (kV) substation in Peterhead, 
Scotland on behalf of SSEN Transmission. 
The contract for a 25,000 square metre 
substation with associated cabling and 
overhead line works, forms part of the East 
Coast Reinforcement programme, which will 
strengthen the network in the area and 
facilitate the connection of more renewable 
energy generation to the national grid.

In gas, Balfour Beatty delivers network 
maintenance and asset enhancements for 
the largest gas distribution companies in the 
UK and Ireland. The Group continues to 
manage two long term gas contracts in the 
RIIO-GD1 period (until second quarter 2021) 
which have historically underperformed. The 
gas market is no longer considered viable to 
the Group because of the unfavourable working 
capital and onerous terms and conditions. 

The water business has completed the end 
of the current UK water regulatory cycle (AMP6 
2015-2020). Under the new AMP7 regulatory 
period (2020-2025) contracts are generally 
being awarded on terms that are not acceptable 
to Balfour Beatty and therefore the Group has 
only retained one contract (Anglian Water).

SUPPORT SERVICES

Order book1 (£bn)
Revenue1 (£m)
Profit from operations2 (£m)
Non-underlying items (£m)
Statutory profit/(loss) from operations (£m)

MAGIC MOMENTS

UK: Easter egg donation, Balfour Beatty Living Places, Southampton City Council. Photo credit: Sarah Davies 

MAGIC MOMENTS

UK: Hinkley Connection Project, EDF Energy. Photo credit: Michelle Collins

2020

2.7
1,067
46
4
50

2019

3.2
1,023
47
(58)
(11)

Including share of joint ventures and associates.

1 
2  Before non-underlying items (Note 10).
A reconciliation of the Group’s performance measures to its statutory results is provided in the Measuring our financial performance section. 

40

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

MAGIC MOMENTS

UK: Inveraray to Crossaig project, Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SSEN). Photo credit: Adrian Smith

Transportation revenues increased by 6% 
to £502 million (2019: £472 million) whilst 
the order book decreased to £2.0 billion 
(2019: £2.2 billion). 

Balfour Beatty continues to maintain, 
manage and operate major highway and 
road networks across the UK. The largest 
contract, for M25 Connect Plus, will continue 
for another 20 years. During the year, the 
M25 Connect Plus team was awarded The 
Chartered Institution of Highways and 
Transportation (CIHT) UK Climate Change 
award 2020 for its innovative surfacing trial 
using 50% reclaimed asphalt.

The largest contract in rail maintenance is 
for Network Rail under a £1.5 billion Central 
Track Alliance contract. Balfour Beatty has 

an 80% share in the ten-year alliance which 
is responsible for the development, design 
and delivery of track renewals and crossings, 
as well as associated infrastructure works 
across the London North West, London 
North East and East Midland routes. 
Performance has been good since contract 
inception in 2019, including during COVID-19 
lockdowns, with safe delivery of the work 
ensuring that vital national rail infrastructure 
remains operational. Work has been accelerated 
where revised schedules allow renewal of 
the network that would be difficult to access 
under normal working conditions, such as the 
rapid mobilisation and execution of the Kilsby 
Tunnel project on the West Coast Main Line.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

41

Strategic reportOPERATIONAL REVIEW CONTINUED

Infrastructure 
Investments

Our Infrastructure Investments business develops 
and finances both public and private infrastructure 
projects in the UK and the US.

TOTAL REVENUE1 

7%

7+

2019: 6%

UNDERLYING REVENUE1

£556m

2019: £524m

STATUTORY REVENUE

£315m

2019: £371m

UNDERLYING PROFIT  
BEFORE TAX

£20m

2019: £98m

STATUTORY PROFIT BEFORE TAX

£15m

2019: £93m

DIRECTORS’ VALUATION

£1.09bn

2019: £1.07bn

1 

Including share of joint ventures and associates, 
before non-underlying items.

Discover more at  
balfourbeatty.com

Key points
 \ Pre-disposals operating profit includes 
provision for an estimate of historical 
military housing incentive fees which the 
Group has not been able to fully verify

Net interest income reduced to £12 million 
(2019: £16 million), primarily as a result of the 
recognition of impairment losses on loans to 
joint ventures, contributing to an underlying 
profit before tax of £20 million (2019: 
£98 million).

 » Continue to seek resolution on US 
Department of Justice investigation

 \ No disposals given market uncertainty 

caused by COVID-19

 \ Demand for high-quality infrastructure 

assets expected to exceed supply

 \ New investment opportunities in 
student accommodation, US PPP 
and multifamily housing

Financial review
Underlying pre-disposals operating profit 
in the year decreased to £8 million (2019: 
£13 million), primarily due to a provision for 
an estimate of historical military housing 
incentive fees which Balfour Beatty has 
proposed to repay. There were no Investments 
assets disposals in the year, therefore the 
underlying profit from operations was also 
£8 million (2019: £82 million). 

As a result of the market uncertainty 
generated by COVID-19, and the strong 
liquidity position of the Group, Balfour Beatty 
did not dispose of any Investments assets 
in the year. In 2021, the Group will re-
commence selling Investments assets 
timed to maximise value to shareholders 
as demand for high quality infrastructure 
assets in the secondary market is expected 
to exceed supply. 

Operational review
As a result of the market uncertainty 
generated by COVID-19, the number of 
transactions in 2020 was relatively low for 
the Infrastructure Investments business with 
only two new projects and no disposals. 

Operationally, the majority of operations in 
the UK continued as normal, supported by 
the Government advice that private finance 
initiative (PFI) contractors should consider 
themselves to be part of the public sector 
response to COVID-19. Availability-based 
assets were not affected but a number of 
demand-based road projects were impacted 
by lower traffic volumes, which are expected 
to recover quickly as COVID-19 restrictions 
lift. The Group’s strategy to invest in 
on-campus accommodation in partnership 
with established universities resulted in the 
impact on these projects being immaterial as 
universities continued to nominate rooms and 
income remained strong. 

In the US, Balfour Beatty Communities 
continues to work with its partners to 
support military families, noting that 
employees are working to social distancing 
rules, as agreed with the US military, which 
restrict access to properties and thus 
maintenance activity. The Group’s strategy to 
work in partnership with universities limited 
the impact on US student accommodation 
and in the longer term there are clear 
demographic drivers to support future cash 
flows for student accommodation.

42

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

93
+
N
The Infrastructure Investments business 
strategy is to continue to invest in new 
opportunities whilst optimising value through 
the disposal of operational assets. The Group 
achieves enhanced returns when Infrastructure 
Investments, Construction Services and 
Support Services deliver as one, as currently 
evidenced at Sussex University in the UK and 
with the LAX people mover project in the US. 
There is an inherent advantage in bidding for 
projects when the Infrastructure Investments 
business utilises the expertise of Construction 
Services and Support Services. Additionally, 
the negative working capital generated in the 
Construction Services business provides 
opportunity for Infrastructure Investments. 
The business continues to see significant 
opportunities for future investment in its 
chosen geographic markets, particularly in 
the US where the focus is on student 
accommodation, multifamily housing and 
public-private partnership (PPP) opportunities. 

Under the Military Housing Privatization 
Initiative (MHPI) established in the US in 
1996, Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC) 
manages more than 43,000 family housing 
properties across 55 Army, Navy and Air 
Force bases under long term concessions. 
This spans financing the project development, 
designing and constructing new houses and 
community amenities, renovating older 
legacy properties inherited from the military 
so that they meet modern requirements, and 
managing day to day property leasing and 
maintenance services, within the project’s 
budget that is approved by the government. 

In June 2019, allegations about the handling 
of certain work orders were publicised about 
a number of military bases managed by 
Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC). 
Subsequently, the US Department of Justice 
(DoJ) commenced an investigation into the 
allegations of false claims. Balfour Beatty 
instructed Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, BBC’s 
outside counsel, to conduct its own 
investigation, and BBC proactively contacted 

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS

Pre-disposals operating profit2
Gain on disposals2
Profit from operations2
Net investment income+
Profit before tax2
Non-underlying items
Statutory profit before tax

MAGIC MOMENTS

MAGIC MOMENTS

US: Fort Bliss Family Homes.  
Photo credit: Jennifer Adauto

US: Balfour Beatty’s San Mateo office.  
Photo credit: Robera Bilata

the DoJ to notify them of the review. Balfour 
Beatty’s own investigation is substantially 
complete, and the Group’s findings have 
been shared with the DoJ. 

Balfour Beatty has made a provision in its 
2020 year end results for an estimate of the 
historical incentive fees that its investigation 
was unable to fully verify and which BBC has 
proposed to be repaid. The Group’s external 
counsel is engaging with the DoJ, with the 
intention of seeking resolution but as the DoJ 
investigation is still ongoing, the Group is not 
able to provide any further indication or 
measure with sufficient reliability the 
outcome of the investigation, including timing 
or any quantum of any possible fine, penalty 
or damages that may arise. 

Following a series of operational challenges 
at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, the US 
Air Force required BBC to develop a 
comprehensive Performance Improvement 
Plan (PIP). The plan, which includes a variety 
of objectives and performance metrics, was 

agreed with the Air Force in February 2020. 
All initiatives set out in the plan have been 
completed, including implementing a 
significant management restructuring to 
better align technical support and resident 
services and appointing a Transformation 
Director. To date, 44 lines of effort have been 
signed off by the Air Force, whilst four 
remain under review.

There are opportunities for Infrastructure 
Investments in the military housing sector in 
connection with ongoing efforts by the US 
Army to refinance its military housing projects. 
Proceeds from any such refinancing of 
projects within Balfour Beatty’s military 
housing portfolio would be used toward 
continued demolition of older housing and 
replacement with new construction homes, 
as well as for renovations of other homes 
across a number of Army bases.

2020
£m

8
–
8
12
20
(5)
15

2019
£m

13
69
82
16
98
(5)
93

2  Before non-underlying items (Note 10). 
+  Subordinated debt interest receivable, net interest receivable on PPP financial assets and non-recourse borrowings, and impairment to subordinated debt receivable. 
A reconciliation of the Group’s performance measures to its statutory results is provided in the Measuring our financial performance section. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

43

Strategic reportDIRECTORS’ VALUATION OF THE INVESTMENTS PORTFOLIO

Strong track record 
of value creation

The Directors’ valuation increased 2% to £1,086 
million (2019: £1,068 million), primarily as a result of 
the unwind of discount in the year. The number of 
projects in the portfolio decreased to 67 (2019: 69). 

The Group invested £46 million (2019: 
£64 million) in new and existing projects. 
The two new assets were both multifamily 
housing projects in the US: a 260-unit site at 
Chenal Point in Little Rock, Arkansas; and a 
135-unit site named Moretti at Vulcan Park in 
Birmingham, Alabama. Material investment 
in existing projects included student 
accommodation projects at Sussex 
University in the UK and the University 
of Dallas, Texas.

Four projects that were all previously included 
at nil value in the Directors’ valuation have 
now been removed from the project count. 
Two of these projects have been at preferred 
bidder stage for several years without 
progressing further and are no longer 
expected to reach financial close. The other 
two projects are no longer expected to generate 
a return and have accordingly been removed.

Cash yield from distributions amounted to 
£72 million (2019: £65 million) as the portfolio 
continued to generate cash flow to the Group 
net of investment. The continuing yield during 
COVID-19 demonstrates the essential nature 
of the Infrastructure Investments portfolio. 
Unwind of discount at £83 million (2019: 
£87 million) is a function of moving the 
valuation date forward by one year with the 
result that future cash flows are discounted 
by twelve months less. Negative foreign 
exchange movements were consistent with 
prior year at £19 million (2019: £19 million) 
whilst operational performance movements 
resulted in a £20 million decrease (2019: 
£86 million decrease).

The methodology used for the Directors’ 
valuation is unchanged, producing a valuation 
that reflects market value and which therefore 
changes with movements in the market. 

PORTFOLIO VALUATION DECEMBER 2020

Value by sector

Sector

Roads
Healthcare
Student accommodation
OFTOs
Waste and biomass
Other
UK total
US military housing
Healthcare and other PPP
Student accommodation
Residential housing
North America total
Total

Value by phase

Phase

Operations
Construction
Preferred bidder
Total

Value by income type

Income type

Availability based
Demand – operationally proven 
(2+ years)
Demand – early stage (less than 
2 years)
Total

2020
No. projects

2019
No. projects

13
3
4
3
2
4
29
21
2
3
12
38
67

13
3
4
3
4
4
31
21
2
5
10
38
69

2020
No. projects

2019
No. projects

65
2
0
67

62
5
2
69

2020
No. projects

2019
No. projects

22

39

6
67

22

38

9
69

2020
£m

 188 
 114 
 88 
 44 
 51 
 29 
 514 
 446 
 21 
 52 
 53 
 572 
 1,086 

2020
£m

 1,037 
 49 
–
 1,086 

2020
£m

 371 

 519 

2019
£m

 206 
 112 
 59 
 53 
 60 
 24 
 514 
 453 
 17 
 40 
 44 
 554 
 1,068 

2019
£m

 954 
 114 
–
 1,068 

2019
£m

 389 

 517 

 196 
 1,086 

 162 
 1,068 

44

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

MOVEMENT IN VALUE 2019 TO 2020 

£m

UK

North America

Total

Cash flows for each project are forecast 
based on historical and present performance, 
future risks and macroeconomic forecasts 
and which also factor in secondary market 
assumptions. These cash flows are then 
discounted using different discount rates 
based on the risk and maturity of individual 
projects and reflecting secondary market 
transaction experience. As in previous 
periods, the Directors’ valuation may differ 
significantly from the accounting book value 
of investments shown in the financial statements, 
which are produced in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards 
(IFRS) rather than using a discounted cash 
flow approach. A full reconciliation is provided 
in section i) of the Measuring Our Financial 
Performance section. 

Discount rates applied to the UK portfolio 
range between 7% and 10.5% depending on 
project risk and maturity. The implied weighted 
average discount rate for the UK portfolio is 
8.0% (2019: 8.3%). Discount rates applied to 
the North American portfolio range between 
7.5% and 10.6%. The implied weighted 
average discount rate is 8.4% (2019: 8.3%). 
Consistent with other infrastructure funds, 
Balfour Beatty’s experience is that there is 
limited correlation between the discount rates 
used to value PPP, and similar infrastructure 
investments, and long term interest rates. 
In the event that interest rates increase in 
response to rising inflation, the impact of any 
increase in discount rates would be mitigated 
by the positive correlation between the value 
of the UK portfolio and changes in inflation. A 
1% change in the discount rate would change 
the value of the UK portfolio by approximately 
£51 million. A 1% change in the discount rate 
would change the value of the North American 
portfolio by approximately £72 million.

2019

514 

554 

1,068 

Equity
invested

Distributions
 received

Sales
proceeds

Unwind of
 discount

Operational
 performance

Forex
 movements

24 

22 

46 

(33)

(39)

(72)

—

—

— 

38 

45 

83 

(29) 

9

(20)

—

(19) 

(19)

2020

 514 

 572 

 1,086 

UK PORTFOLIO VALUE AT A RANGE OF DISCOUNT RATES 

m
£

n
o
i
t
a
u
a
v

l

’
s
r
o
t
c
e
r
i

D

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

467

466

514

514

570

570

+2%

+1.5%

+1%

+0.5%

DV case

-0.5%

-1%

-1.5%

2%

December 2020

December 2019

Discount rate

US PORTFOLIO VALUE AT A RANGE OF DISCOUNT RATES

m
£

n
o
i
t
a
u
a
v

l

’
s
r
o
t
c
e
r
i

D

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

572

554

508

487

652

637

+2%

+1.5%

+1%

+0.5%

DV case

-0.5%

-1%

-1.5%

2%

December 2020

December 2019

Discount rate

PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT, DIVESTMENT AND DISTRIBUTIONS

1500

1250

1000

750

500

250

0

-250

-500

-750

m
£
n
o
i
t
a
u
a
v

l

’
s
r
o
t
c
e
r
i

D

250

200

150

100

50

0

-50

-100

-150

m
£
s
n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
d
d
n
a

i

s
e
a
s

l

,
t
n
e
m
t
s
e
v
n
I

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Distributions

Investment

Sales

Directors’ valuation

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

45

Strategic report 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Building a 
 positive culture 

Our disciplined contracting is further strengthened by our approach to building the 
right culture – where people are encouraged and supported to always do the right 
thing, achieve high performance and make a positive difference, every day.

In this section

HEALTH, SAFETY 
AND WELLBEING 
The health, safety and 
wellbeing of all those 
who work for us and the 
communities we touch 
remains at the heart of our 
culture and is our license 
to operate.

BUSINESS 
INTEGRITY 
Embedding a culture of 
ethics and integrity enables 
our employees and partners 
to make the right choices, 
empowering them to speak 
up and challenge if anything 
doesn’t feel right.

SUSTAINABILITY 
Our Building New Futures 
sustainability strategy 
guides our approach to help 
ensure the Group leaves a 
positive legacy for the 
people we work with, the 
communities we work in, 
and the world in which 
we operate.

OUR PEOPLE 
As part of our Build to Last 
strategy, our strategic people 
priorities include, enabling 
the business, building expert 
capability and creating a 
great place to work. 

RISK MANAGEMENT 
A robust and dynamic risk 
management framework 
ensures that risks are 
mitigated and that the Group 
adheres to both regulatory 
requirements and industry 
good practice when 
identifying, assessing 
and monitoring risk.

Read more on

p48

Read more on

p52

Read more on

p55

Read more on

p71

Read more on

p88

Our cultural framework refresh

As part of our cultural framework refresh in 2020, we introduced two new behaviours. ‘Make a Difference’ which reflects how our 
employees are a force for positive change – for the business, in their Balfour Beatty careers and for the customers and communities they 
serve. ‘Value Everyone’ which reflects our continuing journey to nurture a truly diverse and inclusive culture, and the value we place on 
different perspectives, new ideas and on giving everyone a voice. Our five behaviours are:

TALK  
POSITIVELY

COLLABORATE 
RELENTLESSLY

ENCOURAGE 
CONSTANTLY

MAKE A  
DIFFERENCE

VALUE  
EVERYONE

We’re passionate about 
what we do, talking with 
pride and enthusiasm 
about our business, our 
colleagues, our industry, 
and our future.

We’re at our best when we 
share ideas and expertise, 
build connections and work 
as a team to drive 
performance and 
strengthen relationships.

We nurture a supportive 
environment, empowering, 
motivating and inspiring 
each other with regular 
and powerful feedback, 
giving credit where credit 
is due so we can all reach 
our potential.

We challenge ourselves to 
always have a positive 
impact, find solutions and 
stand up and be counted 
when it matters.

We are inclusive, 
celebrating difference and 
respecting one another 
for who we are and the 
perspectives we bring 
to the table.

46

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 BELOW
March Schull, Project 
Executive, renovation of 
Hoover High School, 
San Diego

S

t
r
a
t
e
g
i
c

r
e
p
o
r
t

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

47

 
HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELLBEING

Committed to creating a 
safe and healthy workplace

Collaborating relentlessly. Treating Health like Safety. Leading the industry.

SUPPORTING NHS SCOTLAND 

As part of Scotland’s rapid response to COVID-19, 
Balfour Beatty was commissioned to convert the 
Scottish Events Campus (SEC) exhibition arena into 
a field hospital, named NHS Louisa Jordan. The 
conversion required the entertainment venue to be 
transformed into a hospital for over 1,000 patients. 

The project was mobilised incredibly quickly, and 
through relentless collaboration between different 
Balfour Beatty business units, alongside the Scottish 
Government, military and other contractors, the 
conversion was completed in just over two weeks. 
Observing strict COVID-19 regulations, as well as 
Making Safety Personal, 187,880 hours were worked 
on the project, achieving Zero Harm.

DAYS TO  
COMPLETE

20 

HOURS WORKED  
WITHOUT LOST 
TIME INJURY

187,880

ZERO HARM

Our commitment 
to Zero Harm 

‘Safe’ is one of the five Build to Last values, 
and all the Group’s operations must ensure 
the health and safety of everyone who 
comes into contact with its activities. Zero 
Harm is Balfour Beatty’s vision, where no 
injury, ill health or environmental incident is 
caused by its work activities, and all operations 
are charged with constantly improving 
performance and sharing learning and 
best practice.

The Group’s safety culture is led by its senior 
leadership team, with the Board’s Safety and 
Sustainability Committee reviewing the 
Health Safety Environment and Sustainability 
(HSES) Strategy, monitoring progress and 
ensuring accountability (see page 57 to 59 in 
the sustainability section for the governance 
structure). Site visits by executive leaders 
form one of the leading key performance 
indicators (KPIs) used to monitor performance; 
over 1,500 executive site visits for health and 
safety were recorded in 2020.

The strategy is based around 12 key areas, 
including leadership, behavioural safety, 
supply chain engagement and health and 
safety by design. Each of these key areas 
has three-year rolling action plans, designed 
to drive continual improvement.

Each year a calendar is produced, setting 
out central business-wide initiatives linked to 
Zero Harm. These are proactive initiatives 
based on evidence and risk profile, and 
include focused campaigns and Group-wide 
stand downs on key topics. Each individual 
site or project is encouraged to take 
ownership of the resources and make safety 
personal to their part of the business as well 

48

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

as share their innovations, learning and 
successes. In 2020 focus areas included 
health, lifting, segregation of people and 
vehicles or plant and service strike avoidance.

four Gold Considerate Constructor awards. 
Balfour Beatty also received client recognition, 
including four Blue Star awards for safety 
innovation from Highways England. 

Delivering excellence
The Group capitalises on its global capability, 
drawing on expertise from across its different 
geographies and networks to drive standards 
which exceed local regulatory requirements 
and push boundaries. 

Balfour Beatty’s target is Zero Harm, and 
each day hundreds of Balfour Beatty sites 
send their colleagues home safely. For example: 
in the US, the South East Civils team reached 
the milestone of over four million hours worked 
without a lost time incident over five years; in 
the UK the Thames Estuary Asset Management 
team achieved two million hours of Zero Harm; 
and all UK businesses worked the whole of 
August without a lost time injury (LTI). Elsewhere, 
Balfour Beatty drew praise from Minister for 
Transport Grant Shapps, after deploying Project 
Brock in just 12 hours – a 20km moveable 
concrete barrier on the M20 to segregate 
lorries due to the emergency COVID-19 travel 
clampdown – while maintaining a record of 
Zero Harm. Balfour Beatty continues to return 
industry-leading performance in its lagging 
indicators, such as incident rates. To continue 
to drive safety performance, the Company 
also sets challenging leading indicators. 
Leading indicators include, but are not limited 
to Fit for Role assessments, behavioural safety 
programme roll-out, observations and 
supervisor development plans. 

Balfour Beatty won many awards in 2020 for 
its health and safety performance including 
27 UK Considerate Constructors Awards, of 
which nine were Gold Awards. The Group’s 
Hong Kong based joint venture Gammon also 
received 13 industry safety awards, including 

Risk management
in response to incidents, including fatalities, 
both within and outside its operations in 
2020 (see page 50), the Group redoubled 
its focus on Temporary Works, establishing 
a Temporary Works Group Forum; an 
international collaboration within Balfour 
Beatty, with experts in engineering and 
design, operations and HSES. The forum 
reviewed, revised and strengthened Balfour 
Beatty’s policies and procedures around 
Temporary Works, including planning, training, 
competency levels, permits and hold points 
to enhance existing control measures.

The Group’s Fatal Risk Working Groups 
(FRWG) continue. Led by operational managing 
directors and supported by HSES directors, 
these focus on Balfour Beatty’s ten fatal risks 
and eliminating risk by design. The groups 
meet regularly and progress is reported at 
Board, Executive Committee and operational 
Safety Health, Environment & Sustainability 
Leadership Team meetings. The outputs and 
the ongoing work by each FRWG are published 
on Balfour Beatty’s intranet pages, and made 
available to all Balfour Beatty personnel as 
well as shared wider. Examples include 
destructive testing of cabbed dumpers to 
ensure operators’ safety prior to mandating 
cabbed dumpers on sites in October, adopting 
new mechanical planing and pothole filling 
equipment to remove the workforce from the 
roadside, and designing out hand-arm vibration 
as part of the Group’s UK Zero hand-arm 
vibration syndrome by 2020 challenge.

MAJOR INJURY RATE*

8
0
.
0

6
0
.
0

5
0
.
0

5
0
.
0

4
0
.
0

4
0
.
0

3
0
.
0

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

LOST TIME INJURY RATE*

9
2
.
0

2
2
.
0

1
2
.
0

7
1
.
0

5
1
.
0

4
1
.
0

0
1
.
0

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

*  Excluding international joint ventures.

Discover more at  
balfourbeatty.com/safety

BALFOUR BEATTY GROUP LOST TIME INJURY RATE AND OBSERVATIONS*

s
n
o
i
t
a
v
r
e
s
b
o
f
o
r
e
b
m
u
N

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0

2015 
- Q1

2015 
- Q2

2015 
- Q3

2015 
- Q4

2016 
- Q1

2016 
- Q2

2016 
- Q3

2016 
- Q4

2017 
- Q1

2017 
- Q2

2017 
- Q3

2017 
- Q4

2018 
- Q1

2018 
- Q2

2018 
- Q3

2018 
- Q4

2019 
- Q1

2019 
- Q2

2019 
- Q3

2019 
- Q4

2020 
- Q1

2020 
- Q2

2020 
- Q3

2020 
- Q4

Observations

Lost time injury rate

*  Excluding international joint ventures.

L
o
s
t

t
i

m
e

i

j

n
u
r
y

r
a
t
e

0.35

0.30

0.25

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

49

Strategic report 
 
 
 
 
HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELLBEING CONTINUED

Leading by example 
The impact of COVID-19 on Balfour Beatty’s 
activities in 2020 necessitated a robust, 
pragmatic, and risk-based response. The Group 
worked hard to keep sites open and safe. In 
the UK, Balfour Beatty representatives 
collaborated relentlessly with relevant 
industry groups to develop and update 
COVID-19 Site Operating Procedures. Along 
with five other companies, Balfour Beatty 
commissioned a report by Loughborough 
University ‘COVID-19 and construction: Early 
lessons for a new normal?’ on the impact and 
lessons of COVID-19 which was shared 
freely and well received by government and 
the industry. 

Other examples of Balfour Beatty’s 
leadership include its continued support 
and co-chairing of the Health in Construction 
Leadership Group and its work with Mates 
in Mind, the mental health charity for the 
construction industry. Representatives from 
Balfour Beatty also lead the ‘Stamp it Out’ 
campaign in conjunction with Safer Highways 
– a campaign that seeks to eliminate violence
and aggression towards road workers.

Promoting a culture of safety
The 2020 Group employee survey results 
demonstrated consistently high engagement 
scores on health and safety. 88% of responders 
agreed or strongly agreed that they saw 
evidence of Zero Harm being applied at their 
workplace. 80% agreed or strongly agreed 
that they felt able to discuss their health, 
safety and wellbeing at work – an increase of 
12% and 94% of employees said they felt 
cared for at Balfour Beatty. 

The Group’s four Golden Rules remain core. 
They comprise: be fit for work; always 
receive a briefing; report all unsafe events; 
and stop work if anything changes. Raising 
observations remains key to the Group’s 
safety culture of reporting all unsafe events. 
Over 207,000 observations were recorded 
and actioned in 2020. Trials of the UK 
Observation App have been well received 
in the US prior to roll-out in 2021.

In November 2020, the Group launched 
a health and safety initiative called The Big 
Conversation. Projects from different 
geographies and areas of speciality were 
partnered together, to discuss fatal risks 

and share lessons, advice and best practice. 
Using virtual meeting rooms over 1,000 
employees across over 300 projects were 
linked. Topics included temporary works, 
lifting and people and plant interface as well 
as mental health. 80% of participants said 
the conversation was worthwhile and 
53% reported a direct improvement to 
health and safety.

Safety performance 
The Group’s lost time injury rate (LTIR) 
improved for the sixth consecutive year from 
0.14 to 0.10, excluding international joint 
ventures, and since the start of Build to Last 
in 2014 has reduced by 66%. Other health 
and safety lagging indicators also fell in 2020, 
including the number of high potential 
incidents (incidents that could have caused 
a significant injury). This fall in high potential 
incidents occurred in spite of the fact that 
the organisation has broadened its definition 
of high potential incidents to encompass 
a wider range of less-serious incident types, 
ensuring that the opportunity to learn from 
all incidents and near misses are maximised. 

THE BIG CONVERSATION

\ 1,000 employees
\ 309 projects
\  International 
collaboration

Key numbers
66%

207,335 

IMPROVEMENT IN 
LTIR SINCE 2014

OBSERVATIONS 
RAISED 

1,534 

EXECUTIVE 
SITE VISITS 

588 

MENTAL HEALTH 
FIRST AIDERS 

1,000

LINE MANAGERS RECEIVED 
‘MANAGING THE 
CONVERSATION’ MENTAL 
HEALTH TRAINING 

IN THE 2020 EMPLOYEE SURVEY:

94% 

of employees feel 
cared for

80% 

felt able to discuss health, 
safety and wellbeing

88% 

agreed they saw evidence of 
Zero Harm in their workplace

50

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

CORPORATE WELLBEING AWARD

Gammon secured the Gold award for Best Corporate Wellbeing 
Programme from Hong Kong publication Career Times Online 
for its health and wellbeing provision, and commitment to going 
the extra mile for its workforce. Gammon hired registered nurses 
to serve as the company’s ‘health ambassadors’, conducting 
simple examinations, including blood pressure, blood sugar and 
cholesterol tests, and to provide health information for workers 
on site. 

Working hours in remote locations can make access to clinics 
difficult, so as well as providing health checks, Gammon also 
hold on-site health seminars for workers to provide their workforce 
with basic health knowledge. Following the success of this 
scheme, Gammon aims to build on it, looking to provide workers 
with annual comprehensive physical examinations and 
vaccination programmes. 

Balfour Beatty 
believes in treating 
health like safety and 
mental health like 
physical health.

place to support the mental health and 
wellbeing of its employees, having trained 
588 Mental Health First Aiders, and worked 
with Mates in Mind since 2017. The challenge 
was to adapt to new ways of working remotely 
and digitally without compromising on quality; 
upskilling managers and supporting good 
mental health and wellbeing throughout the 
business. Further collaboration with Mates in 
Mind enabled the digital rollout of bespoke 
‘Manage the conversation’ training with great 
engagement and interaction from over 1,000 
line managers who attended the course in 
2020. As well as continuing the conversation 
around mental health, the Group focused on 
wider wellbeing, including a new Community 
Wellbeing site for employees on its intranet. 

In 2021, the Group will continue its relentless 
focus and leadership on Zero Harm within 
the business and continue to remain industry 
leader on health, safety and wellbeing. 

Sadly, despite the Group’s continued focus 
on Zero Harm throughout the year, one 
subcontractor colleague in the UK lost his life 
during a lifting operation. Gammon recorded 
three fatal injuries in 2020: a subcontractor 
trapped by a partial wall collapse; a colleague 
working on a rebar base which collapsed; and 
a third party fall from height when the 
scaffold they were on was hit by a falling 
stanchion. Lessons learned from these four 
incidents, along with a fatal incident in the 
US involving a joint venture partner have 
been shared across both the Group and the 
industry. (See page 49). 

Health and wellbeing 
The Group has always acknowledged that a 
healthy workforce is a happier and more 
productive one, and aims to support its 
employees as much as possible. COVID-19 
generated a great deal of uncertainty, and 
Balfour Beatty quickly produced a dedicated 
COVID-19 employee resource centre on its 
intranet with a wealth of support focused on 
employee health and wellbeing, ranging from 
homeworking to financial concerns to Balfour 
Beatty’s independent employee assistance 
programme. Within the Group’s internal 
virtual networking site, specific groups were 
created where employees can share tips and 
advice between peers to support each other 
and discuss challenges they are facing. 
The organisation was in a strong position, 
with a robust, mature structure already in 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

51

Strategic reportBUSINESS INTEGRITY

Ensuring integrity 
within the business

We work with the utmost integrity to ensure we are 
making the right choices.

Our Business Integrity 
programme

Balfour Beatty’s values and behaviours define 
its culture and the way the Group works. 
The Business Integrity programme makes 
“Doing the Right Thing” the responsibility 
of all employees, to ensure Balfour Beatty 
operates with the upmost integrity, makes 
the right choices and is “Trusted”. 

The Business Integrity programme (the 
programme) is well established, implementing 
a framework of policies and standards to ensure 
the Company’s commitment to working with 
integrity and assurance, but policies and rules 
are just one part of the programme. 

The Code of Conduct (the Code) also requires 
employees and those who work within the 
supply chain to follow the principles and spirit 
of the Code and to always do what is right. 

The Code covers many topics from anti-bribery, 
corruption and fraud to bullying, harassment 
and discrimination and is available to all 
employees online at:  
www.balfourbeattycodeofconduct.com 
and in printed form. This is supported by 
the Suppliers Code of Conduct: www.
balfourbeatty.com/codeofconductsuppliers 
which sets out Balfour Beatty’s commitment 
to work with companies whose standards are 
consistent with its own and these standards 
are reflected in the contractual terms 
required of its supply chain. 

Training 
In the UK, Code of Conduct training is undertaken 
by all new employees within 30 days of 
starting with Balfour Beatty. Thereafter, Code 
of Conduct training is assigned through the 
Learning and Development platform to all 
employees on a two-year cycle. The training 
module is in the form of an assessment which 
can be adapted to reflect current trends 
within the Group or wider industry and is 
supported by supplementary mini modules 
and in person materials. 

Other specific elements of the Code of 
Conduct, such as Data Privacy, Competition 
Law, Sustainability and Diversity & Inclusion 
are the subject of separate training modules 
mandated to employees as appropriate. 

BUSINESS INTEGRITY PROGRAMME

CULTURE & MESSAGING

INTERNAL CONTROLS

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Deliver a high awareness 
of integrity to ensure the 
right choices are made and 
a just and ethical culture 
exists in the organisation.

Implement policies and 
procedures that comply 
with legal and corporate 
governance and monitor 
the effectiveness of and 
compliance with the 
Business Integrity 
programme.

Provide tailored training to 
all parts of the business, 
ensuring the Business 
Integrity programme 
remains relevant and 
embedded within 
the organisation.

REPORTING & 
INVESTIGATION

Manage Balfour Beatty’s 
whistleblowing service 
(Speak Up), investigate 
reported breaches of the 
Code and identify, mitigate 
and report risk.

52

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

In the US, Business Integrity training 
continues to be delivered in line with the 
Group and legal requirements. The Code of 
Conduct training has been tailored to align 
with US terminology and business 
requirements and like the UK this is 
supplemented with bespoke training on 
Anti-Trust, Data Privacy, Sustainability and 
Diversity & Inclusion. 

In addition, the Business Integrity 
programme issues regular communication 
and guidance on integrity related subjects 
including (but not limited to) Conflicts of 
Interest, Gifts & Hospitality, Security and 
the Speak Up whistleblowing service. 

Governance
Business Integrity reports are presented 
to the Board of Directors twice a year with 
issues considered higher risk reported 
directly to the Executive Committee and 
the Board as necessary. The Board retains 
ownership of the Business Integrity 
programme which is delivered through the 
Business Integrity and Security function, 
compliance officers and senior leadership 
across all business units. 

Speak Up
The Company actively encourages the 
reporting of concerns about unethical 
conduct. Balfour Beatty is committed to 
supporting staff for doing “the right thing” 
and will not tolerate any retaliation or 
discrimination of any kind against anyone 
reporting concerns in good faith. 

The Speak Up helpline is the Group’s 
independent and strictly confidential 
whistleblowing service which can be used 
anonymously if necessary. All submissions 
are reviewed and 100% of in scope cases 
submitted to Speak Up were investigated 
in 2020. The total number of cases reported 
in 2020 (292) has remained consistent with 
2019 levels, despite the significant disruption 
and changes to working practices caused by 
COVID-19. The total number of cases represents 
15.5 submissions per 1,000 employees which 
compares favourably to the global benchmark 
which reduced from 13.0 in 2019 to 11.5 
in 2020. This demonstrates the continued 
confidence of employees that concerns they 
raise will be addressed. 

Modern slavery 
Balfour Beatty remains committed to 
addressing the risk of labour exploitation 
within its business and wider supply chain 
and as a member of the Modern Slavery 
Construction Protocol, works closely with 
the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority 
(GLAA) to prevent the exploitation of workers. 
Balfour Beatty also requires all of its suppliers 
and subcontractors to demonstrate their 
awareness of, and take steps to mitigate, the 
threat of Modern Slavery in the industry and 
has published a guidance document, setting 
out the Group’s expectations and 
requirements for all suppliers.

Balfour Beatty also provides training to site 
personnel on how to spot signs of Modern 
Slavery and what to do if it is suspected. 

Balfour Beatty’s latest full Modern Slavery 
Act transparency statement can be accessed 
here: www.balfourbeatty.com/services/
modern-slavery

Data protection 
The General Data Protection Regulation 
(GDPR), Irish Data Protection Act 2018 and 
UK Data Protection Act 2018 have continued 
to apply. Balfour Beatty is regulated by 
the Information Commissioner’s Office 
(CIO for UK activities and the Irish Data 
Protection Commission for Irish processing. 
Notwithstanding Brexit, the GDPR principles 
remain in the UK Data Protection Act 2018 
and Balfour Beatty is working to ensure that 
adequate provisions are in place in relation 
to cross-border transfers post-Brexit.

During 2020, the Data Privacy team adapted 
swiftly and robustly to the challenges of the 
COVID-19 pandemic and the additional 
personal data processing this gave rise to. 
This included conducting Data Protection 
Impact Assessments (DPIAs) on technologies 
such as thermal imaging, contact tracing and 
health data, amongst others. As Balfour 
Beatty’s office-based employees pivot 
towards more agile and remote working, this 
in turn brings Data Privacy challenges which 
are continually assessed via DPIAs and due 
diligence by the Group’s Data Privacy, Legal 
and Information Security teams.

SPEAK UP HELPLINE CASES  
Number  

SPEAK UP HELPLINE CASES 
(EXCLUDING HR GRIEVANCES) 
Number  

CASES PER 1,000 EMPLOYEES 
(BALFOUR BEATTY) 
Number  

CASES PER 1,000 EMPLOYEES 
(GLOBAL BENCHMARK) 
Number  

5
9
2

2
9
2

8
3
2

6
3
2

1
6
2

3
6
2

1
3
2

8
2
2

8
.
5
1

5
.
5
1

0
.
4
1

0
.
4
1

0
.
3
1

5
.
1
1

6
.
1
1

0
.
2
1

2017

2018

2019

2020

2017

2018

2019

2020

2017

2018

2019

2020

2017

2018

2019

2020

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

53

Strategic reportBUSINESS INTEGRITY CONTINUED

Balfour Beatty continues to use a dedicated 
privacy management tool. Throughout 2020 
this system has been enhanced to include 
Data Subject Requests and a revised 
information assessment qualifier assessment 
process (including updates to the DPIA 
process). The Data Privacy team in 2020 has 
been working on delivering a Data Privacy 
‘Project Toolkit’ designed to embed privacy 
standards on all UK and Ireland projects sites. 
This will be delivered with the help of Balfour 
Beatty’s Data Privacy Champion Network in 
the first half of 2021.

Throughout 2020, Balfour Beatty assessed 
circa 54 data incidents, one of which was 
notified to the ICO, and processed circa 
88 subject access requests. The Group 
Data Protection Officer is working on 
continued training and awareness 
programmes and rolling out a data privacy 
strategy for the Group. The Data Protection 
team continue to work with the US Legal 
team on readiness for the US California 
Consumer Protection Act compliance and 
the US California Privacy Rights Act, due 
to come into force 1 January 2023. 

Doing the right thing is 
the responsibility of all 
employees to ensure 
we are trusted.

BEING A RESPONSIBLE TAXPAYER

Tax strategy
This tax strategy has been prepared and 
published in accordance with paragraph 
16 (2), Schedule 19, Finance Act 2016, 
on behalf of Balfour Beatty plc and all 
UK tax resident entities in the Balfour 
Beatty Group. 

Being a responsible taxpayer 
Balfour Beatty recognises that paying taxes 
arising from its activities is an important 
part of how it supports the communities in 
which it operates. The Group makes a major 
contribution to the tax revenues of 
governments in the numerous territories in 
which it operates. For example, the Group’s 
tax contribution extends considerably 
beyond corporation tax and the collection 
of substantial amounts of income tax and 
includes the payment of significant 
employer social security contributions. 

The Group’s tax strategy, approved by the 
Board, is to sustainably minimise tax cost 
whilst complying with the law. In doing 
so, Balfour Beatty ensures it acts in 
accordance with its cultural framework, 
which provides a simple and clear view of 
the purpose, values and behaviours of the 
Group’s Build to Last strategy. The Group 
aims to meet all legal requirements, filing 
all appropriate tax returns and making tax 
payments accurately and on time. The 
Group’s tax strategy applies to all 
territories in which it does business.

Tax governance
Balfour Beatty has clear tax policies, 
procedures and controls in place which are 
overseen by the Chief Financial Officer.

A dedicated internal tax team, led by the 
Group Head of Tax, is responsible for the 
implementation of the Group’s tax strategy 
and supporting tax policies. Members of 
the tax team are highly experienced with 
appropriate professional qualifications and 
experience which reflect the responsibilities 
required for their roles.

Tax risk appetite
The Group manages its tax affairs in a 
proactive manner that seeks to maximise 
shareholder value and as such utilises tax 
incentives or opportunities for obtaining tax 
efficiencies where appropriate and where 
they support genuine commercial activity. 
The Group does not enter into artificial 
arrangements that lack commercial purpose 
in order to secure a tax advantage. The aim 
is to ensure full compliance with all statutory 
obligations and as a consequence attempt to 
minimise risk wherever possible.

Balfour Beatty does not tolerate tax evasion 
or the facilitation of tax evasion. Following 
the introduction of the Corporate Criminal 
Offence of Failure to Prevent the Facilitation 
of Tax Evasion legislation, Balfour Beatty 
applies appropriate procedures and controls 
which seek to prevent any person acting on 
its behalf from facilitating tax evasion.

Managing tax risk
There are a number of factors that affect 
the Group’s tax risk and these arise both 
internally and externally. Balfour Beatty’s 
ability to control these factors varies and its 
internal tax team works to minimise these 
risks to an acceptable level. For example:

 \ new and developing tax legislation is 

monitored and where it is relevant Balfour 
Beatty participates in consultations issued 
by the tax authorities. When new or 
changed legislation is announced, the 
impact on the Group is assessed and 
active measures are taken to ensure 
there are adequate processes in place 
to comply with any change;

 \ tax risks in relation to compliance and 

reporting are managed by meeting regularly 
with professional advisers, industry 
groups and the tax authorities to both keep 
abreast of changes in these areas and to 
seek information on new systems and 
software; and

 \ risk in relation to tax in general is managed 
by the internal tax team and if a position is 
uncertain the Group may obtain third-party 
advice in order to gain clarity or support 
for a particular stance or approach.

Interaction with tax authorities
Balfour Beatty’s approach to its tax affairs is 
supported by an open, honest and positive 
working relationship with the tax authorities, 
with regular dialogue. Should any dispute 
arise with regard to the interpretation 
and application of tax law, the Group 
is committed to addressing the matter 
promptly and resolving it in an open 
and constructive manner.

54

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

SUSTAINABILITY

Building New Futures

Leaving a positive legacy for the people we work with, the communities 
we work in, and the world in which we operate. Enhancing our impact on 
the environment, working with our supply chain partners, customers and 
communities to ensure our choices are sustainable.

At the end of 2020, the Group launched its 
new sustainability strategy, ‘Building New 
Futures’. It has been developed with input 
from key stakeholder groups in the UK, US 
and Hong Kong, and is focused on the three 
areas most important to the Group’s 
business – the environment, materials and 
communities. It sets firm 2030 targets, 

including a formal commitment to set a 
science-based target to reduce carbon 
emissions, and outlines the Group’s 2040 
ambitions to go Beyond Net Zero Carbon, to 
Generate Zero Waste and to Positively 
Impact More than 1 Million People. The 2040 
ambitions have been identified as the most 
material to the business by key stakeholder 

groups including the Group’s customers, 
employees, shareholders and the 
communities in which the Group operates. 

For further information, see the Group’s 
Materiality Assessment webpage: www.
balfourbeatty.com/materialityassessment

ENVIRONMENT

MATERIALS

COMMUNITIES

Responding to climate change 
and managing our impact on the 
environment

Choosing the right materials, 
using less materials and creating 
value from the materials we no 
longer need

Improving the prosperity and 
wellbeing of individuals and 
communities

Beyond Net  
Zero Carbon

Generate  
Zero Waste

Positively Impact More 
than 1 Million People 

Achieve our  
science-based carbon 
reduction target

40% reduction 
in waste 
generated

£3bn social value 
generated

Local Sustainability Action Plans

0
4
0
2

S
N
O

I
T
I

B
M
A

0
3
0
2

S
T
E
G
R
A
T

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

55

Strategic report 
 
 
SUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

UN Sustainable 
Development Goals

The Group’s 2030 targets are aligned to the 
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 
to provide a blueprint to achieve a better and 
more sustainable future for all. Whilst each 
area is aligned to one or more SDGs, the 
strategy as a whole focuses on parts of SDG 
9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. 
For more information visit:  
www.balfourbeatty.com/sdgs 

Building New Futures builds upon the 
significant progress the Group has made 
since the launch of its first sustainability 
strategy in 2009 and is fully aligned with the 
Group’s refreshed cultural framework. Progress 
against the strategy will be reported annually 
with the results for the 2021 reporting year 
being published in next year’s annual report.

Sustainability is an integral part of modern 
infrastructure projects – public sector 
customers require conformance to standards 
such as BREEAM, LEED®, BEAM, Green 
Mark, and CEEQUAL and these are important 
to planning authorities. In 2020, the total 
revenue of projects that related to green 
infrastructure was £2 billion.

The Group’s certifications in this area and its 
technical knowledge improve the whole-life 
performance of customers’ built assets. 

Increasingly, customers are scoring against 
sustainability criteria as in the case of the 
HS2 civil engineering contracts awarded to 

Balfour Beatty VINCI, a long-established joint 
venture between two global infrastructure 
leaders. 32% of the technical score of the bid 
was influenced by sustainability factors. The 
contract stipulates a 50% carbon reduction 
against the baseline design using the PAS 
2080 standard. 

In 2020, Balfour Beatty was awarded a total 
of £240 million worth of contracts on both 
SCAPE infrastructure frameworks which 
have a focus on social value, i.e. the 
economic, environmental and social benefits 
to local communities. 

In 2020, Balfour Beatty was awarded a 
£47.5 million contract to design and build a 
new 400kV substation in Peterhead, Scotland 
on behalf of SSEN Transmission. This contract 
forms a critical part of SSEN Transmission’s 
East Coast Reinforcement programme, which 
will reinforce the network in the area and 
facilitate the connection of more renewable 
energy generation to the national grid, supporting 
the transition to net zero emissions. 

The Group was also awarded Phase II of 
Inveraray Crossaig in Scotland worth 
approximately £90 million which involves 
reinforcing the existing transmission network 
to enable renewable energy projects to connect 
to the grid, and to ensure security of supply.

Improving access and reducing emissions 
from public transport are key opportunities 
for Balfour Beatty’s UK rail business. In 
December, the Rail business was awarded 
the Southern Region Buildings and Civils 
Framework for Network Rail for the next 
eight years which has an approximate value 
of £50 million. The business was also 
awarded £22 million of electrification work 
for Transport for Wales on the Core Valley 
Lines network to install 25kV overhead 
electrification equipment under its Early 
Contractor Involvement package.

In late 2020, the US$2.3 billion extension of 
the Massachusetts Bay Transportation 
Authority’s (MBTA) Green Line achieved its 
halfway point. The US Civils business is part 
of GLX (Green Line Extension) Constructors, 
a consortium including Fluor Enterprises, the 
Middlesex Corporation, and Herzog Contracting 
Corporation working on the scheme. 
The extension expands the rail service for 
4.7 miles along two lines into Somerville and 
Medford and will significantly improve access 
to public transport for local residents.

Many customers are exploring new solutions 
to drive efficiencies and be more sustainable. 
Utility network providers, for instance, are 
interested in smarter installation and 
maintenance solutions that cause less disruption 
and reduce excavations, vehicle movements 
and materials usage. 

The US Buildings business completed four 
LEED® buildings in 2020, with a combined 
contract value of US$666 million. Gammon, 
the Group’s joint venture based in Hong 
Kong, completed seven BEAM Plus 
buildings, two of which achieved LEED 
Platinum ratings.

The iconic Portland Building originally built in 
1982 was refurbished by Balfour Beatty’s US 
Buildings business in 2020 and achieved 
LEED® Platinum status. It is also pursuing 
WELL building certification. The refurbished 
design significantly improves the amount of 
natural daylight that can enter the building. 
Aside from incorporating an array of 
sustainability features, the project team 
exceeded the City’s social equity 
subcontracting goals, achieving Minority, 
Women, and Disadvantaged Business 
Enterprise participation of 27% for 
professional, technical, and expert trades 
and 33% across all construction trades.

 LEFT
The iconic Portland Building, US

BUILDINGS CREATED/REFURBISHED 
WITH CERTIFICATION

35+

  US 
  Gammon 

4
7

56

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

65
+
N
 
Governance

Balfour Beatty has a solid governance 
process that underpins everything it does to 
ensure that the business is being managed 
and run properly, effectively and ethically. 

The Safety and Sustainability Committee 
reviews the Group’s sustainability strategy 
and monitors progress on climate-related 
issues. This ensures governance and 
accountability for delivery and performance 
at Board level. The Group Chief Executive, 
Group Chair and two other non-executive 
Directors are members of the Safety and 
Sustainability Committee. The Group Chief 
Executive has overall responsibility for setting 
Balfour Beatty’s sustainability policy and 
overseeing how ESG matters are managed.

The Executive Committee sets the Group’s 
sustainability ambitions and targets, helping 
each business unit develop its own 
action plan.

Each business unit has a sustainability lead, 
who is responsible for cascading the 
sustainability strategy and developing 
bespoke sustainability action plans that are 
aligned to the Group’s 2040 ambitions and 
2030 targets. These plans have short-term 
milestones with clear action owners, 
communicating the priorities for the business 
unit. The sustainability action plans ensure 
that projects are managed sustainably and 
best practice is shared. The senior leadership 
of each business unit is responsible for agreeing 
its sustainability action plan and ensuring it is 
delivered and adequately resourced.

Internal audit teams review performance 
against the Group’s sustainability strategy 
and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC LLP) 
is engaged by Balfour Beatty to provide limited 
assurance over selected greenhouse gas 
performance data for annual reporting purposes.

In December 2020, six years on from the 
start of its Build to Last transformation 
programme, the Group refreshed its cultural 

framework to include ‘Sustainable’ as one of 
its core values alongside Lean, Expert, 
Trusted and Safe to further drive a positive 
culture across the business and launched its 
new sustainability strategy, Building New 
Futures, to ensure that the business leaves a 
positive legacy for the people it works with, 
the communities it works in, and the world in 
which it operates. The focus of the strategy 
is to enhance the Group’s impact on the 
environment, working with its supply chain 
partners, customers and communities to 
ensure its choices are sustainable. Making 
the right choices is embedded through the 
Group’s operations and supported with a 
robust governance framework.

Environmental compliance
In 2020, one environmental incident resulted 
in a fine of S$5,000 which was issued by 
Singapore’s National Environment Agency as 
a result of mosquito breeding being detected 
within a construction site.

AWARD-WINNING SUSTAINABILITY AT ONE TAIKOO PLACE, HONG KONG

One Taikoo Place, a 41-storey triple Grade-A 
office tower, which forms part of Swire 
Properties HK$15 billion Taikoo Place 
redevelopment project in Hong Kong, 
secured the LEED® platinum certification in 
2020. In addition to meeting BEAM and 
LEED® platinum sustainability criteria, it was 
designed to address the seven concepts of 
the WELL building standard that focus on 
occupant health and productivity. 

The office tower was built to the highest 
sustainability standards and includes a 
number of cutting-edge passive and active 
energy-saving design features to reduce 
annual energy consumption during 
operation by up to 30% against a typical 
building of this size as well as deliver 
excellent indoor environmental quality 
performance for the health and wellbeing 
of occupants.

It was also built in the spirit of collaboration. 
Long before the tendering phase for 
One Taikoo Place had even begun, 
Gammon worked with Swire to carry out 
an independent buildability study to suggest 
a number of ideas that promoted sustainable 
construction, with Gammon leading its 
value chain to adopt modern methods of 
construction that are safer and leaner, 
including design for manufacture and 
assembly and virtual planning. 

It was built with the support of Gammon’s 
considerable in-house expertise, providing 
prize-winning innovative digital solutions for 
more efficient planning and management, 
through to award-winning mechanical 
solutions. And it was built with the use of 
building information modelling, 3D scanning 
and printing that underpinned the precision 
installation required for much of the works.

Each floor offers occupants panoramic 
views of Victoria Harbour and an abundance 
of natural light through expansive glass 
walls, while an extensive open green space 
is provided for the community’s enjoyment 
and to reduce the urban heat island effect. 
Two elevated air-conditioned walkways link 
it to the thriving interconnected campus of 
office buildings that make up Taikoo Place. 

With this outstanding performance, 
One Taikoo Place obtained industry-wide 
recognition as the Winner of the CIC 
Sustainable Construction Award 2018, 
and Gammon’s Director of Building Operation, 
Mr. Sammy Lai, also picked up the top 
Excellence award in the Construction 
Manager category for his leadership and 
efforts on sustainability.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

57

Strategic reportSUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

How we manage sustainability

SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

Our Group Safety and Sustainability Committee reviews our sustainability strategy, monitoring progress and ensuring 
accountability at Board level.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

Our Executive Committee sets ambitions and targets, helping each Business Unit develop its own action plan.

BUSINESS UNITS 

Each Business Unit has a sustainability lead who is responsible for cascading strategy and developing bespoke 
Sustainability Action Plans that are aligned to our 2040 ambitions. They ensure projects are managed sustainably while 
reviewing and sharing best practice and identifying opportunities for improvement.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL AUDITS

Internal audit teams review performance against our sustainability strategy. PwC is engaged by  
Balfour Beatty to provide limited assurance over the reporting of the Group’s Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions.

Supporting global standards
For many investors Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters are becoming increasingly important, which 
is why Balfour Beatty participates and is listed in the FTSE4Good index, Sustainalytics, MSCI and CDP.

In June 2020, Balfour Beatty 
achieved a FTSE4Good1 ESG 
score of 3 on a scale from 0 of 5 
(higher scores are better). 

In February 2021, Balfour Beatty 
plc received an ESG Risk Rating 
of 26.1 from Sustainalytics2 and 
was assessed to be at medium 
risk of experiencing material 
financial impacts from ESG.

In January 2021, Balfour Beatty 
plc received a rating of AA (on a 
scale of AAA-CCC) in the MSCI3 
ESG Ratings assessment. This 
MSCI ESG AA rating, which 
measures resilience to long-term 
industry material ESG risks, 
benchmarks Balfour Beatty as a 
leader in managing ESG risks.

In December 2020, Balfour 
Beatty achieved a CDP4 rating of 
B which demonstrates that it is 
taking coordinated action on 
climate issues.

1 

2 

3 

4 

 FTSE Russell (the trading name of FTSE International Limited and Frank Russell Company) confirms that Balfour Beatty plc has been independently assessed 
according to the FTSE4Good criteria, and has satisfied the requirements to become a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series. Created by the global index 
provider FTSE Russell, the FTSE4Good Index Series is designed to measure the performance of companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and 
Governance (ESG) practices. The FTSE4Good indices are used by a wide variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds and 
other products.

 Copyright ©2020 Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This publication contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics.com). Such information 
and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute 
an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. 
Their use is subject to conditions available at: www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers.

 The use by Balfour Beatty plc of any MSCI ESG Research LLC or its Affiliates (MSCI) data, and the use of MSCI logos, trademarks, service marks or index names 
herein, do not constitute a sponsorship, endorsement, recommendation, or promotion of Balfour Beatty plc by MSCI. MSCI services and data are the property of 
MSCI or its information providers, and are provided ‘as-is’ and without warranty. MSCI names and logos are trademarks or service marks of MSCI.

 CDP drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Over 9,600 companies with 
over 50% of global market capitalisation disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2020. This is in addition to the over 920 cities, states and regions who 
disclosed in 2019, making CDP’s platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how companies and governments are driving environmental change.

58

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DELIVERING SOCIAL VALUE AT EAST WICK & SWEETWATER, LONDON

Photo credit: ©East Wick and Sweetwater

East Wick and Sweetwater (EWS) forms part of the post-Olympic 
Games legacy development being delivered by the London 
Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). In 2015, LLDC 
appointed East Wick and Sweetwater Projects, a joint venture 
between Balfour Beatty Investments and Places for People, 
as lead developer for the two new neighbourhoods. Over its 
lifetime, EWS will bring new schools, nurseries and 
community spaces to the area around the Queen Elizabeth 
Olympic Park, as well as creating a strong residential 
community with up to 1,800 new homes. 

Following grant of planning consent the joint venture awarded 
to Balfour Beatty’s UK Construction business the contract to 
design and build the first phase of the development. Phase 1 
forms the heart of the scheme with a new neighbourhood 
centre comprising a mixture of 302 residential units across 
four blocks and circa 22,000 m2 of non-residential uses 
including retail, workspace and community facilities. 

The project has over 160 sustainability and social value targets 
driving high standards from the start. The non-residential units 
were designed to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standards. The 
residential units were designed to ‘Zero Carbon Homes‘ 
standard utilising a combination of a ‘fabric first’ approach, as 
well as being powered by the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 
district heating network and on-site renewable energy. So far 
one of the blocks has been completed, achieving final Code 
for Sustainable Homes Level 4 certification; with the 
remainder of phase one due to complete in spring 2021. 

Using the National TOMs, a reporting standard for measuring 
social value, over £34 million of social value has been 
delivered to date. This has been achieved in collaboration with 
East Wick and Sweetwater Projects, supply chain partners, 
the LLDC, local schools, charities, social enterprises and other 
local organisations. 

Key successes to date include:

 \ attended three careers fairs advertising vacancies in the 

local boroughs

 \ 42 work experience placements for students from local 

schools and organisations 

 \ 41 apprentices working throughout the project (7% of 

the workforce on average)
 \ seven graduates employed
 \ promoted a diverse and inclusive workforce by employing 

those from under-represented groups to achieve: 30% local; 
70% BAME; 6% female; and 3% with a registered disability 

 \ delivered careers talks to 38 people with barriers to 

employment through organisations such as Newham 
Workplace and Bounceback

 \ as a direct result of these careers talks, one person with 

mild to moderate disabilities and one youth ex-offender were 
successfully placed into full time employment on the project

 \ delivered over 1,011 hours of volunteering: 

 » 660 hours delivered through ECHO, upskilling and 

mentoring local businesses and SMEs

 » 261 hours of curriculum engagement through 37 activities

 \ over £17,500 raised for local charities by the joint venture 

and Balfour Beatty since the beginning of the project

 \ 33 local residents trained in accredited Mental Health First Aid 

 \ 26% reduction in embodied carbon in construction 

 \ 99.8% waste diverted from landfill 

 \ 100% of work packages advertised to local businesses

 \ 18 SMEs employed within a 30-mile radius with a spend 

of over £32 million 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

59

Strategic reportSUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

ENVIRONMENT

Beyond Net Zero Carbon

Optimising environmental performance forms 
a key component of the Group’s new 
sustainability strategy and is essential for 
driving efficiencies and winning work. Balfour 
Beatty is fully committed to minimising its 
impact on climate change and mitigating the 
business risks that climate change presents. 
That is why Balfour Beatty has set out its 
ambition to go Beyond Net Zero Carbon by 
2040 from its direct and indirect operations, 
by continuing to implement the Institute of 
Environmental Management and 
Assessment’s (IEMA) Greenhouse Gas 
Management Hierarchy1.

The Group is collaborating with its supply 
chain partners and aiming for all products and 
materials it procures to be net zero carbon by 
2040. In limited cases where it is not able to 
reduce emissions, it will invest in 
environmental projects, in the form of carbon 
offsets, to make sure it goes beyond net zero 
carbon by 2040.

In 2020, the Group committed to setting a 
carbon reduction target well below 2 degrees 

centigrade pathway with the Science Based 
Targets initiative (SBTi).

At an operational level the Group has 
continued to take steps to reduce Scope 1 
and 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and 
its reliance on fossil fuels through the use of 
technology and algorithms that have been 
developed in-house to assist decision making. 
Balfour Beatty has also continued to use data 
to monitor and drive sustainability performance.

Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions
The Group has seen a reduction in carbon 
emissions intensity in 2020 compared to 
2019 from 20.3 tonnes of CO2 equivalent 
(CO2e)/ £m revenue to 18.8 tonnes of 
CO2e/£m revenue when using a location-
based approach. Using the market-based 
approach this drops further to 18.4 tonnes 
of CO2e/£m.

Since establishing a baseline in 2010, the 
tonnes of CO2e/£m revenue have dropped by 
54.7% from 41.5 tonnes of CO2e/£m revenue 
to 18.8 tonnes of CO2e/£m revenue. The 

Group has therefore exceeded its 2020 target 
of 50% reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions 
per £ million revenue against a 2010 baseline. 
Balfour Beatty’s 2025 goal is to achieve a 
60% reduction in its Scope 1 and 2 emissions 
per £ million revenue against a 2010 baseline. 
The Group’s performance to date illustrates it 
is on track to meet this target. 

The Group’s total Scope 1 and 2 emissions 
also reduced by 2.4% from 210,632 tonnes of 
CO2e in 2019 to 205,517 tonnes of CO2e in 
2020. These are the Group’s lowest Scope 1 
and 2 absolute emissions since the 2010 
baseline was established representing a 
reduction of 152,466 tonnes of CO2e (42.6%).

As evidenced, the Group has made 
significant progress in reducing energy and 
fuel consumption and associated Scope 1 
and 2 emissions, which is leading to reduced 
operating costs and therefore improved value 
to customers and shareholders. Reduced 
consumption also limits the Group’s exposure 
to transitional market risks from energy and 
fuel price fluctuations.

IEMA’S GREENHOUSE GAS MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY

ELIMINATE

Our decisions will consider options to eliminate 
carbon emissions

REDUCE

We will use resources efficiently to lower our 
carbon intensity

SUBSTITUTE

We will adopt low carbon alternatives

COMPENSATE

We will offset unavoidable emissions through 
environmental projects 

1  www.iema.net/document-download/51806

60

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

USING BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING TO IDENTIFY CARBON HOTSPOTS

In 2020, through Innovate UK funding, Balfour Beatty, Leeds Beckett University, University of 
Hertfordshire and industry partner White Frog Publishing developed a Carbon Calculator that fully 
integrates into Revit (a building information modelling software platform). The software automatically 
calculates the embodied carbon of the different structural elements of a building. 

Through identifying carbon hotspots, it is possible to efficiently target areas where alternative 
construction solutions and/ or materials may result in a carbon saving. The calculator provides a visual 
representation of the hotspots within the structural model. 

Whilst initial trials were undertaken in 2020, the software is now being refined further.

BALFOUR BEATTY COMMUNITIES NAMED 2020 MOTILI CARBON REDUCTION CHAMPION

In 2020 Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC) partnered with Motili to provide routine HVAC maintenance, 
repair and replacement work across BBC’s military housing portfolio. HVAC systems in 94% of the 
44,000 home portfolio were serviced, cleaned and maintained by Motili at regular intervals throughout 
the year. As part of this preventive maintenance work, BBC replaced HVAC systems in more than 1,200 
military housing units, improving system performance for residents while driving operational efficiencies. 
Specifically, the highly efficient HVAC replacements are expected to reduce system energy use by 
almost 25% and significantly cut the carbon emissions from each unit. The total carbon emission reduction 
per year equates to 2,500 tonnes. It is estimated that these upgrades will result in US$4m of energy 
savings over the next 10 years. As a result, BBC was named a 2020 Motili Carbon Reduction Champion.

The requirements for reducing Scope 1 and 2 
emissions are well understood and controlled. 
In 2020, the Group has continued to: improve 
the fuel efficiency of its fleet; introduce fully 
electric cars; install electric vehicle charging 
points; expand electric plant options; optimise 
the sizing of generators and the power profile 
of projects; improve the energy efficiency of 
site cabins; undertake energy efficiency 
improvements to properties; optimise grid 
connections; and launch EcoNet. In the UK 
many of these energy efficiency improvements 
have been driven by Balfour Beatty’s Plant 
and Fleet business that is certified to ISO 
50001, the ‘Energy Management System’ 
standard. Gammon is also certified to 
that standard.

Since launching the Enertainer in 2019 with 
Hong Kong start-up, Ampd Energy, to replace 
noisy, polluting diesel generators on 
construction sites, Gammon has procured 
four of these battery units for use on its sites. 
It has also rented one unit. The units use 
small grid supplies to charge up, but are able 
to power large pieces of equipment when in 
use and vary in size from 250kVA to 400kVA. 
The combined carbon saving in 2020 from 
these units was 546 tonnes of CO2.

As illustrated, the UK accounts for 43% of 
the Group’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the US 
17%, Ireland 1% and the Rest of the World 
39%, when using the market-based 
approach. Gammon is certified to ISO 
14064-1, the international standard for 

quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas 
(GHG) emissions. Its Scope 1 and 2 GHG 
emissions are independently verified by SGS.

GHG reporting and assurance 
Balfour Beatty’s GHG emissions are reported 
in accordance with the UK Government’s 
GHG reporting requirements covering all 
seven UNFCCC/Kyoto gases. The Group 
uses the operational control approach under 
the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and 
Reporting Standard as at 31 December 2020 
to report emissions from its operations 
around the world. 

In 2020 alongside the location-based 
method, Balfour Beatty adopted the GHG 
Protocol Scope 2 market-based reporting 
methodology. This method allows the 
application of an emissions factor of zero 
tonnes of CO2e equivalent per kWh to supply 
contracts from suppliers of purchased 
electricity from renewable sources with a 
guarantee of origin certificate. For example, 
in 2020 in the UK 12 MWh of Renewable 
Electricity Guarantees of Origin (REGO) 
certificates for electricity were procured for 
electricity purchased through the Group 
utility procurement contract. A residual mix2 
emission factor is applied to electricity where 
a REGO is not available. For electricity which 
does not come from a renewable source and 
a country specific residual mix emission 
factor is not available, Balfour Beatty has 
applied either the appropriate supplier factor 
based on the supplier’s published fuel mix 

where it is known and can be evidenced, or 
the country average electricity emission 
factor provided by the IEA, EPA or Defra (as 
appropriate). Balfour Beatty’s total energy 
consumption in MWh is shown on page 62 to 
allow readers to make more informed 
comparisons of the Group’s energy use.

Although Balfour Beatty’s Scope 1 and 2 
CO2e emissions reduced by 2.4% (5,115 
tonnes) from 2019 to 2020, energy use 
measured in MWh dropped by 3.2% (25,292 
MWh). This difference can be explained by 
the fact that different fuels have different 
carbon intensities, with some fuels attracting 
greater carbon conversion factors than 
others. Furthermore, the MWh table does 
not include fugitive emissions.

The energy use table illustrates that there has 
been a 41% reduction in 5% biodiesel blend 
since 2019 which can be explained by the 
reduced amount of travel undertaken during 
the COVID-19 pandemic and a greater switch 
to hybrid vehicles. However, the use of gas 
oil (red diesel) increased over the same period 
as a result of large infrastructure projects in 
the US. Overall fuel usage for most fuel types 
has reduced, except for industrial gas and 
boiler fuel. Since 2015, the energy intensity of 
the Group’s operations has dropped by 43.1% 
from 122.88 MWh/£m revenue to 69.89 
MWh/£m.

2 

 The residual mix is defined by the GHG Protocol for Scope 2 reporting as,“default emission factors representing the untracked or 
unclaimed energy and emissions if a company does not have other contractual information that meets the Scope 2 Quality Criteria”.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

61

Strategic reportSUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

Since establishing a 
baseline in 2010, the 
Group’s Scope 1 & 2 
emissions / £m revenue 
have dropped by 54.7%.

Balfour Beatty’s Scope 1 and 2 CO2 
emissions include emissions from assets that 
are otherwise not referred to across the rest 
of the financial statements such as energy 
provided by landlords or customers that 
Balfour Beatty does not pay for. In 2020, the 
Group generated 35,141 kWh of renewable 
electricity from solar cabins, solar tower 
lights and solar powered charged points for 
electric vehicles, compounds and plant.

The Group has determined and reported the 
emissions it is responsible for within this 
boundary and does not believe there are any 
material omissions. The Group uses the UK 
Government’s carbon conversion factors, 
updated in 2020, to calculate its emissions 
into equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide 
(CO2e) and the IEA’s 2020 international 
conversion factors for electricity (Scope 2) 
except for the UK and the US where the UK 
Government and the US EPA conversion 
factors were applied as they more accurately 
reflect geographical carbon intensities of 
local grids.

PwC LLP was engaged to undertake an 
independent limited assurance engagement 

of the Group’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions, 
reporting to Balfour Beatty plc, using the 
assurance standards ISAE 3000 and ISAE 
3410 over the GHG data that has been 
highlighted in this report with the symbol 
PwC LLP’s full statement is available at: 
www.balfourbeatty.com/ILA

. 

The level of assurance provided for limited 
assurance is substantially lower than a reasonable 
assurance engagement. In order to reach its 
opinion, PwC LLP performed a range of 
testing procedures over the GHG data. A 
summary of the work PwC LLP performed 
is included within its assurance opinion. 

Non-financial performance information, GHG 
quantification in particular, is subject to more 
inherent limitations than financial information. 
The limited assurance statement should be 
read in the context of the reporting criteria as 
set out in Balfour Beatty’s Global Sustainability 
Reporting Guidance available at: www.
balfourbeatty.com/sustainabilityreporting

The guidance outlines the non-financial KPIs 
measured by the Group, their definitions, and 
evidence requirements.

Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions

Absolute tonnes of CO2e

Scope 1
Scope 2 (location-based)
Scope 2 (market-based)
Total Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions (location-based)
Total Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions per £m revenue 
(location-based)
Total Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions per £m revenue 
(market-based)

Base year 2010

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

283,821
74,162
n/a
357,983

220,355
77,943
n/a
298,298

170,937
71,170
n/a
242,107

175,065 
49,365
n/a
224,430

167,071 
43,561
n/a
210,632

162,816  
42,701  
38,596 

205,517

41.5

n/a

29.4

n/a

22.1

n/a

24.5

n/a

20.3

n/a

18.8

18.4

Scope 1  emissions include those resulting from the combustion of fuel and operation of facilities.

Scope 2 emissions result from the purchase of electricity, heat, steam and cooling for own use. The full description of Balfour Beatty’s definitions can be found in its reporting guidance at 
https://balfourbeatty.com/sustainabilityreporting.

  Included within PwC LLP’s limited assurance scope.

Energy use in MWh
Fuel

Electricity
Heat and steam
Natural gas
Industrial gases
5% biodiesel blend
5% biofuel petrol blend
Biodiesel different blend
E85 petrol
Gas oil (red diesel)
100% mineral diesel
100% mineral petrol
LPG
CNG
Boiler fuel
Global total
UK energy use % of total

62

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

2018

2019

2020

 100,333 
 14 
 15,242 
 3,013 
 434,524 
 72,190 
 67 
 603 
 191,374 
 15,372 
 6,076 
 261 
–
 653 
 839,722 
36.2%

 88,061 
–
 8,691 
 4,095 
414,387 
 63,305 
 104 
 1,278 
197,590
 13,298 
–
 187 
–
 214 
 791,210 
45.4%

89,555
–
8,147
4,687
245,452
54,799
53
188
344,754
14,071
3,701
57
–
454
765,918
50.0%

Climate disclosure
The Group is committed to addressing 
climate change risk and reducing the lifetime 
emissions of the assets it builds, as 
evidenced by its performance in the global 
evaluation standard, the Climate Disclosure 
Project (CDP), where a B rating was achieved 
in 2020, which is an improvement on the 
previous year’s C rating (see page 58). The 
annual rating is based on CDP’s evaluation of 
the Group’s strategy, goals and actual 
emissions reductions, as well as transparency 
and verification of reported data. It assesses 
the completeness and quality of Balfour 
Beatty’s measurement and management of 
carbon footprint, climate change strategy, 
risk management processes and outcomes. 
The score’s purpose is to provide a summary 
of the extent to which companies have answered 
these questions in a structured format.

Although the Group has identified a number of 
climate change related risks and opportunities, 
none of these pose a principal risk to the 
business. The risks identified include:

 \ changes in temperature extremes can have 

an impact on the resilience of building 
materials and therefore determine the 
materials we are able to use.

 \ infrastructure is deemed to be 

incompatible with the UK’s net zero 
carbon targets;

 \ climate change increasing the intensity and 
frequency of extreme weather events, 
including flooding and high winds which 
could impact sites negatively;

 \ large fluctuations in energy costs;

 \ sustainability performance failing to keep 

pace with demands;

 \ sudden tightening of environmental 

legislation and/or Environmental Social 
Governance reporting requirements; and

The opportunities identified include:

 \ energy savings;

 \ increased demand for climate change 

mitigation measures by customers; and

 \ improved reputation and ability to win work 

through the Group’s capability.

The Group is preparing for the Taskforce on 
Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) 
reporting requirements for 2022. Whilst the 
Group has started its journey on TCFD reporting, 
more work is required in 2021 to address the 
disclosure requirements. These will be shared 
in the Annual Report and Accounts 2021. 

TRANSPLANTATION OF TREES, HONG KONG 

In November 2019, Gammon successfully transplanted giant native ‘twin’ trees at Shap Sze Heung, using a novel method not seen before in 
Hong Kong. In 2020, we continued to look after the trees during their establishment period in their new home and monitor their health using 
wireless motion sensors for real-time health and stability monitoring, as well as capturing motion data in a hybrid reality platform for data 
analysis in a 3D model alongside an i-Tree app.

Consisting of two Ficus microcarpa trees that have merged into one root system, the trees are over 50 years old and weigh more than 
170 tonnes. Originally standing as a landmark near Nai Chung Public Transport Interchange (PTI), they were moved to a location near the 
new PTI to provide a better area to grow and to minimise impact from nearby construction activities. They are now living in an enlarged 
planter to allow the root system to spread and encourage vigorous growth.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

63

Strategic reportSUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

Improving air quality
Construction equipment that runs on diesel 
is known to produce particulates and nitrous 
oxides that are harmful to human health. HS2 
and the Greater London Authority have strict 
air quality emission standards for construction 
equipment that projects have to comply with. 

In addition to the innovative retrofit project 
on the Junttan PM20 piling rig (see pages 66 
and 67), the Group supported the Centre for 
Low Emission Construction and Datatag in 
developing an Emission Compliance 
Verification Portal with HS2 that links to 
Datatag’s Emission Compliance Labelling 
Scheme to simplify reporting on construction 
sites and demonstrate compliance.

The Group released a further update to its 
power profiler that accurately predicts the 
power demand of its project compounds 
allowing generators to be sized efficiently and 
accurately rather than being over-specified and 
launched EcoNet, the energy demand-side 
response technology. (See page 27 for more 
information on EcoNet). Both solutions not 
only cut carbon but also improve air quality 
in comparison to traditional set-ups. 

The Group invested in solar powered plant 
such as tower lights to reduce the need for 
diesel-powered equipment and commenced 
a number of innovation projects to reduce 
nitrous oxides and particulate emissions. 

43.1%

REDUCTION IN ENERGY INTENSITY 
IN MWH/£M REVENUE SINCE 2015

ELECTRIFICATION OF COMPANY CARS

2024

100%

2020

42%

2022

73%

2021

58%

2019

23%

2.4%

REDUCTION OF SCOPE 1 & 2  
IN tCO2e IN 2020

18.8

TONNES OF SCOPE 1 & 2  
CO2e/£m REVENUE IN 2020

54.7%

REDUCTION IN TONNES OF SCOPE 1 & 2 CO2e/£m 
REVENUE AGAINST 2010 BASELINE

SCOPE 1 & 2 CO2e (MARKET BASED) 
BY COUNTRY

43+

  UK 
  US 
  Ireland 
  Rest of the World 

43%
17%
1%
39%

TONNES OF SCOPE 1 & 2  
CO2e/£m REVENUE  

5
.
1
4

5
.
4
2

3
.
0
2

8
.
8
1

2010

2018

2019

2020

 ABOVE
New electric LCV

64

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

17
+
1
+
39
+
+
N
 
  
MATERIALS

Generate Zero Waste

In the UK, the Group continues to 
decarbonise its company car and light 
commercial vehicles (LCV) fleet by switching 
to electric and plug-in hybrid options where 
possible and using more electric and hybrid 
powered solutions for plant operations, 
which will improve air quality. The Group 
continued to make progress on its roadmap 
to phase out diesel company cars with 42% 
of its current UK vehicles being electric, 
plug-in hybrid and hybrid in 2020. The Group 
also continued to trial several fully electric 
LCV solutions for operations where drivers 
do not have to transport heavy loads.

As part of the Group’s new sustainability 
strategy, the Group has set itself a 2040 
ambition to generate zero waste from its 

operations and a 2030 target to reduce the 
amount of waste it generates per £1 million 
of revenue by 40%. The 2030 target excludes 
hazardous wastes that cannot be diverted.

Whilst the Group has good waste data for the 
UK, Ireland and Gammon, there are limitations 
on the completeness of Balfour Beatty’s waste 
data for the US, making like-for-like comparisons 
of its annual data difficult. The Group’s aim is 
to establish a baseline across all its geographies 
in 2021 to allow for comparisons and progress 
reporting. Comparing waste data year on 
year will also vary depending on the type of 
projects the Group undertakes and the stage 
that the projects are at. Balfour Beatty is 
working with its operating businesses to 
improve this data.

89% REDUCTION IN MATERIALS DELIVERED THROUGH INNOVATION, LONDON

TONNES OF WASTE LANDFILLED  
PER £M REVENUE  

9

7

6

2018

2019

2020

In 2020, our signalling renewals teams 
working at Hither Green, London 
developed a new anchor post system to 
support elevated cable routes. The new 
anchor post foundation uses steel 
micro-piles that are driven into the ground, 
removing the need to use cast in-situ 
posts. Use of this system was approved 
by Network Rail and has delivered: 

 \ 73% embodied carbon reduction on 

materials; 

 \ 89% material saving;

 \ 60% time saving on foundation 

installation;

 \ 40% cost saving;

 \ zero on-track plant and zero water 

consumption; and

 \ reduced safety risk.

The project won the 2020 International 
Green Apple Award for Environmental 
Best Practice Category Building 
& Construction/Rail and received 
a National Green Apple GOLD award.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

65

Strategic reportCUBIC METRES OF WATER 
PER £M REVENUE

0
6
1

0
1
1

9
0
1

2018

2019

2020

As the demand for low carbon solutions increases, 
Gammon has increased the number of concrete 
mixes that carry the Construction Industry 
Council (CIC) Green Product Certification 
(GPC) scheme ‘Platinum’ and ‘Gold’ certification 
(the highest two certifications) to 300 across 
its three concrete batching plants. Under the 
scheme, the life cycle carbon footprint of the 
different concrete mixes is measured and 
benchmarked to help users identify those 
with a low-carbon profile. Gammon was the 
first construction company to pioneer and 
have products certified to the scheme in 
Hong Kong. In 2020, 25% of concrete 
quantity produced was certified or equivalent 
to the ‘Outstanding / Platinum’ grade of the 
CIC GPC scheme.

Water intensity
Water intensity is an optional indicator in 
Balfour Beatty’s sustainability strategy. It is 
measured in cubic metres per £ million 
revenue. Depending on the geography in 
which the Group operates, water can be a 
sparse or abundant commodity. Almost all of 
its operating businesses in the UK and Hong 
Kong reported on water use. Neither the US 
Construction business nor the US Investments 
business elected to monitor water use as an 
optional indicator.

The Group has seen a decrease in its water 
intensity in the areas of its business where 
water is monitored from 110m3/£m revenue 
in 2019 to 109m3/£m revenue in 2020.

The Group continues to identify opportunities 
to reduce mains water use through dry wheel 
washes, water efficient appliances, and 

SUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

In 2020, 3,455,954 tonnes of waste that 
Balfour Beatty produced were avoided from 
landfill. This equates to 98.15% of the total 
amount of waste that Balfour Beatty produced 
in 2020, but does not include materials that 
were reused directly without entering the 
waste stream. Although these figures are 
impressive, the Group is working on circular 
economy solutions to reduce waste in the 
first place and has a 2040 ambition to generate 
zero waste from its construction activities. 
This will mean a greater shift towards Design 
for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) 
techniques which are inherently more 
resource efficient. The Group’s 2030 target is 
to reduce the amount of waste generated by 
40% against a 2021 baseline.

Balfour Beatty has steadily reduced the 
tonnes of waste it produced per £ million 
revenue from 9 tonnes/£m revenue in 2018 
to 6 tonnes/£m revenue in 2020. 

To make sure the Group delivers its 2040 
ambition, it will work with its partners right 
from the start of every new scheme to 
ensure solutions to Generate Zero Waste are 
considered through design and construction, 
and through applying the waste management 
hierarchy. Where this is not possible, the 
Group’s priority will be to maximise the value 
of materials throughout their lifecycle.

Bringing all of the parties – customer, 
designer, contractors and supply chain 
partners – to the table from the outset will 
allow projects to be developed in a manner 
that eliminates waste by design and enables 
circular economy initiatives such as take back 
schemes for packaging and unused materials 
to be utilised. Increased demand for materials 
and dwindling natural resources will help drive 
the development of innovative new ways of 
working that will help Balfour Beatty achieve 
its ambition to Generate Zero Waste by 2040. 
Modern methods of construction, such as 
off-site manufacturing and modularisation, 
will also help to streamline operations, 
helping to reduce waste and activity on-site 
and delivering significant quality, productivity 
and safety benefits.

Modern tools and construction methodologies 
such as virtual and augmented reality and 
scanning technologies will also help to 
reduce waste, with smart material selection 
and management leading to a high percentage 
of an infrastructure asset being recycled at 
the end of its lifecycle. Balfour Beatty has 
delivered significant value to its customers 
by applying this approach and recycling 
aggregates and clay on highways projects.

 ABOVE
First EU Stage V equivalent retrofit project on a Junttan piling rig

66

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

rainwater systems. A recent example of this 
is a rainwater harvesting system installed on 
a salt dome in the depot on the Aberdeen 
Western Peripheral Route that will be used to 
make brine during the winter months for road 
maintenance. The system also uses drainage 
water from the fuel storage and vehicle wash 
bay that is treated. In 2020, this system 
saved 668m3 of mains water. 

Supply chain and collaboration 
Balfour Beatty recognises the critical role of 
its supply chain partners in helping to make it 
a more sustainable business. The Group has 
continued to improve its approach to sustainable 
procurement in 2020 by working with its supply 
chain partners and customers to deliver social 
value outcomes and agree improvement plans 
across key categories. Much of the Group’s 
work is undertaken collaboratively.

For instance, in 2020 Balfour Beatty worked 
with HS2, the Centre for Low Emission 
Construction, Eminox, and Emissions 
Analytics to develop a retrofit solution for 
construction plant to improve air quality. 
The trial that uses EMxS5 technology was 
conducted on a Junttan PM20 piling rig, was 
successful and has been approved by the 
Energy Saving Trust. This retrofit is the first 

of its kind in the UK. Whilst engine standards 
are improving and new electric, hybrid and 
hydrogen solutions are starting to enter the 
market, there is a lot of plant and machinery 
that still runs on Stage IIIA and IIIB engines. 
This solution reduces exhausts of nitrous 
oxides, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and 
particulate emissions and brings them within 
Stage V standards. This solution can now be 
used by the wider construction industry and 
offers a practical and cost-effective solution to 
improve emissions from construction sites.

The Group has worked with its supply chain 
partners to improve their low carbon product 
offering as technology and solutions evolve. 
2020 saw the roll out of the EcoNet solution 
that it developed with Invisible Systems and 
Sunbelt Rentals across 25 of its compounds 
on larger construction sites. (For more 
information see page 27.) It also saw the trial 
of its first B-rated site accommodation cabins 
on Viking Link that it developed with Sunbelt 
Rentals. These reduce energy consumption 
and associated carbon emissions by 27%. 

In the UK, the Group is a member of the Supply 
Chain Sustainability School (SCSS)’s Climate 
Action Group. The aim of the group is to drive a 
reduction in carbon emissions from the built 
environment value chain through the products, 

works and services procured. During 2020 the 
Group engaged a number of its suppliers to trial 
the Carbon Tool developed by the SCSS. This 
reporting tool supports businesses who have 
never reported their carbon emissions before 
to do so quickly and easily.

In 2017, the Group became the first company 
to implement and be assessed against ISO 
20400:2017 the international standard for 
sustainable procurement for its UK operations. 
Since then it has improved its processes and 
approach to sustainable procurement. In its 
most recent assessment in 2020 by Action 
Sustainability, the Group’s scores increased 
by 30%, moving its sustainable procurement 
maturity practices from a level 3 to a level 4 
(out of 5). Its approach is described as ‘Mature’.

Similarly, since Gammon became the first 
Asian company to be assessed against ISO 
20400:2017, it has continued to have ongoing 
regular dialogue with its supply chain partners. 
It holds workshops with them to communicate 
its expectations in a number of key areas, as 
well as provide an opportunity for the suppliers 
to discuss any issues they may have or 
propose alternative solutions or products.

For more information visit:  
www.gammonconstruction.com/en/ 
sustainability-report.php

WELL PRECERTIFICATION GOLD FOR GAMMON’S HEAD OFFICE

In 2020, Gammon’s new head 
office achieved WELL 
Precertification at the Gold 
level, making it the first 
construction company in 
Hong Kong to have been 
awarded this international 
designation. The new office 
follows the WELL Building 
Standard (ver. 1) for interiors, 
a performance-based system 
for built environments that 
integrates health and wellbeing 
considerations in the design 
and fit-out. The project team 
considered every aspect from 
air and water quality to light, 
comfort and mental wellbeing.

Take a tour of 
the new office:

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

67

Strategic reportSUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

COMMUNITIES

Positively impact more 
than 1 million people

As part of the Group’s new sustainability 
strategy, the Group has set itself a 2040 
ambition to positively impact more than 
1 million people and a 2030 target to 
generate £3 billion of social value using the 
Social Value National TOMS framework. 

Whilst infrastructure already has a hugely 
positive impact on people’s lives, markets 
now require the Group to demonstrate the 
social value of its operations in economic 
terms. To benefit local areas, the Group uses 
local supply chain partners, employees and 
materials wherever possible, and invests in 
future talent through apprenticeship schemes 
and work placement opportunities. Involved 
(Balfour Beatty’s community investment 
programme in the UK) was established in 
2015 and focuses on three key areas where 
the Group can add value to its customers and 
the local community:

 \ local employment and skills;

 \ supporting local businesses; and

 \ community engagement through charitable 
fundraising, volunteering and mentoring. 

Wherever the Group operates it seeks to 
integrate within the neighbourhood, 
supporting the local community, its 
businesses and its workforce. Involved gives 
Balfour Beatty the opportunity to work within 
a framework whereby the results of its 
interventions are captured and the benefit to 
society shared with its customers and other 
interested parties.

All employees have the opportunity to 
volunteer up to two days per year to give 
something back to local communities. 
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, and the risk 
of infection, many of the volunteering 

activities that had been planned in 2020 had 
to be cancelled. This has had a negative 
impact on the number of volunteering hours 
the Group was able to record and has also 
impacted on fundraising activities, with many 
fundraising events being cancelled. In some 
cases, projects were still able to provide 
virtual volunteering to support communities 
such as supporting NHS programmes. 

This impact was reflected in the October 
2020 employee engagement survey with 
only 58% of the Group’s UK and US 
employees responding that “At Balfour 
Beatty, I am able to give something back to 
the community”, a drop of 15% from the 
previous year. However, the score for 
“Balfour Beatty genuinely cares about having 
a positive impact on the environment and 
local communities” went up from 75% to 
78%, demonstrating that there is a will to 

GREEN APPLE DAY OF SERVICE, SAN DIEGO

Balfour Beatty Construction in partnership with the 
San Diego Green Building Council hosts its  
9th annual Green Apple Day of Service

Balfour Beatty’s California team and the San Diego Green Building 
Council, partnered with Poway Unified School District (Poway USD) 
to host their ninth annual Green Apple Day of Service. The 
international day of service takes place every year at different schools 
around the world. This year, Poway USD’s Garden Road Elementary 
School was selected to receive an outdoor interactive learning 
classroom, accommodating students upon return to campus. One of 
the aims of the project was to provide students with a safer learning 
environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 100 eager volunteers, including students, employees, families, 
and supporting community and trade partners, willingly dedicated their 
Saturday to one common goal: creating an Outdoor Learning Classroom 
for students to learn and engage in a healthy, connective way. 

Additional measures to transform and enhance the school included 
several painted murals, picnic tables, an owl box, walkways, a new 
shed, mulch, weeding, pavers, student-decorated rocks, instalment 
of outdoor dry-erase boards for the teachers, and a new shared library 
for students.

The effort supports and enhances Garden Road Elementary School, 
providing students and teachers with the opportunity to become 
further engaged and inspired by outdoor learning.

68

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

2020 CCS SCHEME NATIONAL 
SITE AWARDS

33+

  Gold 
  Silver 
  Bronze 

9
13
5

 BELOW
Volunteers planting bulbs at the side of 
Blackheath’s station to enhance biodiversity.

support the environment and communities 
which the Group operates in.

The focus areas for the Group’s charitable 
work have been on:

 \ supporting skills in infrastructure;

 \ supporting people and families with health 

and wellbeing;

 \ regenerating local communities;

 \ inspiring tomorrow’s workforce;

 \ supporting Affinity Networks; and

 \ supporting national charity partners.

In the UK Balfour Beatty has continued to 
support the Considerate Constructors 
Scheme (CCS). The CCS is a non-profit-
making, independent organisation founded in 
1997 by the construction industry to improve 
its image. In 2020, 109 of the Group’s UK 
sites were assessed against the scheme, 
with an average score of 41.8 out of 50 
against an industry average of 37.8. 

The Group won 27 National Site Awards 
under the CCS scheme in 2020.

Community investment through 
charitable fundraising
The Balfour Beatty Shaping Better Futures 
(SBF) Charitable Trust was formed in 2009 to 
help the most disadvantaged young people in 
society. In 2020, COVID-19 restrictions 
greatly restricted the ability of employees to 
raise funds with many events being cancelled 
or indefinitely postponed. SBF donated a 
total of £50,000 to The Prince’s Trust.

The Group has worked closely with The 
Prince’s Trust since the beginning of the 
partnership and has raised over £1.59 million 

for the charity. This includes funds raised by 
employees and matched by SBF, direct 
donations from SBF, as well as funds raised 
by the Group directly. Through The Prince’s 
Trust, the funding from 2020 will support 50 
young people into positive outcomes in 
employment, education and training, 
transforming their life chances and 
developing their confidence and 
employability skills. With more than half a 
million young people already unemployed and 
youth joblessness predicted to increase as a 
result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 
programmes that The Prince’s Trust runs are 
vital to provide young people with the skills 
and opportunities needed to stabilise their 
lives and start something new. In the UK, a 
further £176,024 was raised by employees 
for charitable purposes. A total of £113,255 
was provided in direct donations. £114,813 
was made in in-kind donations.

The US construction business contributed 
over US$341,914 to charitable causes in 
2020. Some of the organisations receiving 
donations were:

 \ Feeding America

 \ American Heart Association

 \ Canine Companions

 \ North Texas Food Bank

 \ San Diego Green Building

 \ ACE-Mentor Program

 \ Make-A-Wish® Foundation

 \ Boys and Girls Club of the Austin Area

 \ Oregon Trail of Hope

 \ Ronald McDonald House Charities of 

San Diego

 \ Sharefest Community Development

 \ Los Angles Sustainability Coalition

While 2020 presented challenges for 
employees being able to volunteer their time 
in large groups or raise funds with many 
signature charitable events being cancelled, 
the US construction business still found ways 
to give back to communities, by volunteering 
in smaller groups and raising funds locally. 

Some highlights of 2020, include the 
California team’s Green Apple Day of Service 
at Garden Road Elementary School in 
POWAY (see page 68) and the Sharefest 
fundraiser for the Southbay area of Los 
Angeles. Balfour Beatty donated US$5,000 
and helped raise an additional US$195,000 
through vendors and suppliers and 
volunteers, with the funds used to empower 
youth and transform communities in some of 
Los Angeles’ most deprived neighbourhoods.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

69

Strategic report48
+
19
+
+
N
 
SUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

Balfour Beatty sponsored and chaired the 
COVID Safe – NO SHOW 2020 for the Ronald 
McDonald House charity donating US$8,000 
and helping raise another US$284,000 in 
additional donations from trade partners.

A further US$90,000 was raised by 
employees for Rebuilding Together Seattle, 
the American Heart Association, Oregon Trail 
of Hope, the Oregon Community Association 
and other charities in the Northwest area 
which the business has longstanding 
relationships with. 

In Texas employees were able to come 
together this year and host an outdoor social 
distanced golf and sporting clay shoot 
benefiting Texas Health Resource, 22Kill, 
Children’s Health, Elizabeth Toons, Make-A-
Wish and many other charities. The total 
charitable contributions of these events 
amounted to US$147,340.

In order to support the University of North 
Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), Balfour 
Beatty made a commitment to sponsor 
two junior merit-based scholarships in 
Coastal Engineering worth US$5,000 per 
year with the first two students receiving 
their grants in 2020. Additionally, through the 
Balfour Beatty US$50,000 Support Fund in 
Coastal Engineering, UNCW will advance 
the mission of its new degree programme to 
address issues affecting coastal communities 
around the world. UNCW continues to 
emerge as a leader in coastal research and 
is the first university in the US to offer a 
Bachelor of Science degree focused on 
coastal engineering. 

Balfour Beatty Communities donated 
US$30,000 to the Balfour Beatty Communities 
Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit 
organisation committed to supporting the 
post-secondary educational goals of residents 
living in a community managed by Balfour 
Beatty Communities, as well as to organisations 
that support military personnel and their 
families. Balfour Beatty Communities 
Foundation awarded US$139,000 in 
academic scholarships to residents of Balfour 
Beatty managed properties over the same 
period. A total of 68 scholarships were 
awarded. Furthermore, a US$10,000 charitable 
donation to the Jacksonville chapter of Blue 
Star families, an armed forces charity, 
was provided.

The US Civils team donated US$10,000 to 
the Carolinas Association of General 
Contractors (CAGC) Build Your Career (BYC). 
The CAGC BYC’s mission is to help fight the 
skilled labour shortage by raising awareness 
of viable career opportunities within 
construction through local education efforts 
at middle and high school levels, as well as in 
community colleges and with individuals 
wanting to change careers through 
apprenticeship opportunities.

In 2020, Gammon, its employees and 
partners contributed to over 30 activities and 
community events in Hong Kong and provided 
over HK$2 million in charity donations. 
Employees and subcontractors on four 
building projects raised over HK$280,000 to 
support an initiative that helps students and 
families facing hardship and financial 
difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gammon ran a number of programmes during 
the year to supply free face coverings and 
bottles of sanitiser to employees and workers 
on its construction sites during the COVID-19 
pandemic. Colleagues and their families also 
joined with a number of NGOs in Hong Kong 
to support low-income families and the elderly 
by distributing over 70,000 face coverings.

Across the Group’s operations, employees 
volunteered 13,467 hours for charitable causes 
and raised £721,939 for charitable purposes. The 
Group donated £626,105 and made in-kind 
donations of £153,422. This has brought 
multiple social value benefits to the communities 
in which Balfour Beatty operates.

Balfour Beatty 
Communities 
Foundation awarded 
68 scholarships 
in 2020.

DIRECT DONATIONS BY  
GEOGRAPHY

IN-KIND DONATIONS BY GEOGRAPHY

AMOUNTS RAISED  
BY EMPLOYEES

18+

  UK 
  US 
  Gammon 

£113,255
£279,790
£233,060

N 75+

  UK 
  US 
  Gammon 

£114,813
£–
£38,609

N 24+

  UK 
  US 
  Gammon 

£176,024
£524,791
£21,124

Total 

£626,105

Total 

£153,422

Total 

£721,939

70

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

45
+
37
+
+
0
+
25
+
+
73
+
3
+
+
N
 
 
 
Our people

Leadership and talent 
development 
Balfour Beatty has continued its commitment 
to investing in employees’ capability despite 
the challenges presented throughout the 
pandemic. We have shown innovation to 
remotely deliver programmes and initiatives 
that support the transfer of knowledge and 
collaboration for our employees.

Across the UK, US and Gammon, many 
training courses were switched to virtual 
delivery. Webinars were provided across 
several leadership topics, with an additional 
focus on promoting mental health and 
supporting employees through the crisis. In 
the UK, 170 webinars reached 7,500 people. 

In the UK, Balfour Beatty has mature, well 
established leadership and talent 
programmes at various levels within the 
business, including the Future Leaders 
programme, which launched its fourth cohort 
with 25 leaders at the end of 2020 and the 
Aspiring Leaders programmes, which 
supported leadership readiness for 102 
employees. Internal coaching and mentoring 
arrangements continue to be developed and 
embedded to support the UK business. 
Internal coaches have been trained to 
support talent programmes, performance 
and career coaching requirements, with 
380 coaching hours being recorded in 2020. 

In 2020, work continued with senior leaders in 
the US business to create networks, solve 
business challenges, and share lessons 
learned and best practice. 

Our people priority strategic pillars

WAYNE’S JOURNEY FROM LINEMAN TO GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT

Wayne Kibee developed his love of 
construction from watching his dad work as 
a lineman. Upon graduation, Wayne began 
his first full-time role working for Balfour 
Beatty in the field.

Working his way up through the company, 
Wayne established himself as a high 
achiever and quickly moved from skilled 
labourer to carpenter, then from assistant 
superintendent to now general superintendent, 
where he continues to thrive.

Wayne enjoys the opportunity to successfully 
deliver top-notch projects for many education 
clients and school programmes throughout 
California. With more than 32 years of 
experience working in the industry, 
Wayne’s work ethic and personal drive to 
succeed emanates on the jobsite, inspiring 
those around him to continue working 
towards greatness. When you step foot 
onto one of Wayne’s projects, there is an 
overwhelming sense of pride carried by 
every team member. (Photo taken prior to 
COVID-19 pandemic).

1. Enabling the business
Support the business to drive 
operational excellence in all that we 
do, ensuring our projects, functions 
and businesses can outperform.

2. Building expert capability
Recruit, develop and provide great 
career opportunities for our people, 
ensuring they have the skills, 
development, experience and 
capability to delight our customers.

3. Creating a great place to work
Grow an innovative, inclusive, 
and collaborative culture that is 
technology enabled, creating 
an existing and successful future 
for our employees, customers 
and shareholders.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

71

Strategic reportBEST LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION AWARD

SUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

3,209

TRAINING DAYS FOR  
2,482 DELEGATES

360+ 

DELEGATES ON LEADERSHIP 
MASTERCLASSES IN THE UK

38,000+ 

HOURS OF TRAINING  
COMPLETED IN GAMMON

Many training programmes in Gammon were forced to suspend following restrictions due 
to the pandemic. The Learning & Development team built a new online learning platform to 
allow employees to learn and add value while maintaining social distancing. Adjustments 
have been made to course content, with text materials now being delivered through videos 
and animations to continue delivering content in an engaging way while face-to-face 
training isn’t an option. (Photo taken prior to COVID-19 pandemic).

Monthly virtual meetings occur for the vice 
presidents of operations with the goal of 
addressing important business topics such as 
the Gated Business Lifecycle, lean 
construction practices, and improving 
operational standards.

Across Balfour Beatty, learning is made 
accessible and development is facilitated 
across all aspects of a person’s role, including 
technical; professional; leadership and 
personal development; health, safety and 
wellbeing, all to develop the best that our 
people can be.

Engagement
Employee engagement remains a key focus 
to support and enhance business 
performance, in 2020 employee wellbeing 
has been more important than ever and at 
the heart of the Group’s engagement 
strategy. Work has continued in pursuit of 
nurturing our great place to work, a place 
where everyone feels included and supported 
and continuous listening is the norm. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic meaning that 
many employees in the UK, US and Gammon 

needed to work differently, the opportunity 
was taken to look at working arrangements. 
Employees were supported through new 
ways of working productively, with flexibility to 
balance work with other commitments, where 
possible through greater use of technology. In 
2021 and beyond, the lessons learnt in 2020 
from the pandemic will inform how to adopt 
these practices into new ways of working. A 
range of COVID-19 guides for employees was 
developed, including best practice for remote 
working, furlough, financial wellbeing and 
domestic abuse.

Balfour Beatty continues to conduct 
employee engagement surveys, providing 
immediate feedback on the results and 
ensuring complete transparency to build trust 
in the survey and the organisation. The 2020 
survey results showed increased levels of 
engagement across the business and the 
contribution that the enhanced communications 
and additional levels of support provided to 
employees played in achieving these results. 
The Group’s engagement score increased to 
75% from 66% in 2019.

The UK engagement index score increased 
from 63% to 73%. Each of the four questions 
comprising the score (satisfaction, motivation, 
advocacy, retention) increased between 5% 
and 10%. An increase of 10% was achieved 
for employees recommending Balfour Beatty 
as a great place to work. There was a great 
increase of 13% in the score for graduates 
and under-represented groups responded very 
positively with female colleagues at 79% and 
BAME employees having the highest 
engagement score of 83%.

The 2020 US Buildings engagement index 
score was 89%, with 87% of people feeling 
a strong connection with their team, 88% of 
people saying the culture is inclusive to all 
people, 90% of people saying that they feel 
comfortable they can be themselves and 
accepted at work and 91% of people saying 
they can see themselves working at Balfour 
Beatty in 12 months’ time.

Another indication of positive engagement in 
the Group’s workforce is the voluntary 
employee turnover rate, decreasing year on 
year, to 9.8% in the UK. Voluntary turnover 
within Gammon is currently 12.3% in 2020.

72

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Gammon continue to implement their action 
plan that incorporates a health and wellbeing 
programme. This included initiatives such as 
online Sunday Live stretching exercise, virtual 
Tai Chi workshop and health talks. 

Many development activities have been 
enhanced through the non-executive Directors 
meeting and engaging with employees 
through site visits and attendance at virtual 
development events. This provides additional 
insight and benefit to participants and a great 
opportunity for Board members to gain an 
in-depth view of engagement throughout the 
business. As part of its employee engagement 
activities, Balfour Beatty continues to develop 
strong relationships through collective 
bargaining agreements across the UK and 
US, recognising multiple arrangements with 
trade unions in different part of the business. 
Appropriate employment practices and 
policies are applied for each market within 
the national collective agreements that are 
applicable to the Group’s operations.

Balfour Beatty recognises the need to retain 
skills and expertise and therefore employees 
may be eligible for enhanced family friendly 
benefits whilst on, for example, maternity, 
adoption, or shared parental leave. Employees 
in the UK can also invest in Balfour Beatty 
through the Share Incentive Plan, and access 
lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits 
and discounts.

In addition, the Group aims to make a positive 
difference in the community. UK employees 
can apply for paid volunteer leave to support 
local communities. Business units also operate 
schemes to recognise colleagues for their 
achievements locally as well as UK-wide 
employee referral schemes to incentivise 
employees for referring great new colleagues 
to the company.

Diversity and inclusion
To reflect the importance to Balfour Beatty of 
embedding a truly inclusive culture, in 2020 
‘value everyone’ was adopted as one of our 
behaviours in the Group’s Cultural Framework 
refresh to demonstrate its importance to the 
business. The Group Chief Executive is the 
Board-level sponsor for diversity and 
inclusion (D&I). 

Supported by a Steering Committee that sets 
the direction for D&I, and a working party 
that leads and co-ordinates diversity initiatives, 
the UK business has a rolling three-year 
‘value Everyone’ D&I action plan which 
drives activity to nurture a culture of inclusion 
and improve diversity and includes actions to 
address barriers for all under-represented 
groups. In the UK in 2020 Balfour Beatty was 
Highly Commended for the RIDI Awards for 
Making a Difference in the Private Sector and 
was recognised as a Top Ten Employee Network 
Group in The Ethnicity Awards for a second 
year. Furthermore, there were fantastic 

MAGIC MOMENTS

Employee survey results

ENGAGEMENT INDEX SCORES %*

%
5
7

%
5
6

%
6
6

%
0
6

2017

2018

2019

2020

RECOMMEND AS A GREAT 
PLACE TO WORK %*

%
2
7

%
4
6

%
0
6

Q4 
2018

Q2 
2019

2020

FEMALE EMPLOYEES 
ACROSS THE WORKFORCE %*

*

%
9
1

*

%
8
1

%
8
1

%
7
.
8
1

2017

2018

2019

2020

*  Excluding international joint ventures.

UK: Virtual leadership conference. Photo credit: Graham Thorley 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

73

Strategic report 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SUSTAINABILITY CONTINUED

BALFOUR BEATTY SIGNS THE AUDELISS AND INVOLVE OPEN LETTER

Hear from Aaron 
Reid, Head of 
Sustainability and 
Steering Group 
Member of the 
Fairness, Inclusion 
and Respect 
Programme.

In the summer of 2020, demonstrations in the UK and US in support 
of Black Lives Matter shone a light on the remaining inequalities 
within black inclusion and Balfour Beatty realised that it needed to 
take more action. 

Balfour Beatty has become the first construction and infrastructure 
company to sign the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter committing 
to engaging and measuring long-term actions for black inclusion 
within our UK businesses.

As there was significant interest and some lack of awareness across 
the business around many of the issues, we worked with diversity 
experts IODA and our Multi Cultural Affinity Network, to design an 
awareness raising webinar which was attended by over 600 people 
in the UK and many more have watched the recording. This was 
then developed into a series of ‘Let’s Talk About Race’ workshops 
which were attended by 158 leaders across the business. These 
workshops and webinars have helped to build the level of 
understanding and have galvanised a real desire across the 
business to make a difference by developing and implementing local 
action plans to address barriers that exist and make Balfour Beatty a 
more inclusive workplace.

individual successes with two Women In 
Construction & Engineering award winners 
and Best New Female Chartered Engineer.

The US business has a five-year strategic 
plan that focuses on three areas of opportunity 
and growth: gender; race/ethnicity; and 
veterans. In the US, Balfour Beatty is working 
to recognise, promote and advance the 
business on Diversity, Equality & Inclusion 
(DEI) and build a foundation for the future. In 
the US, there were virtual conferences to 
highlight issues relating to discrimination due 
to race, ethnicity and sexual preference. 
Furthermore, as part of the DEI effort, the 
Learning and Development team rolled out 
Conscious Inclusion training focusing on how 
to create an environment where curiosity 
about differences is encouraged and where 
inclusion is the mutual responsibility of 
all employees.

Gammon has launched a Diversity and 
Inclusion Council with cross-discipline 
membership from directors, senior managers, 
Diversity & Inclusion champions and employee 
network representatives. The council has 
gathered views on creating a more inclusive 
company and initiated training for senior staff 
to raise awareness and understanding 
amongst project and department leaders.

Diversity initiatives 
 \ The Leading Inclusively programme was 

launched in the UK, providing senior leadership 
teams with a safe space to explore the 
subject matter and focus on leadership 
behaviours and mindset. More than 150 
leaders participated virtually in 2020. All 
colleagues were supported to understand 
and champion inclusivity behaviours in the 
workplace with the rollout of a new e-learning 
module – Value Everyone – during National 
Inclusion Week.

 \ Despite the pandemic, in the UK ‘Empower’ 
development programme a record 87 female 
employees participated during 2020. Over 
300 women have attended this programme 
since 2016 and 42% of delegates have had 
a new role or promotion since participation. 

 \ In the US, Black History Month was celebrated, 
and Martin Luther King Day is now recognised 
as a paid holiday in the US business, and the 
recruiting strategy revamp will include 
Historical Black Colleges and Universities to 
increase Balfour Beatty’s African American 
employee base.

 \ In the US, two new affinity networks were 
launched in 2020, informed by the success 
of the strong Women in Construction. 
National and local affinity groups have 
been established under the Network of 
Black Leaders and Executives (NOBLE), 
and the business has prioritised DEI 

workflows around NOBLE. The other 
affinity group created in 2020 is Building 
PRIDE which recognises and supports 
employees that represent the LGBTQ+ 
community within Balfour Beatty.

 \ To complement the well-established affinity 
networks in the UK and US, Gammon created 
its first affinity network, Women in Gammon 
and Allies Group (WinG); to recognise and 
support employees representing the 
LGBTQ+ community.

Emerging talent
As a member of The 5% Club in the UK, a 
dynamic movement of employers committed 
to ‘earn and learn’ skills training opportunities 
as part of ensuring Britain’s social mobility 
and shared prosperity, Balfour Beatty already 
exceeds its target of 5% of its employee 
numbers earn and learn positions.

At the end of 2020, the proportion of UK 
employees in earn and learn positions 
(graduates, apprentices, trainees and 
industrial placement students) was 6.0%. 

Despite the pandemic, Balfour Beatty continued 
to recruit new entrants and increased its UK 
intake of graduates, apprentices, trainees and 
industrial placement students by over 35% 
compared to 2019. The UK held firm in its 
commitment to developing its future workforce 
with a 30% increase in its intake of graduates, 
apprentices and trainees in 2020.

74

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

6.0% 

UK EARN AND LEARN 
WORKFORCE

EMERGING TALENT HIRES – GRADUATES, 
APPRENTICES, TRAINEES, INTERNS AND 
INDUSTRIAL PLACEMENTS

7
7
3

6
1
3

7
0
2

  UK
  US 
  Hong Kong

Balfour Beatty’s US team based in Raleigh 
participated in Summer STEM with Wake 
County Public Schools. The two-day immersion 
activity with K-12 public school teachers is a 
collaboration between WakeEd Partnership, 
the Wake County Public School System 
(WCPSS), and STEM businesses and 
organisations in North Carolina. The 
programme exists to enrich the educator’s 
understanding of the knowledge and skills 
necessary to succeed in STEM careers.

Members of the US team based in Charlotte 
actively participate in the ACE Mentor Program, 
an afterschool programme designed to attract 
high school students into pursuing careers in 
the Architecture, Construction and Engineering 
industry, including skilled trades. The mentorship 
programme gives students exposure through 
activities, guest speakers, jobsite tours 
and more.

Summary
As a result of Brexit, the Group will closely 
monitor issues surrounding skills shortages 
and the ability to attract people within Balfour 
Beatty and the wider supply chain. 

The Company’s Build to Last strategy for 
continuous improvement is the platform for 
inclusive talent which will set the Group apart. 
Throughout the pandemic, Balfour Beatty 
responded quickly, adapting its policies to 
support employees in a new way of working, 
enabling the Group to continue its commitment 
to build a workforce of industry-leading people 
by providing a strong development offering, 
fostering employee engagement and providing 
exciting career opportunities for its people 
through the future pipeline of work.

Balfour Beatty’s commitment to graduate 
development was recognised with sixth 
place in the 2020 National Graduate Week 
league table of most desirable companies to 
work for, and it was the only construction and 
infrastructure company in the table.

Gammon and the US businesses also showed 
another year of strong performance in 
emerging talent hires. Gammon is revamping 
its career website to include video sharing 
from existing employees to attract future 
talent, and encourage existing employees 
to further their studies, with over 7% of 
colleagues in earn and learn positions at the 
end of 2020.

It is important that the Group engages with 
education and young people to raise awareness 
of the opportunities available in infrastructure 
and leverage engagement to diversify new 
entries. As part of the new sustainability 
strategy, Balfour Beatty has pledged to 
increase its STEM Ambassadors from 218 
to 1,000 by 2025 in the UK. In addition, 
partnerships have been created with several 
educational, STEM and community charities 
to work with them and young people to 
improve life chances.

The Graduate and Apprentice programmes in 
the UK support STEM and outreach activity 
through their Shaping Better Futures projects 
and the annual Balfour Beatty Brathay Apprentice 
Challenge. Balfour Beatty has recently 
renewed its pledge to increase apprentice 
diversity with the UK Government-led 
Apprenticeships Diversity Champions 
Network and has signed the Social Mobility 
Pledge and has also committed to the 
Tomorrow’s Engineers Code.

Balfour Beatty is also a supporter of the new 
UK T-levels and will be offering industry 
placements to students studying the new 
Construction and Building Services T-levels 
and is working with University Technical 
Colleges across the country.

GENDER BREAKDOWN

At 31 December 2020

Board
Senior managers1
Directors of subsidiaries not 
included above2
Employees3

Male

6
91

34
20,870

Female

2
33

10
4,814

Total

8
124

44
25,684

% Male

75.0%
73.4%

77.3%
81.3%

% Female

25.0%
26.6%

22.7%
18.7%

1  Senior managers are employees of the Company, its subsidiaries and Gammon, who have responsibility for planning, directing or controlling the activities of the Group, or a 

strategically significant part of it, excluding Directors of Balfour Beatty plc.

2  Directors of all subsidiaries have not been included as senior managers as this would not accurately reflect the Group’s executive pipeline.

3  All employees of the Company and its subsidiaries, together with all employees of Gammon, the Group’s 50:50 joint venture with Jardine Matheson based in Hong Kong.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

75

Strategic report 
 
NON-FINANCIAL INFORMATION STATEMENT

This section of the Strategic report constitutes the Group’s non-financial information statement, produced to comply with Sections 414CA and 
414CB of the Companies Act. The non-financial information is contained within the various sections of the Strategic report and is cross-referenced 
below to help stakeholders find relevant information.

Reporting requirement

Policies and standards which govern our approach 

Information necessary to understand our business  
and its impact, policy due diligence and outcomes

Environmental 

Our sustainability strategy – 
Building New Futures

Sustainability policy

Sustainable procurement policy

Environmental policy

ISO 14001:2014 & ISO 20400:2017

Sustainability  

page 55

Employees

Health and safety policy

Health, safety and wellbeing 

Code of Conduct

Social and community 
matters

Social value policy

Code of Conduct

Business integrity 

Our people 

Sustainability  

Business integrity  

Respect for 
human rights 

Anti-corruption and 
bribery matters 

Innovation

Description of the 
business model

Stakeholders

Description of 
principal risks and 
impact of business 
activity

Non-financial key 
performance 
indicators

Modern slavery statement

Business integrity 

Code of Conduct 

Supplier Code of Conduct

Business integrity 

Code of Conduct

Innovation  

Balfour Beatty at a glance 

Our strategy: Build to Last 

Market review 

Business model 

Stakeholder value  

Risk management 

Principal risks 

Our strategy: Build to Last  

Health, safety and wellbeing 

Business integrity 

Sustainability  

Our people 

Discover more about the Group’s policies at 
www.balfourbeatty.com/policies 

76

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

page 48

page 52

page 71

page 55

page 52

page 53

page 52

page 26

page  2

page 12

page 16

page 22

page 24

page 88

page 94

page 12

page 48

page 52

page 55

page 71

MEASURING OUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Providing clarity on the 
Group’s alternative 
performance measures

The Group includes this section in its Annual Report and Accounts 
with the aim of providing transparency and clarity on the measures 
adopted internally to assess performance.

Following the issuance of the Guidelines on 
Alternative Performance Measures (APMs) 
by the European Securities and Markets 
Authority (ESMA) in June 2015, the Group 
has included this section in its Annual Report 
and Accounts with the aim of providing 
transparency and clarity on the measures 
adopted internally to assess performance.

Throughout this report, the Group has 
presented financial performance measures 
which are considered most relevant to 
Balfour Beatty and are used to manage the 
Group’s performance.

These measures are chosen to provide a 
balanced view of the Group’s operations and 
are considered useful to investors as these 
measures provide relevant information on the 
Group’s past or future performance, position 
or cash flows.

The APMs adopted by the Group are also 
commonly used in the sectors it operates in 
and therefore serve as a useful aid for investors 
to compare Balfour Beatty’s performance to 
its peers.

The Board believes that disclosing these 
performance measures enhances investors’ 
ability to evaluate and assess the underlying 
financial performance of the Group’s operations 
and the related key business drivers.

These financial performance measures are 
also aligned to measures used internally 
to assess business performance in the 
Group’s budgeting process and when 
determining compensation.

Equivalent information cannot be presented 
by using financial measures defined in the 
financial reporting framework alone.

Performance measures used to 
assess the Group’s operations
Underlying profit from operations (PFO)
Underlying PFO is presented before 
non-underlying items, finance costs and 
interest income and is the key measure used 
to assess the Group’s performance in the 
Construction Services and Support Services 
segments. This is also a common measure 
used by the Group’s peers operating in 
these sectors.

This measure reflects the returns to the Group 
from services provided in these operations 
that are generated from activities that are not 
financing in nature and therefore an underlying 
pre-finance cost measure is more suited to 
assessing underlying performance.

Underlying profit before tax (PBT)
The Group assesses performance in its 
Infrastructure Investments segment using an 
underlying PBT measure. This differs from 
the underlying PFO measure used to measure 
the Group’s Construction Services and Support 
Services segments because in addition to 
margins generated from operations, there are 
returns to the Investments business which 
are generated from the financing element of 
its projects.

These returns take the form of subordinated 
debt interest receivable and interest receivable 
on PPP financial assets which are included in 
the Group’s income statement in investment 
income. These are then offset by the finance 
cost incurred on the non-recourse debt 
associated with the underlying projects, 
which is included in the Group’s income 
statement in finance costs.

Operating cash flow (OCF)
The Group uses an internally defined measure 
of OCF to measure the performance of its 
earnings-based businesses and subsequently 
to determine the amount of incentive awarded 
to employees in these businesses under the 
Group’s Annual Incentive Plan (AIP). This measure 
also aligns to one of the vesting conditions 
attributable to the Group’s 2018, 2019 and 
2020 PSP awards. Refer to pages 144 to 146.

Readers of the Annual Report and 
Accounts are encouraged to review the 
financial statements in their entirety.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

77

Strategic reportMEASURING OUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE CONTINUED

Measuring the Group’s 
performance
The following measures are referred to in this 
Annual Report and Accounts when reporting 
performance, both in absolute terms and also 
in comparison to earlier years:

Statutory measures
Statutory measures are derived from the 
Group’s reported financial statements, which 
are prepared in accordance with International 
Accounting Standards in conformity with the 
requirements of the Companies Act 2006 
and in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted 
pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 as 
it applies in the European Union.

Where a standard allows certain interpretations 
to be adopted, the Group has applied its 
accounting policies consistently. These 
accounting policies can be found on pages 
171 to 176.

The Group’s statutory measures take into 
account all of the factors, including those that 
it cannot influence (principally foreign 
currency fluctuations) and also non-recurring 
items which do not reflect the ongoing 
underlying performance of the Group.

Performance measures
In assessing its performance, the Group has 
adopted certain non-statutory measures 
because, unlike its statutory measures, these 
cannot be derived directly from its financial 
statements.

The Group commonly uses the following 
measures to assess its performance:

a) Order book
The Group’s disclosure of its order book is 
aimed to provide insight into its pipeline of 
work and future performance. The Group’s 
order book is not a measure of past performance 
and therefore cannot be derived from its 
financial statements.

The Group’s order book comprises the 
unexecuted element of orders on contracts 
that have been secured. Where contracts are 
subject to variations, only secured contract 
variations are included in the reported 
order book.

Where contracts fall under framework 
agreements, an estimate is made of orders to 
be secured under that framework agreement. 
This is based on historical trends from similar 
framework agreements delivered in the past 
and the estimate of orders included in the 
order book is that which is probable to 
be secured.

In accordance with IFRS 15 Revenue from 
Contracts with Customers, the Group is 
required to disclose the remaining transaction 
price allocated to performance obligations 
not yet delivered. This can be found in Note 
4.3. This is similar to the Group’s order book 
disclosure however it differs for the following 
reasons:

 \ the Group’s order book includes its share 
of orders that are reported within its joint 
ventures and associates. In line with section 
(e), the Board believes that including orders 
that are within the pipeline of its joint 
ventures and associates better reflects the 
size of the business and the volume of 
work to be carried out in the future. This 
differs from the statutory measure of 
transaction price to be allocated to remaining 
performance obligations which is only 
inclusive of secured revenue from the 
Group’s subsidiaries.

 \ as stated above, for contracts that fall 

under framework agreements, the Group 
includes in its order book an estimate of 
what the orders under these agreements 
will be worth. Under IFRS 15, each 
instruction under the framework 
agreement is viewed as a separate 
performance obligation and is included in 
the statutory measure of the remaining 
transaction price when received but 
estimates for future instructions are not.

 \ the Group’s order book does not include 
revenue to be earned in its Infrastructure 
Investments segment as the value of this 
part of the business is driven by the 
Directors’ valuation of the Investments 
portfolio. Refer to section (i).

b) Underlying performance
The Group adjusts for certain non-underlying 
items which the Board believes assists in 
understanding the performance achieved by 
the Group. These items include:

 \ gains and losses on the disposal of 

businesses and investments, unless this 
is part of a programme of releasing value 
from the disposal of similar businesses or 
investments such as infrastructure 
concessions;

 \ costs of major restructuring and 

reorganisation of existing businesses;

 \ costs of integrating newly acquired 

businesses;

 \ acquisition and similar costs related 
to business combinations such as 
transaction costs;

 \ impairment and amortisation charges 

on intangible assets arising on business 
combinations (amortisation of acquired 
intangible assets); and

 \ impairment of goodwill.

These are non-underlying costs as they do 
not relate to the underlying performance of 
the Group.

From time to time, it may be appropriate to 
disclose further items as non-underlying 
items in order to reflect the underlying 
performance of the Group.

The results of Rail Germany have been 
treated as non-underlying items as the Group 
is committed to exiting this part of the 
business.

Further details of non-underlying items are 
provided in Note 10.

A reconciliation has been provided on page 
79 to show how the Group’s statutory results 
are adjusted to exclude non-underlying items 
and their impact on its statutory financial 
information, both as a whole and in respect 
of specific line items.

78

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Reconciliation of order book to transaction price to be allocated to remaining performance obligations 

Order book (performance measure) 
Less: Share of orders included within the Group’s joint ventures and associates
Less: Estimated orders under framework agreements included in the order book disclosure
Add: Transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations in Infrastructure Investments*
Transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations for the Group* (statutory measure)

*  Refer to Note 4.3.

2020 
£m

16,392
(2,443)
(367)
1,656
15,238

2019 
£m

14,339
(1,987)
(114)
1,866
14,104

Reconciliation of 2020 statutory results to performance measures

£m

Revenue including share of joint 
ventures and associates 
(performance)
Share of revenue of joint ventures 
and associates
Group revenue (statutory) 
Cost of sales
Gross profit
Amortisation of acquired intangible 
assets
Other net operating expenses
Group operating profit
Share of results of joint ventures 
and associates
Profit from operations
Investment income
Finance costs
Profit before taxation
Taxation
Profit for the year

2020 
statutory 
results
£m

Intangible 
amortisation
£m

Grant income in 
relation to UK 
Job Retention 
Scheme
£m

Provision 
release on 
blacklisting 
provisions
£m

Loss on GMP 
equalisation 
£m

Results of 
Rail Germany
£m 

UK deferred 
tax asset
£m 

2020 
performance 
measures
£m

Non-underlying items

8,593

(1,273)
7,320
(7,081)
239

(6)
(208)
25

38
63
38
(53)
48
(18)
30

–

–
–
–
–

6
–
6

–
6
–
–
6
(2)
4

–

–
–
–
–

–
(19)
(19)

–
(19)
–
–
(19)
4
(15)

–

–
–
–
–

–
(2)
(2)

–
(2)
–
–
(2)
–
(2)

–

–
–
–
–

–
3
3

–
3
–
–
3
(1)
2

(6)

4
(2)
2
–

–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
6
6

8,587

(1,269)
7,318
(7,079)
239

–
(226)
13

38
51
38
(53)
36
(11)
25

Reconciliation of 2020 statutory results to performance measures by segment

Profit/(loss) from operations

Segment
Construction Services 
Support Services
Infrastructure Investments
Corporate activities 
Total 

2020 
statutory 
results
£m

Intangible 
amortisation
£m

Grant income in 
relation to UK 
Job Retention 
Scheme
£m

Provision 
release on 
blacklisting 
provisions
£m

Loss on GMP 
equalisation 
£m

Results of 
Rail Germany
£m 

UK deferred 
tax asset
£m 

2020 
performance 
measures
£m

Non-underlying items

41
50
3
(31)
63

1
–
5
–
6

(13)
(5)
–
(1)
(19)

(2)
–
–
–
(2)

2
1
–
–
3

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

29
46
8
(32)
51

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

79

Strategic reportMEASURING OUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE CONTINUED

Measuring the Group’s performance continued
Performance measures continued

Reconciliation of 2019 statutory results to performance measures

2019 statutory 
results
£m

Impairment of 
goodwill
£m

Intangible 
amortisation
£m

Non-underlying items

Provision 
release on 
health & safety 
claims
£m

Results of 
Rail Germany
£m 

UK deferred 
tax asset
£m 

2019 
performance 
measures
£m

Revenue including share of joint ventures 
and associates (performance)
Share of revenue of joint ventures and associates
Group revenue (statutory) 
Cost of sales
Gross profit

Gain on disposals of interests in investments

Amortisation of acquired intangible assets
Other net operating expenses
Group operating profit
Share of results of joint ventures and associates
Profit from operations
Investment income
Finance costs
Profit before taxation
Taxation
Profit for the year

8,411
(1,098)
7,313
(6,931)
382
40
(6)
(323)
93
66
159
34
(55)
138
(5)
133

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
58
58
–
58
–
–
58
–
58

–
–
–
–
–
–
6
–
6
–
6
–
–
6
–
6

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(2)
(2)
–
(2)
–
–
(2)
–
(2)

(6)
5
(1)
1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(9)
(9)

8,405
(1,093)
7,312
(6,930)
382
40
–
(267)
155
66
221
34
(55)
200
(14)
186

Reconciliation of 2019 statutory results to performance measures by segment

Profit/(loss) from operations
Segment
Construction Services 
Support Services
Infrastructure Investments
Corporate activities 
Total 

2019 
statutory 
results
£m

Impairment of 
goodwill
£m

Intangible 
amortisation
£m

Provision 
release on 
health & safety 
claims
£m

Results of 
Rail Germany
£m

UK deferred 
tax asset
£m

2019 
performance 
measures
£m

Non-underlying items

126
(11)
77
(33)
159

–
58
–
–
58

1
–
5
–
6

(2)
–
–
–
(2)

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

125
47
82
(33)
221

c)  Underlying profit before tax
As mentioned on page 77, the Group’s Infrastructure Investments segment is assessed on an underlying profit before tax (PBT) measure. 
This is calculated as follows:

Underlying profit from operations (section (b) and Note 5) 
Add: Subordinated debt interest receivable*
Add: Interest receivable on PPP financial assets* 
Less: Non-recourse borrowings finance cost*
Less: Impairment of subordinated debt receivable*

Underlying profit before tax (performance)
Non-underlying items (section (b) and Note 5)
Statutory profit before tax

*  Refer to Note 8 and Note 9.

80

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

2020
£m

8
25
8
(11)
(10)

20
(5)
15

2019
£m

82
20
9
(13)
–

98
(5)
93

d) Underlying earnings per share
In line with the Group’s measurement of underlying performance, the Group also presents its earnings per share (EPS) on an underlying basis. 
The table below reconciles this to the statutory earnings per share.

Reconciliation from statutory basic EPS to performance EPS

Statutory basic earnings per ordinary share 
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets net of tax
Other non-underlying items net of tax
Underlying basic earnings per ordinary share (performance)

2020 
pence

4.4
0.5
(1.2)
3.7

2019
pence

19.0
0.9
6.8
26.7

e) Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates (JVAs)
The Group uses a revenue measure which is inclusive of its share of revenue generated from its JVAs. As the Group uses revenue as a 
measure of the level of activity performed by the Group, the Board believes that including revenue that is earned from its JVAs better reflects 
the size of the business and the volume of work carried out and more appropriately compares to PFO.

This differs from the statutory measure of revenue which presents Group revenue from its subsidiaries.

A reconciliation of the statutory measure of revenue to the Group’s performance measure is shown in the tables in section (b). A comparison of 
the growth rates in statutory and performance revenue can be found in section (j).

f)  Operating cash flow (OCF)
The table below reconciles the Group’s internal performance measure of OCF to the statutory measure of cash generated from operating 
activities as reported in the Group’s Statement of Cash Flows (page 168). 

Reconciliation from statutory cash generated from operations to OCF

Cash generated from operating activities (statutory)
Add back: Pension payments including deficit funding (Note 30.2)
Less: Repayment of lease liabilities (including lease interest payments) (Note 28)
Add: Operational dividends received from joint ventures and associates (Note 19.5)
Add back: Cash flow movements relating to non-operating items 
Less: Operating cash flows relating to non-recourse activities 
Operating cash flow (OCF) (performance) 

2020
£m

274
18
(64)
50
5
(3)
280

2019
£m

211
33
(51)
54
3
(7)
243

The Group includes/excludes these items to reflect the true cash flows generated from or used in the Group’s operating activities: 

Pension payments including deficit funding (£18 million): the Group has excluded pension payments which are included in the Group’s 
statutory measure of cash flows from operating activities from its internal OCF measure as these primarily relate to deficit funding of the 
Group’s main pension fund, Balfour Beatty Pension Fund (BBPF). The payments made for the deficit funding are in accordance with an agreed 
journey plan with the trustees of the BBPF and are not directly linked to the operational performance of the Group. 

Repayment of lease liabilities (including lease interest payments) (£64 million outflow): the payments made for the Group’s leasing 
arrangements are included in the Group’s OCF measure as these payments are made to third-party suppliers for the lease of assets that are 
used to deliver services to the Group’s customers, and hence to generate revenue. Under IFRS, these payments are excluded from the 
Group’s statutory measure of cash flows from operating activities as these are considered debt in nature under accounting standards. 

Operational dividends received from joint ventures and associates (£50 million inflow): dividends received from joint ventures and associates 
which are generated from non-disposal activities are included in the Group’s OCF measure as these are cash returns to the Group from cash 
flows generated from operating activities within joint ventures and associates. Under IFRS, these returns are classified as investing activities. 

Cash flow movements relating to non-operating items (£5 million): the Group’s OCF measure excludes certain working capital movements that 
are not directly attributable to the Group’s operating activities. 

Operating cash flows relating to non-recourse activities (£3 million): the Group’s OCF measure is specifically targeted to drive performance 
improvement in the Group’s earnings-based businesses and therefore any operating cash flows relating to non-recourse activities are removed 
from this measure. Under IFRS, there is no distinction between recourse and non-recourse cash flows. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

81

Strategic reportMEASURING OUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE CONTINUED

Measuring the Group’s performance continued
Performance measures continued

g) Recourse net cash/borrowings
The Group also measures its performance based on its net cash/borrowings position at the year end. This is analysed using only elements that 
are recourse to the Group and excludes the liability component of the Company’s preference shares, which is debt in nature according to 
statutory measures. These shares were redeemed in the year. Non-recourse elements are cash and debt that are ringfenced within certain 
infrastructure concession project companies. In addition, lease liabilities recognised on the Group’s balance sheet, are deemed to be debt in 
nature under statutory measures. 

The Group has excluded these elements from its measure of net cash as they are excluded from the definition of net debt set out in the 
Group’s borrowing facilities.

Net cash/borrowings reconciliation

2020
statutory
£m

Adjustment
£m

2020
performance
£m

2019
statutory
£m

Adjustment
£m

2019
performance
£m

Total cash within the Group 
Cash and cash equivalents 

– infrastructure concessions 
– other

Total debt within the Group 
Borrowings 

– non-recourse loans
– other

Liability component of preference shares 
Lease liabilities
Net cash/(borrowings)

792
22
770
(653)
(339)
(189)
–
(125)
139

(22)
(22)
–
464
339
–
–
125
442

770
–
770
(189)
–
(189)
–
–
581

778
35
743
(798)
(337)
(231)
(110)
(120)
(20)

(35)
(35)
–
567
337
–
110
120
532

743
–
743
(231)
–
(231)
–
–
512

h) Average net cash/borrowings
The Group uses an average net cash/borrowings measure as this reflects its financing requirements throughout the period. The Group 
calculates its average net cash/borrowings based on the average opening and closing figures for each month through the period.

The average net cash/borrowings measure excludes non-recourse cash and debt, the liability component of the Company’s preference shares 
and lease liabilities recognised. This performance measure shows average net cash of £527 million for 2020 (2019: £325 million).

Using a statutory measure (inclusive of non-recourse elements, the liability component of the Company’s preference shares and the lease 
liabilities recognised) gives average net cash of £71 million for 2020 (2019: net borrowings of £49 million).

i) Directors’ valuation of the Investments portfolio
The Group uses a different methodology to assess the value of its Investments portfolio. As described on pages 44 and 45, the Directors’ 
valuation has been undertaken using forecast cash flows for each project based on progress to date and market expectations of future 
performance. These cash flows have been discounted using different discount rates depending on project risk and maturity, reflecting secondary 
market transaction experience. As such, the Board believes that this measure better reflects the potential returns to the Group from this portfolio.

The Directors have valued the Investments portfolio at £1.09 billion at year end (2019: £1.07 billion).

The Directors’ valuation will differ from the statutory carrying value of these investments, which are accounted for using the relevant standards 
in accordance with IFRS rather than a discounted cash flow approach.

Reconciliation of the net assets of the Infrastructure Investments segment to the comparable statutory measure of the Investments portfolio 
included in the Directors’ valuation

Net assets of the Infrastructure Investments segment (refer to Note 5.1)
Less: Net assets not included within the Directors’ valuation – Housing division 
Comparable statutory measure of the Investments portfolio under IFRS

2020
£m

706
(27)
679

2019
£m

676
(30)
646

82

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 
 
Comparison of the statutory measure of the Investments portfolio to its performance measure

Statutory measure of the Investments portfolio (as above)
Difference arising from the Directors’ valuation being measured on a discounted cash flow basis compared  
to the statutory measure primarily derived using a combination of the following IFRS bases:
– historical cost
– amortised cost
– fair value
Directors’ valuation (performance measure)

2020
£m

679

2019
£m

646

407
1,086

422
1,068

The difference between the statutory measure and the Directors’ valuation (performance measure) of the Group’s Investments portfolio is not 
equal to the gain on disposal that would result if the portfolio was fully disposed at the Directors’ valuation. This is because the gain/loss on 
disposal would be affected by the recycling of items which were previously recognised directly within reserves, which are material and can 
alter the resulting gain/loss on disposal.

The statutory measure and the Directors’ valuation are fundamentally different due to the different methodologies used to derive the valuation 
of these assets within the Investments portfolio.

As referred to in the Strategic report on page 45, the Directors’ valuation is calculated using discounted cash flows. In deriving these cash 
flows, assumptions have been made and different discount rates used which are updated at each valuation date.

Unlike the Directors’ valuation, the assets measured under statutory measures using the appropriate IFRS accounting standards are valued 
using a combination of the following methods:

 \ historical cost;

 \ amortised cost; and

 \ fair value for certain assets and liabilities within the PPP portfolio, for which some assumptions are set at inception and some are updated at 

each reporting period.

There is also an element of the Directors’ valuation that is not represented by an asset in the Group’s balance sheet. This relates to the 
management services contracts within the Investments business that are valued in the Directors’ valuation based on the future income stream 
expected from these contracts.

j) Constant exchange rates (CER)
The Group operates across a variety of geographic locations and in its statutory results, the results of its overseas entities are translated into 
the Group’s presentational currency at average rates of exchange for the period. The Group’s key exchange rates applied in deriving its 
statutory results are shown in Note 3.

To measure changes in the Group’s performance compared with the previous period without the effects of foreign currency fluctuations, the 
Group provides growth rates on a CER basis. These measures remove the effects of currency movements by retranslating the prior period’s 
figures at the current period’s exchange rates, using average rates for revenue and closing rates for order book. A comparison of the Group’s 
statutory growth rate to the CER growth rate is provided in the table below:

2020 statutory growth compared to performance growth

Revenue (£m)
2020 statutory
2019 statutory 
Statutory growth (%)

2020 performance*
2019 performance retranslated*
Performance CER growth (%)

Order book (£bn)
2020 
2019 
Growth (%)

2020
2019 retranslated
CER growth (%)

Construction Services

UK

US

Gammon

Total 

Support 
Services

Infrastructure
 Investments

2,192
2,214
(1)%

2,190
2,213
(1)%

6.4
3.0
113%

6.4
3.0
113%

3,776
3,737
1%

3,789
3,721
2%

5.2
6.5
(20)%

5.2
6.3
(17)%

–
–
–

985
894
10%

2.1
1.6
31%

2.1
1.6
31%

5,968
5,951
–

6,964
6,828
2%

13.7
11.1
23%

13.7
10.9
26%

1,037
991
5%

1,067
1,023
4%

2.7
3.2
(16)%

2.7
3.2
(16)%

315
371
(15)%

556
521
7%

–
–
–

–
–
–

Total

7,320
7,313
–

8,587
8,372
3%

16.4
14.3
15%

16.4
14.1
16%

*  Performance revenue is underlying revenue including share of revenue from joint ventures and associates as set out in section (e).

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

83

Strategic reportCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER’S REVIEW

Balfour Beatty’s 
operations recovered 
steadily through the 
second half of 2020

Group financial 
summary

Results for the year

Underlying 2

The Group reported a loss from operations in 
the first half of 2020 but as new working 
practices developed and sites reopened, 
operations recovered through the second half 
of 2020 so that for the full year, Balfour Beatty 
reported underlying profit from operations of 
£51 million (2019: £221 million). 

Revenue1
Profit from operations 
Pre-tax profit
Profit for the year
Basic earnings per share
Dividends per share

8,587
51
36
25
3.7p

2020 
£m

Total 

8,593 
63
48
30
4.4p
1.5p

Underlying 2

8,405
221
200
186
26.7p

Underlying profit from operations2
UK Construction
US Construction
Gammon
Construction Services
Support Services
Earnings-based businesses
Infrastructure Investments pre-disposal operating profit
Infrastructure Investments gain on disposals
Corporate activities
Total

1 

Including share of joint ventures and associates.

2  Before non-underlying items (Note 10).

2020
£m

(26)
26
29
29
46
75
8
—
(32)
51

Despite the reduction in profit, the Group 
demonstrated its resilience delivering positive 
operating cash flow as the year end net cash 
balance increased to £581 million (2019: 
£512 million) with average net cash ahead 
of previous guidance at £527 million (2019: 
£325 million). The Group’s year end order 
book also increased by 15% to £16.4 billion 
(2019: £14.3 billion). 

Underlying revenue was up 2% (3% at CER) 
at £8,587 million (2019: £8,405 million). 
Statutory revenue, which excludes joint 
ventures and associates, was £7,320 million 
(2019: £7,313 million). Construction Services 
revenue was up 2% (2% at CER) at 
£6,964 million (2019: £6,858 million) as 
a result of higher volumes at Gammon. 
Support Services revenue increased by 
4% to £1,067 million (2019: £1,023 million) 
following higher volumes in power 
and transportation. 

84

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

2019 
£m

Total 

8,411
159
138
133
19.0p
2.1p

2019 
£m

47
52
26
125
47
172
13
69
(33)
221

Non-underlying items
The Board believes non-underlying items 
should be separately identified on the face of 
the income statement to assist in understanding 
the underlying financial performance 
achieved by the Group. 

Non-underlying items after taxation were 
a net credit of £5 million for the year (2019: 
£53 million net charge). This includes a 
£19 million credit for amounts received under 
the UK Job Retention Scheme in 2020, which 
will be reversed as a non-underlying charge 
in the Group’s 2021 accounts following the 
Board’s decision to fully repay the £19 million. 
A tax charge of £6 million was also recognised 
as a result of movements in retirement benefit 
assets and the effect of tax rate changes. 

Construction Services was materially 
impacted by COVID-19 as underlying profit 
from operations decreased to £29 million 
(2019: £125 million). Throughout the year, the 
Group worked hard to minimise the impact of 
the pandemic as the majority of its projects 
remained operational. Site closures, particularly 
in the second quarter, combined with a 
reduction in productivity and the cost of 
implementing new operating procedures, led 
to a material reduction in margin. In addition, 
COVID-19 has led to lengthened site 
programmes triggering a reassessment of 
the Group’s contract end forecast positions 
which also contributed to the decrease 
in profit.

Support Services was resilient with 
underlying profit from operations of 
£46 million (2019: £47 million), whilst the 
decision to defer disposals from Infrastructure 
Investments led to a significant reduction in 
underlying profit at £8 million (2019: £82 million). 
In total, after including corporate costs, the 
Group reported underlying profit from operations 
of £51 million (2019: £221 million). 

During the year, the Group received grant 
income of £19 million in relation to the UK 
Government’s Job Retention Scheme (JRS). 
This income was recognised as a non-underlying 
item in the Group’s results in 2020. The 
scheme provided welcome and timely 

support but the Group has made the decision 
post 31 December 2020 to voluntarily refund 
this income. Due to the timing of the decision 
to repay the JRS, there was no liability recognised 
at 31 December 2020 and the cost of the 
refund will be recognised as a non-underlying 
item within the Group’s 2021 results. Statutory 
profit from operations was £63 million (2019: 
£159 million).

Net finance costs decreased to £15 million 
(2019: £21 million) as a result of lower interest 
costs as Balfour Beatty fully redeemed its 
preference shares for £112 million in July 2020. 
Underlying pre-tax profit was £36 million 
(2019: £200 million). 

The taxation charge on underlying profits at 
£11 million (2019: £14 million), relating primarily 
to the derecognition of UK tax losses, led to 
an underlying profit after tax of £25 million 
(2019: £186 million). Total statutory profit 
after tax for the year was £30 million (2019: 
£133 million), as a result of the net effect of 
non-underlying items. The underlying basic 
earnings per share was 3.7 pence (2019: 
26.7 pence), which, along with a non-underlying 
gain per share of 0.7 pence per share (2019: 
7.7 pence loss), gave a total basic earnings 
per share of 4.4 pence (2019: 19.0 pence). 

MAGIC MOMENTS

UK: Merrick Road Foot and Cycle Bridge, Ealing Council. Photo credit: Georgina Kalogeraki

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

85

Strategic reportCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER’S REVIEW CONTINUED

Cash flow performance
Operating cash flows
Working capital inflow
Pension deficit payments+
Cash from operations
Lease payments (including interest paid)
Dividends from joint ventures and associates∞
Capital expenditure
Ordinary dividends
Redemption of preference shares
Infrastructure Investments
– disposal proceeds
– new investments
Other
Net cash movement
Opening net cash*
Closing net cash*

2020
£m

127
167
(18)
276
(64)
50
(34)
–
(112)

–
(46)
(1)
69
512
581

2019
£m

213
32
(33)
212
(51)
54
(24)
(36)
–

102
(64)
(18)
175
337
512

*  Excluding infrastructure investments (non-recourse) net borrowings.

∞  Excludes £41 million dividends received in 2019 in relation to Investments asset disposals within joint ventures and associates.

+  Including £3 million (2019: £3 million) of regular funding.

Cash flow performance
The total cash movement in the year resulted 
in a £69 million increase (2019: £175 million) 
in the Group’s year end net cash position to 
£581 million (2019: £512 million) excluding 
non-recourse net borrowings. The strong 
performance was driven by positive operating 
cash flows and significant working capital 
inflows, partially offset by the redemption of 
the preference shares, lease payments, 
investment in Infrastructure Investments and 
capital expenditure. 

Working capital flows^

Inventories
Net contract assets 
Trade and other 
receivables
Trade and other 
payables
Provisions
Working capital inflow^

2020
£m

(14)
154

2019
£m

(18)
(30)

42

(56)

(69)
54
167

157
(21)
32

^  Excluding impact of foreign exchange and disposals. 

Including the impact of foreign exchange and 
non-operating items, negative (i.e. favourable) 
working capital increased to £887 million 
(2019: £725 million). The Group expects 
negative working capital as a percentage of 
revenue to be between 10-12% (2020: 12.1%) 
with the range dependent on contract mix 
and the timing of project starts and completions.

Working capital 
In the year, the Group’s working capital 
position resulted in an inflow of £167 million 
(2019: £32 million). The strong performance 
was underpinned by movements in net contract 
assets which benefited from a number of 
settlements during the year, both in the US 
and the UK (including the Aberdeen Western 
Peripheral Route (AWPR) contract) and the 
mobilisation of a number of highways 
projects in the US. The working capital 
outflow from trade and other payables, partly 
offset by an inflow from trade and other 
receivables, was a result of the timing of 
payments at year end. 

Prompt Payment Code
Balfour Beatty was reinstated to the Prompt 
Payment Code (PPC) in the UK on 22 January 
2020. In the first six months of 2020 the 
percentage of invoices paid within 60 days 
reduced to 89% as a result of disruption at 
the start of the year following an internal 
change to systems to improve and standardise 
the Group’s approach. In the second half of 
the year, this contributed to an improvement 
in the percentage of invoices paid within 60 
days to 91%. 

Percentage of
 invoices paid 
within 60 days

Average days
 to pay invoices 

77%
82%
86%
90%
89%
91%

54
50
40
38
41
40

Jan–Jun 2018 
Jul–Dec 2018
Jan–Jun 2019 
Jul–Dec 2019
Jan–Jun 2020
Jul–Dec 2020

Whilst Balfour Beatty remains focused on 
measures which ensure continued improvement 
in its payment performance, it operates in a 
sector where supply chains and contractual 
terms are complex, and prompt payment is 
often materially impacted by resolution of 
disputes and alignment to agreed contractual 
processes. On 1 March 2021 the UK’s new 
VAT Domestic Reverse Charge regulations for 
construction services came into effect, which 
may impact the ability of the Group’s supply 
chain to accurately invoice Balfour Beatty.

Net cash/borrowings
The Group’s average net cash in 2020 
improved substantially to £527 million (2019: 
£325 million). The Group’s net cash position 
at 31 December 2020, excluding non-recourse 
net borrowings, was £581 million (2019: 
£512 million). 

The redemption of the preference shares in 
July 2020 reduced cash without a corresponding 
reduction in the level of debt as the Group 
does not take preference shares into account 
in its measure of net cash/borrowings in line 
with the definition of net debt set out in the 
Group’s borrowing facilities. 

Non-recourse net borrowings, held in 
Infrastructure Investments entities 
consolidated by the Group, were £317 million 
(2019: £302 million). The balance sheet also 
included £125 million for lease liabilities 
(2019: £120 million). Statutory net cash at 
31 December 2020 was £139 million (2019: 
£20 million net debt).

86

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 
The Group’s balance sheet includes net 
retirement benefit assets of £89 million 
(2019: £133 million) as measured on an IAS 
19 basis, with the surplus on the BBPF 
partially offset by deficits on the RPS and 
other schemes. The accounting for the BBPF 
in 2020 has been impacted by a reduction in 
the discount rate and an increase in the life 
expectancy assumption. Refer to Note 30. 

Dividend 
The Board is committed to a sustainable 
ordinary dividend which is expected to grow 
over time, targeted at a pay-out ratio of 40% 
of underlying profit after tax excluding gain 
on disposal of Investments assets.

The Board has therefore recommended a 
final dividend of 1.5 pence per share for the 
year ended 31 December 2020. There was 
no interim dividend, so the total dividend for 
the year is also 1.5 pence per share. 

Philip Harrison

Chief Financial Officer

9 March 2021

Banking facilities
The Group’s £375 million committed bank 
facility has been extended to October 2023 
following the exercise of an extension option 
during the year. The purpose of the facility is 
to provide liquidity from a set of core relationship 
banks to support Balfour Beatty in its activities. 
The agreement includes a further one-year 
extension option, to take final maturity to 
October 2024, with the agreement of the 
lending banks. During the year this facility 
remained undrawn. The Group does not 
undertake supply chain financing arrangements.

Going concern
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 
impact on the Group’s performance in 2020, 
the Directors have reconsidered the Group’s 
medium-term cash forecasts and conducted 
stress-test analysis on these projections in 
order to assess the Group’s ability to continue 
as a going concern. Having also made 
appropriate enquiries, the Directors consider 
it reasonable to assume that the Group has 
adequate resources to continue for the 
foreseeable future and, for this reason, have 
continued to adopt the going concern basis 
in preparing the Group financial statements. 
Further detail is provided in Note 1 
Going Concern.

Pensions 
In January 2020, the Group concluded 
negotiations with the trustees of the Balfour 
Beatty Pension Fund (BBPF) on the formal 
triennial funding valuation as at 31 March 
2019. Under this agreement Balfour Beatty 
and the trustees re-confirmed their 
commitment to a journey plan approach to 
managing the BBPF with the Group agreeing 
to make total cash deficit contributions of 
£64 million from 2021 to 2023, whereby the 
BBPF is aiming to reach self-sufficiency by 
2027. There is an agreed mechanism for 
accelerating the payment of contributions set 
out above if the earnings cover for total 
shareholder returns (both dividends and other 
capital returns) falls below 2x. The Group 
remains committed to meeting its obligations 
to its pension schemes and this forms part of 
its commitment to maintaining an appropriate 
balance between investment in the business, 
maintaining a strong capital position and cash 
returns to shareholders.

Following the formal triennial funding 
valuation of the Railways Pension Scheme 
(RPS) as at 31 December 2016, the Group 
agreed to make ongoing deficit contributions 
of £6 million per annum which should reduce 
the deficit to zero by 2027. The formal triennial 
funding valuation of the RPS, as at 
31 December 2019, is in the final stages 
of agreement. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

87

Strategic reportRISK MANAGEMENT

The heart of 
decision-making

A consistent risk process.

A robust and dynamic risk 
management framework 
ensures that risks are 
mitigated and that the 
Group adheres to both 
regulatory requirements 
and industry good practice 
when identifying, assessing 
and managing risk.

Introduction

Balfour Beatty continues its commitment to 
embedding risk management across the 
organisation and has continued to develop and 
refine existing processes and broaden the 
enterprise risk management (ERM) framework 
roll out throughout 2020. The Group’s simple 
risk process remains at the core of the ERM 
framework to ensures consistency in the 
application across all parts of the organisation. 
The Risk Management function ensures the 
Group adheres to regulatory requirements and 
adopts good practice in its approach to 
identifying, assessing, responding to and 
monitoring risk.

Our risk management process
Balfour Beatty’s simple four-step process 
continues to ensure the consistent 
identification, assessment, response and 
monitoring of risk across the organisation. 
Standardising both the process and ERM 
system from project operations up to Group 
level ensures risks are understood and 
communicated clearly at each level of the 
organisation. This ensures that the capture 
and assessment of risk and opportunity 
remain at the heart of decision making at 
Balfour Beatty, allowing targeted and 
effective management.

Managing risk helps preserve value through 
control and mitigation of potential exposures.

1.  Identify
Objective-based risk assessment remains a 
core component of the identify step. Clearly 
defining the risk event in relation to what the 
Group is trying to achieve ensures risk 
remains directly linked to project outcomes 
and strategic business plans. Conducting a 
detailed analysis of both the causes (drivers) 

of the risk and the potential consequences 
(outcomes) aids in understanding the 
conditions surrounding the risk, which can be 
mapped to the existing control environment to 
identify any gaps. Documenting the current 
control environment and its effectiveness 
forms part of this. 

2. Assess
Each risk and opportunity is assessed based 
on the likelihood of the risk occurring and the 
potential impact should the risk occur, allowing 
risks and opportunities to be prioritised. This 
assessment is based on the effectiveness of 
the current control environment – controls that 
are in place at the time of assessment. This 
gives a clearer picture of the current risk 
exposure in real time and can drive the 
required response. A probability and impact 
matrix is used for assessment and is 
discussed further on page 93.

3.  Respond
A response class is determined for each risk 
and opportunity dependent on its current 
assessment: accept or manage further. 
Actions are developed for those risks requiring 
further management, with clear ownership 
and implementation timeframes in relation 
to the current risk assessment. 

4.  Monitor
All risks undergo regular review to ensure the 
information captured remains relevant, 
accurate and up to date, including the status 
tracking of outstanding actions. Conditions for 
risks may change from time to time, with the 
emergence of additional causes or impacts 
resulting in a requirement to further manage a 
previously ‘accepted’ risk. Further detail on 
the policy, process and accountability for risk 
management is contained on page 126 to 133.

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Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

During the second half of 2020, the 
COVID-19 risk profile evolved, reflecting 
exposure to the ‘second wave’ in the UK 
during the winter period and varied impacts 
of the pandemic in different regions of the US.

The relentless application of controls and 
revised operating processes established in 
the early stages of the pandemic across the 
entire business meant the exposure to 
disruption or suspension of delivery was 
significantly reduced.

The COVID-19 risk profile was monitored 
continuously throughout 2020 alongside the 
deployment of business continuity plans with 
oversight by the Executive Committee.

The early COVID-19 risk themes related 
largely to the scale of the uncertainty 
COVID-19 brought to business operations in 
the short term, and included:

 \ maintaining safe on-site project delivery;

 \ consequences of disruption to the supply 

chain and availability of materials;

 \ managing site security;

 \ enabling effective remote working to 
continue business processes; and

 \ understanding and managing any 

contractual impacts.

CIRCLES OF RISK

SUPPLY 
CHAIN

GEOGRAPHY

CONTRACT

CUSTOMER

TEAM

PROJECT

Circles of Risk
Balfour Beatty’s Circles of Risk guidance 
continues to be central to the Work Winning 
phase of the Gated Business Lifecycle to 
ensure high-level risk profiles are understood 
early on in the pursuit of an opportunity and are 
aligned to the Group’s risk appetite, ensuring 
prospects do not proceed to the next gate 
without an awareness of their potential risk 
profile and appropriate management actions.

The guidance remains reflective of experience 
and lessons learned from delivering a 
comprehensive range of projects for a wide 
range of customers and contains examples of 
specific risks and mitigations aligned to the 
Group’s operating and commercial principles.

The Circles of Risk frame a discussion early 
on in the Gateway Review process to ensure 
proper consideration of risks associated with 
the project such as location, customer, supply 
chain, project scope and contractual terms.

If the Group does not have previous 
successful delivery experience across more 
than two categories in the Circles of Risk, the 
project will not proceed before further risk 
analysis has been undertaken, potential 
mitigations strategies identified and an 
informed decision made on how to proceed.

This approach allows Balfour Beatty to make 
decisions in the context of its risk appetite and 
stay ahead of potential exposures by ensuring:

 \ alignment to Group objectives, business 

growth strategies and acceptable risk profiles;

 \ all opportunities are assessed in a 

consistent and robust way so that potential 
opportunities that do not fit with approved 
business objectives are qualified out; and

 \ the early identification of mitigation 
strategies in order to pursue the 
opportunity in line with the Group’s 
operating and commercial principles.

COVID-19 risk profile
COVID-19 has undoubtedly had an impact on 
the business. With the evolution of the pandemic 
generating a rapidly changing operating 
environment, a COVID-19 risk profile was 
developed early in March 2020 to track the 
potential impact on day-to-day operations, 
understand exposures and how these were 
being managed across the organisation, 
and to monitor any movement as the 
crisis developed. 

Group crisis management and business 
continuity plans were activated and led by the 
Executive Committee. A specific COVID-19 
category was created in the ERM risk system 
allowing risks to be identified and monitored 
and consistent controls to be applied 
by projects. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

89

Strategic reportRISK MANAGEMENT CONTINUED

Enhancing business risk 
oversight through 
consistent framework 
and process application.

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TEE | EXCO
Risk Process

ppetite and Tolerance Setting | Risk Culture
Governance and Oversight | Risk Policy Setting | Risk A

D RISK CO

DIT A

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GROUP  
RISK
Strategic Risk

Cascade

Escalate

BUSINESS RISK
SBU/BU/EF

Operational Risk

Escalate

Cascade

GATED BUSINESS LIFECYCLE RISK
Project / Contract Risk

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Risk Process

Governance 
and oversight
The Board accepts overall 
responsibility for risk management 
and has established procedures to 
manage risk, oversee the internal 
control framework, and determine the 
nature and extent of the principal risks 
the Company is willing to take in order 
to achieve its longer-term strategic 
objectives. The Directors continue to 
undertake a full assessment bi-annually 
of the emerging and principal risks 
faced by the Group, and review the 
effectiveness of the risk management 
framework and internal control systems, 
including the financial, operational and 
compliance processes and controls 
that are in place to prevent the occurrence 
or limit the impacts of risks. The Audit 
and Risk Committee provides independent 
oversight of the effectiveness of the 
Group’s risk management and 
associated internal control environment.

Group risk  
management
The dynamic structure of the Group’s 
risk management process allows the 
Group Chief Executive to monitor the 
risk profile of the business via the 
Executive Risk Steering Group (ERSG).

Members of the ERSG act as executive 
sponsors for risk management and 
provide valuable input to Group risk 
themes based on profiles within their 
respective businesses and functions. 
The incorporation of the Group risk 
register into the Group’s bespoke risk 
management software, IRIS (Intelligent 
Risk Information System), has enabled 
greater visibility of core and common 
themes and linkage of these themes 
between the Group and business risk 
profiles to better inform half and full 
year reviews. 

Business risk 
management
Risk management at the business 
level is critical to informing the Group’s 
risk profile. In 2020 the implementation 
of IRIS into the US business has 
enabled greater oversight of both 
project and business risk profiles and 
an improved and more efficient roll up 
to Group level. The comprehensive 
adoption of the ERM system by strategic 
business units has increased transparency 
of operational and business risk profiles 
as well as increased the support for 
businesses in making risk-based 
decisions. Pragmatic interaction 
between operational delivery and 
enterprise risk teams, alongside 
increased risk reporting (through 
Power BI) has evolved to provide early 
risk indicators that continue to be 
monitored in line with business and 
Group risk appetite. 

Gated business lifecycle 
risk management
The Gated Business Lifecycle remains 
at the centre of Balfour Beatty’s internal 
control environment. The assessment 
of risk, as aligned to appetite, is made 
at each review gate to ensure risk-based 
decision making remains at the heart 
of future prospect and live project 
reviews. This has been supported 
via increased project risk reporting 
developed in 2020 that provides key 
risk indicators across project portfolios, 
enhancing the timely escalation of 
project risk to respective business 
levels. Processes to increase alignment 
with internal audit activities have 
driven an improvement in the quality 
of risk information and accelerated 
improvement initiatives to support 
business delivery. The roll out of IRIS 
into the US business has increased 
consistency in how the risk process is 
applied, allowing the greater sharing of 
good practice across the UK and the US 
businesses to manage delivery risk. 

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Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Risk attitude and appetite

The risks that the Group remains exposed to throughout its day-to-day delivery and longer-term pursuit of strategic objectives continues to be 
monitored in line with appetite – and decisions taken in line with the organisation’s attitude to risk. Understanding current and emerging risks 
continues to be integral to Balfour Beatty’s decision-making process. 

Balfour Beatty’s approach to measuring the Group’s risk appetite remains aligned to its Build to Last strategy, which ensures that risk-based decision 
making on whether to accept or tolerate risk supports the pursuit of objectives whilst keeping loyal to the Company’s culture, values and behaviours, 
and drives a consistent philosophy that can be adopted by all business areas and geographies. The strength and ongoing effectiveness of the internal 
control environment within the risk structure outlined on pages 126 to 133 has been considered in setting out the below.

Throughout 2020 and into 2021 the Board and its Committees and working groups measured the nature and extent of those current and 
emerging risks faced by the Group in achieving its long-term strategic objectives. This required a thorough review of the effectiveness of its 
internal control environment within the risk management structure outlined on pages 126 to 133. The outcome of this assessment represents 
the Group’s risk appetite and can be set out in the context of the Group’s values as shown below.

LEAN 

EXPERT 

TRUSTED 

SAFE 

SUSTAINABLE

We create value 
for our customers 
and drive 
continuous 
improvement

Risk appetite
Balfour Beatty is committed 
to challenging its ways of 
working to improve 
outcomes and become more 
competitive.
In delivering better for less, 
the Group is prepared to accept 
a level of operational risk.
Such risks must not be at 
the expense of meeting 
customer requirements.
The Group’s risk appetite for 
efficiency remains moderate.

RELATED PRINCIPAL RISKS 

Sustaining focus on Build 
to Last strategy

Read more 

 p98 

Supply chain

Read more 

 p99

Legacy pensions liabilities 

Read more 

 p101

Our highly skilled 
colleagues and 
partners set us 
apart

We deliver on our 
promises and we 
do the right thing

We make safety 
personal

Risk appetite
Conducting business in a 
safe way and providing a 
Zero Harm environment for 
Balfour Beatty’s people and 
stakeholders is paramount.
The Group’s appetite for 
health and safety risk 
continues to be zero.

Risk appetite
Balfour Beatty continues 
to develop its expertise in 
engineering, computer 
science, robotics, data 
analytics, electronics and 
electrical and mechanical 
engineering to deliver the 
very best solutions to 
its customers.
This drive for sustained 
innovation is undertaken with 
industry experts in managed 
and safe environments to 
minimise risk.
The Group continues to have 
a moderate appetite for 
expert risk.

Risk appetite
Balfour Beatty must 
deliver on its promises 
to stakeholders.
Aligning delivery objectives 
to those of the customer 
is critical to ensuring 
successful outcomes – the 
Group strives for ’right first 
time’ delivery.
Ensuring integrity is 
embedded throughout the 
Group and its supply chain 
partners is key to “doing the 
right thing”.
The Group retains a low 
appetite for risks around 
meeting customer 
expectations.

We act responsibly 
to protect and 
enhance our 
planet and society

Risk appetite
Balfour Beatty is committed 
to leaving a positive legacy 
for the society and 
communities it serves.
The Group seeks to 
minimise its impact on the 
environment, working with 
supply chain partners, 
customers and communities 
to ensure its choices are 
sustainable, whilst delivering 
customer objectives, and 
pursuing new initiatives and 
technologies to achieve this.
The Group’s appetite for risk 
around sustainability risk 
is moderate.

Managing commercial terms

Managing commercial terms

Health and safety

Read more 

 p94

Read more 

 p94

Read more 

 p94

Sustaining focus on Build 
to Last strategy

Sustaining focus on 
Build to Last strategy

Read more 

 p98

Project delivery

Read more 

 p98

Read more 

 p95

Managing commercial terms 

Read more 

 p94

People and talent

Project delivery

Read more 

 p97

Sustaining focus on Build 
to Last strategy

Read more 

 p98 

Read more 

 p95

Joint ventures

Read more 

 p95

Data protection

Economic uncertainty

Read more 

 p96

Read more 

 p101

Project delivery

Read more 

 p95 

Cybersecurity

Read more 

 p96

Sustaining focus on Build 
to Last strategy

Read more 

 p98

Financial strength

Read more 

 p98

Code of conduct 
compliance

Read more 

 p100

Legal and regulatory

Read more 

 p100

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

91

Strategic reportRISK MANAGEMENT CONTINUED

Emerging risks

The requirement to identify emerging risks faced by the business and an explanation of how these are being managed or mitigated is now 
embedded within the Group’s bi-annual risk management reporting process and, in parallel with the day-to-day management of risk, each 
strategic business unit (SBU) and enabling function (EF) includes specific reference to its emerging risks in its half year and full year risk 
submission. These risks form part of the discussion between the Group and the SBU or enabling function and relevant emerging risks are 
escalated to the Executive Risk Steering Group for further analysis and validation.

Balfour Beatty considers emerging risks in relation to their longer-term impact and shorter-term risk velocity and examines them in the context 
of its viability statement. The Group has defined emerging risks as those risks faced by the business that:

 \ are likely to be of significant scale beyond a three-year timeframe; or

 \ have the velocity to significantly increase in severity within the three-year period. 

The discussion and review of emerging risks includes ‘horizon scanning’ activities around potential uncertainties that are not sufficiently 
defined or developed to enable an informed assessment to be made on their impact to the ongoing viability of the Group and whether they 
pose a threat or an opportunity. The review of emerging risks considers:

 \ economic and political factors (e.g. government or policy change in areas of operation);

 \ environmental and social factors (e.g. change in people or organisation behaviours);

 \ legal and regulatory risks (e.g. introduction to or significant change in the regulations which govern how the Group operates); and

 \ technological risks (e.g. development of innovative solutions and new technologies).

92

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Our risk matrix

In common with many organisations and reflecting good practice, Balfour Beatty uses a probability and impact matrix (PI matrix) to enable the 
consistent assessment and prioritisation of risks faced across the business.

Each risk impact is assessed across three main themes: delivery; health, safety and sustainability; and financial.

The assessment focuses on the ‘current’ exposure – that is, the probability of the risk occurring and the potential impact it may have based on 
the current controls that have already been implemented to manage the risk. This provides a more accurate insight into the potential exposure 
being faced by Balfour Beatty at that point in time and better positions the Group to make a decision on how to respond to the risk in line with 
risk appetite.

This PI matrix and its detailed associated impact descriptors is built into Balfour Beatty’s risk management system (IRIS) to ensure consistency 
in the assessment of risks across the Group for delivery and health, safety and sustainability. For financial impacts, the matrix has been 
calibrated to cater for financial impacts across the three tiers of the risk management framework: Gated Business Lifecycle, business risk and 
Group risk. This allows the same matrix to be utilised for common assessment whilst providing a flexible, tailored approach for risks to be 
measured in the context of project or business financial objectives, whilst catering for adjustment on roll up to Group level.

The Group’s principal risks have been mapped onto the PI matrix to show both current potential impacts and the movement from year end 
2019 to year end 2020 in terms of likelihood and impact.

Probability and impact
Arrows indicate where a risk has changed from the previous year.

9

13

1

2

8

3

4

14

7

10

6

11

5

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Unlikely

Possible

Likely

Almost certain

PROBABILITY

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

HEALTH AND SAFETY

MANAGING COMMERCIAL TERMS 

PROJECT DELIVERY

JOINT VENTURES

DATA PROTECTION

CYBERSECURITY

PEOPLE AND TALENT

SUSTAINING FOCUS ON BUILD TO LAST STRATEGY

FINANCIAL STRENGTH

10

SUPPLY CHAIN

11

12

13

14

CODE OF CONDUCT COMPLIANCE

LEGAL AND REGULATORY

LEGACY PENSION LIABILITIES 

ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

93

Strategic report 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
PRINCIPAL RISKS

Removing uncertainty through understanding 
Balfour Beatty’s decision-making is centred on a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the exposures faced by the organisation. The 
identification of risks to achieving business and strategic objectives, alongside the use of detailed analysis to inform and prioritise responses, 
remains key to balancing risk taken in line with risk appetite. The principal and emerging risks are mapped to strategic business plans to ensure 
a comprehensive coverage of risks, allowing the Board to undertake a robust assessment of the potential exposures faced by the Group and 
whether these represent new, increased or decreased threats and the level of response required to manage them. The risk profile comprises 
both interconnected and discrete risks at strategic, operational and project level and focuses on understanding the worst-case scenarios that 
could threaten the Group’s strategy and business model. As a result, changes in the Group’s risk profile and movements in some of the 
principal risks have been identified and are described on pages 94 to 101.

DESCRIPTION AND IMPACT

CAUSES

MITIGATION

1

  HEALTH AND SAFETY

The Group works on and delivers 
significant, complex and potentially 
hazardous projects which require 
continuous monitoring and 
management of health and 
safety risks.

What impact it might have
Failure to manage these risks presents 
the potential for significant harm, 
including fatal or life-changing injuries 
to employees, subcontractor staff, 
third parties or members of the public. 
It also presents the threat of potential 
criminal prosecutions, significant 
fines, debarring from contract bidding 
and reputational damage.

Some common themes which could 
drive health and safety risks include:

 \ inadequate risk identification/

assessment;

 \ lack of competence;
 \ processes that fail to deliver risk 

elimination or mitigation;

 \ lack of clear safety leadership, 

impacting broader safety culture;

 \ ineffective management of 

subcontractors, JV partners and 
other third parties;

 \ failure to cascade and follow 

Health and Safety procedures; 
and/or

For more information please 
see ‘Health, safety and 
wellbeing’ on pages 48 to 51

 \ lack of focus on the wellbeing and 
mental health of staff faced by 
daily work and life pressures. 

Balfour Beatty’s Zero Harm Strategy and its 
supporting policies and procedures remain 
embedded and act as a key control in managing 
the risk. The strategy and associated action plans 
are reviewed and monitored by management and 
external accreditation bodies.

Experienced and competent health and safety 
professionals provide advice and support, monitor 
culture and undertake regular reviews.

The Safety and Sustainability Committee of the 
Board and business Health and Safety executive 
leadership teams, meet regularly throughout the 
year to capture lessons learned and develop a 
consistent approach to health and safety 
best practice.

Training programmes (including behavioural) are 
in operation across the business.

Key causes that could drive this 
risk include:

 \ lack of clearly defined bid strategy;
 \ misalignment between Balfour 
Beatty and client approach;

 \ working with a new or unknown 

customer with no known 
established relationship;

 \ supply chain lacking the capability 
to accept and manage back-to-back 
terms, resulting in increased risk 
carried by Balfour Beatty;
 \ failure to engage in an early 
collaborative approach with 
the customer;

 \ lack of balanced approach to 

allocation or sharing of risk; and/or

 \ lack of early identification of a 
contracting strategy between 
all parties.

2

  MANAGING COMMERCIAL TERMS 

The Group delivers high profile, 
complex projects that can often 
carry specialised deliverables 
together with intricate, multifaceted 
and sometimes onerous commercial 
terms. Delivering contract obligations 
alongside the supply chain, for 
Balfour Beatty’s customers, whilst 
protecting the interests of all 
parties, maintaining a profitable 
and sustainable order book, and 
delivering stakeholder value, can 
pose an element of risk. 

What impact it might have
Failure to fully understand or manage 
the application of commercial terms 
across contracts can result in the use 
of valued time and associated cost of 
resource to manage any disputes, 
potential losses or reduction in profits 
and damage to relationships with key 
customers and supply chain partners. 

Failure to effectively engage and 
collaborate with customers and 
supply chain around managing terms 
could also result in the Group opting 
out of certain works or even may limit 
access to targeted markets in 
the future.

The Group Tender and Investment Committee 
reviews and challenges all proposals in line with 
minimum commercial expectations. 

Defined delegated authority levels are in place for 
approving all tenders and infrastructure investments.

Customer adoption of the UK Government 
Construction Playbook steers an approach 
towards increased collaboration, which results in 
reduced risk, and an increased focus on quality of 
bid rather than being solely cost focused.

A ‘getting left early’ approach adopted prior to the 
procurement process enables influence over 
contracting and procurement model to two-stage 
tender, supports an early collaborative, 
solution-based approach with customers and 
minimises risk on both sides.

A wide and ongoing range of work winning 
initiatives (including Cash is our Compass, High 
Value Selling and the Win Business Leadership 
community of practice) are in place across the 
Group to drive increased commercial and customer 
awareness and further embed an understanding 
of expectations on margins and cost.

The Gateway review process highlights key 
commercial risks closely aligned to Group Circles 
of Risk to ensure adequate qualification and 
mitigation of key exposures.

Monthly business reviews pick up any early 
indicators with potential for disputes arising on 
contracts, including across the subcontractor base.

Owner
Safety and Sustainability 
Committee

Risk movement 

No movement
Well-established controls 
and mitigations continue 
to remain in place 
throughout the Group and 
represent a stable control 
environment.

Multiple failures within 
this environment would 
be required for the risk to 
be realised.

Owner
Group Tender 
and Investment 
Committee

Risk movement 

No movement
Current controls champion 
a more collaborative 
approach with customers 
to manage the risk. 
Controls to mitigate the 
likelihood and impact by 
preventing the Group from 
bidding for unsustainable 
work and therefore 
limiting any potential 
exposure, remain key.

Following a review of the 
Work Winning risk, this 
has now been refocused 
on understanding and 
managing commercial 
terms.

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Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DESCRIPTION AND IMPACT

CAUSES

MITIGATION

3

  PROJECT DELIVERY

Failure to deliver projects in line 
with customer expectations and 
required specifications, on time 
and on budget and minimise 
the risk of increased costs, 
delay related damages and 
defect liabilities.

What impact it might have
Failure to manage and/or deliver 
against customer expectations, scope 
specifications and key deliverables in 
line with schedule and budget could 
result in issues such as design issues, 
contract disputes, rejected claims, 
liquidated damages, cost overruns 
and failure to achieve anticipated 
customer savings which in turn could 
reduce the Group’s profitability and 
damage its reputation.

The Group may also be exposed to 
long-term obligations including 
litigation and costs to rectify defective 
or unsafe work.

Delivery failure on a high-profile project 
could result in significant reputational 
damage, debarring from future work 
and significant associated costs of 
rectification or dispute resolution.

4

  JOINT VENTURES

Failure to implement robust 
controls around the selection of 
joint venture (JV) partners, define 
a clear governance structure or 
establish a ‘one team’ culture may 
result in failure to deliver expected 
returns and minimise the risk of 
unexpected liabilities.

What impact it might have
Not selecting the right JV partner who 
aligns to Balfour Beatty’s culture and 
values could result in a mismatch of 
partner objectives, which flows through 
to ineffective delivery of contract 
requirements and a misalignment in 
approach resulting in a significant impact 
to profitability and reputational damage.

The failure of a JV partner may 
expose the Group to increased 
resourcing costs and ongoing liability, 
warranty and insurance risks.

Disputes with JV partners could 
impact the Group’s ability to operate 
successfully and/or expand within its 
chosen markets.

Failure to share and meet the Group’s 
health and safety management 
expectations could result in increased 
potential for injury and/or fatality.

Failure to implement, maintain and 
challenge operational and 
commercial controls (as detailed 
within checklists at Gateway 
reviews) allowing:

 \ unrealistic programming targets;
 \ inadequate resource (people, plant 
and materials) or competency 
of resource;

 \ lack of comprehensive understanding 

of contract obligations;

 \ unrealistic progress assessments 
and cost to complete judgements 
which could arise due to poor 
training, lack of supervision, lack 
of accountability or fear of 
reporting bad news;

 \ overly optimistic claim recovery 

assumptions;

 \ incomplete visibility and 
appreciation of scale of 
commercial judgements; 
 \ failings in administering the 

contract terms to safeguard or 
protect future claims, change 
orders and extensions of time 
(EOTs); and/or

 \ poor management and selection 

of subcontractors.

Customer intervention and additional 
pressure to complete a project may 
also contribute to realisation of 
this risk.

The risk could be realised through:

 \ ineffective assessment of 

potential JV partners including 
liquidity, capacity and capability;
 \ failure to ensure ‘fit for purpose’ 
terms with the right JV partner;
 \ lack of clarity of the delegated 

levels of authority between partners;

 \ delayed and fettered 

decision-making process 
between partners;

 \ segregation of management 

systems (financial and operational);
 \ lack of understanding of contract 
requirements and expectations;
 \ lack of oversight over JV reporting 

and application of processes 
implemented across the project; 
and/or

 \ failure to align Balfour Beatty 

and JV partner cultures, values 
and practices.

A continued focus on identifying and reporting 
risks, including planning, programme accuracy of 
cost and cash forecasting and resource reviews is 
maintained through the Gated Business Lifecycle.

Owner
Group management

Risk movement 

Early engagement of integrated work winning and 
project delivery teams across the Gateway 
processes to ensure customer expectations are 
understood and realistic.

Deployment and ongoing monitoring of strong 
commercial management and contract 
administration processes through the 
project lifecycle.

Optimal scheduling of key staff and associated 
competencies within project delivery teams and 
senior management, with ongoing and 
focused training.

The site mobilisation hub facilitates early and 
effective start-up on site.

Use of innovative and cost-effective engineering 
and technical solutions (including the vision for 
25% offsite fabrication by 2025).

Drive for defect-free delivery including digital 
progressive assurance of project delivery.

Professional indemnity cover in place to provide 
further financial safeguards.

Prequalification and competency/capacity 
verification of supply chain partners, with 
performance of subcontractors and suppliers 
monitored closely throughout the project lifecycle.

The Group Tender and Investment Committee 
process also applies to all joint venture proposals.

The Group’s primary course is to self-deliver 
projects where possible rather than as part of a 
JV, whilst recognising that establishing the right 
partnership can be an opportunity to deliver work.

Appointment of an appropriately constituted JV 
Board to act as the main governance vehicle for 
the Group.

The Gated Business Lifecycle provides governance 
over the selection of JV partners, and highlights 
partner related risks, closely aligned to Group 
Circles of Risk including those related to capacity, 
capability, previous experience with the Group 
and liquidity. 

Experienced project directors are appointed to 
manage the JV and provide an ongoing 
assessment of operational delivery risk.

Good practice, including the use of joint reporting 
systems where appropriate, is shared between all 
partners to embed the Group’s expectations and 
culture throughout JV delivery teams.

Balfour Beatty monitors the performance of its JV 
partners throughout the lifecycle of a project.

No movement
Consistent application of 
the Group’s reporting 
systems and diligent use 
of short interval control 
processes remain in place 
across all stages of project 
delivery, providing greater 
certainty of operational 
outcomes. However it is 
acknowledged that 
continued verification of 
the effectiveness of 
controls remains key to 
managing this risk, hence 
no reduction in risk 
exposure.

Owner
Group Tender and 
Investment Committee

Risk movement 

No movement
Whilst there has been 
significant improvement 
in the process for entering 
JVs, the longer-term effect 
of this on the risk remains 
to be seen – ongoing 
exposure continues.

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Strategic reportPRINCIPAL RISKS CONTINUED

DESCRIPTION AND IMPACT

CAUSES

MITIGATION

5

  DATA PROTECTION

The Group is exposed to a 
significant data breach that results 
in a breach of the General Data 
Protection Regulation (GDPR).

What impact it might have
Crystallisation of this risk has the 
potential for:

 \ legal and regulatory proceedings, 
investigations or disputes and 
associated costs;

 \ operational impact (disruption to 

business as usual);

 \ costs and losses, fines and penalties;
\  reputational harm and potential 

debarment; and

 \ data subject rights process failure. 

For more information please 
see ‘Business integrity’ on 
pages 52 to 54

6

  CYBERSECURITY

A failure to protect key Company 
and employee data or other 
confidential information resulting 
from a breach of system security.

What impact it might have
Realisation of this risk could result in:

 \ reputational harm (loss of market 

and customer confidence);
 \ potential fines and prosecution;
 \ loss of intellectual property and 
competitive advantage; and

 \ operational impact restricting ability 
to carry out business critical activities 
(disruption to business as usual).

A data breach may be experienced 
due to:

 \ ineffective training/lack 

of competency;
 \ third-party error;
 \ system failure, lack of system 
capability or system breach; 
 \ malicious act (internal/external);
 \ lack of awareness;
 \ unforeseen or sudden increase in 

data handling;

 \ human error; and/or
 \ lack of corporate accountability.

HR Data Protection Coordinators and Data Privacy 
Champions remain embedded throughout the 
business to ensure breaches are reported 
promptly and risks are appropriately escalated to 
the Group Data Protection Officer (GDPO) for 
consideration and assessment.

Senior Information Risk Officer acts as Executive 
Committee representative for data protection.

All employees undertake annual training in data 
protection and information security management.

Implementation of standardised systems (including 
One Trust for managing data subject access requests 
(DSAR) and incidents) and appropriate policies, 
procedures and standard templates driving a 
culture of privacy across the organisation.

Increased engagement with Site of the Future 
teams allows for early involvement in IT initiatives 
from a privacy and data governance perspective.

Owner
Group management

Risk movement 

Decreased
Implementation of 
increased controls since 
the introduction of 
GDPR has reduced 
overall exposure.

Several internal and external factors 
could contribute to the realisation of 
this risk such as:

 \ poor internal governance;
 \ failure to embed preventative culture; 
 \ increased exposure to phishing 
attacks and ransomware due to 
increased use of personal devices 
and remote working;

 \ lack of retention policy applied 

to data; 

 \ operational failure.
 \ inconsistent approach to data 
security with joint venture / 
external partners;

 \ increased use of cloud services 

without equivalent investment in 
modern threat prevention; and/or

 \ cyber attack.

Owner
Group management

Risk movement 

No movement 
Whilst a potential impact 
increase in line with 
increased attempts is 
being seen more broadly 
across other sectors and 
organisations, increased 
resilience as a result of 
improved controls and 
ongoing governance has 
meant no material change 
to this risk.

The risk is managed via the following controls:

 \ network and endpoint protection, encryption, 

patching and data back-up;

 \ awareness training with mandated annual 

refresher in place across all users; 

 \ employee vetting;
 \ data governance framework regularly reviewed, 
and supported by policies and certifications; 
 \ incident management feedback mechanism 

(embeds lessons learned);

 \ partner and supplier controls in place including 
vendor risk management assessments and 
established relationships with external 
security authorities;

 \ roll out of One Drive to all users across the 
estate, enabling secure data storage in 
Microsoft cloud;

 \ infoSec actively monitoring for security 

incidents and remediating where necessary;
 \ privileged access to all core systems subject 

to multi-factor authentication;

 \ systems run security agents for additional 

(24x7) monitoring; and

 \ legacy operating systems removed or 

minimised, including upgrade and removal of 
employee legacy mobile devices.

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DESCRIPTION AND IMPACT

CAUSES

MITIGATION

7

  PEOPLE AND TALENT

Inability to attract and retain the 
required levels of skilled and 
competent staff and key talent to 
deliver project commitments and 
meet the Group’s objectives.

What impact it might have
Failure to recruit and retain 
appropriately skilled people or grow 
in-house talent could harm the 
Group’s ability to win or perform 
specific contracts, manage delivery 
cost increases, grow business and/or 
meet strategic objectives including 
acquisition of future order book.

A high level of staff turnover or low 
employee engagement could result in 
a loss of competency, reducing 
business confidence within the 
market, a loss of stakeholder 
confidence and an inability to drive 
business growth or improvements.

For more information please 
see ‘Our people’ on pages 71 
to 75

A failure to effectively mitigate the 
Group’s people risks may arise through:

 \ overbidding or ineffective 

Providing a positive working environment to 
support the development of its employees has 
been central to Build to Last.

Owner
The Board

Risk movement 

workload and location scheduling;

Specific controls to mitigate this risk include:

 \ overheating of market causing 

significant increase in demand or 
competition for people, specifically 
in certain sectors and regions;
 \ lack of visibility of long-term pipeline 
or perceived career progression 
resulting in existing workforce 
leaving the Group or sector;

 \ inability to recruit and retain strong 

performers;

 \ failure to maintain a culture of pride 
and advocacy across the workforce;
 \ ineffective and or lack of adequate 
investment and decision making in 
the development of existing skills 
and capabilities;

 \ lack of a diverse workforce; and/or
 \ issues throughout labour supply 
chain including impact of Brexit/ 
onerous immigration controls.

No movement
Through Build to Last, 
Balfour Beatty has 
created a culture with 
strong people policies and 
processes which continue 
to mitigate this risk.

The Group will monitor 
the impact that any delays 
to strategic projects has 
on the availability of 
skilled resource.

 \ implementation of HR strategy and plan and 
associated measurement of KPIs to inform 
decision making against budgets;

 \ a focus on strategic workforce planning 
protocol to prevent resource conflicts; 

 \ work winning and project delivery aligned to 
internal and external recruitment activities, 
with early review of people and resourcing 
needs via GBL to ensure adequate capability 
and capacity to deliver work prior to bidding;

 \ competency frameworks within core job 

families identify and support the development 
of key knowledge, skills and expertise;

 \ recruitment and retention rates are measured 
and regularly reviewed across all parts of the 
business, with succession plans identified for 
core disciplines;

 \ annual PPR (people and talent reviews), with 
regular reviews of remuneration and incentive 
arrangements to ensure they are appropriate to 
help the Group attract, motivate and retain 
key employees;

 \ Group-wide employee engagement surveys 
are undertaken to measure engagement and 
appropriate actions are developed and 
communicated;

 \ the Balfour Beatty Academy has been established 
in the UK to support professional and personal 
development in line with role requirements;
 \ Training Needs Analysis and competency tools 
(COMEA) identifies role capability requirements 
and highlights development gaps to inform 
investment decision making;

 \ strong employee communication channels are 
in place celebrating individual, business and 
Group-level successes and increasing visibility 
of future pipeline and opportunities;

 \ affinity networks established to create a diverse 

and inclusive working environment; and
 \ emerging talent is supported by strong 

graduate, apprenticeship, trainee and industrial 
placement/internship schemes.

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PRINCIPAL RISKS CONTINUED

DESCRIPTION AND IMPACT

CAUSES

MITIGATION

8

SUSTAINING FOCUS ON BUILD TO LAST STRATEGY

The Group does not sustain and 
build upon the strong foundation 
and culture created through its 
Build to Last strategy.

What impact it might have 
Inconsistency in working practices 
and siloed cultures could drive 
inefficiencies including increased 
costs and operational errors resulting 
in reputational harm impacting all of 
the Group’s stakeholders as well as 
an impact on the Group’s ability to 
deliver sustainable profitable growth. 

For more information please 
see ‘Our strategy: Build to Last’ 
on pages 12 and 13

Failure to deliver and/or demonstrate 
sustained focus and momentum 
could arise from:

Ensuring Build to Last continues to deliver and 
demonstrate value is a strategic priority for the 
Group and is led by the Group Chief Executive.

Owner
The Board

Risk movement 

 \ complacency and/or localised 

Controls include:

adaptations within core disciplines 
or siloed cultures; 

 \ ineffective communication and 
reinforcement of messaging 
through a lack of leadership;
 \ inadequate resourcing (financial, 
physical assets and people);
 \ new systems and processes 

being used without appropriate 
controls being in place and/or 
tested; and /or

 \ new people joining the 

organisation (including in 
leadership roles). 

 \ continuous measurement and reporting of KPIs 

aligned to Lean (cash flow and profit from 
operations), Expert (employee engagement), 
Trusted (customer satisfaction), Safe (Zero 
Harm) and Sustainable (carbon emissions) 
within each business unit;

 \ refreshed cultural framework under Build 
to Last with associated engagement and 
embedment in systems and processes aligning 
the UK and US under one unified cultural 
framework and reinforcing expected values 
and behaviours

 \ senior leadership team well experienced in 

delivering business transformation successfully 
with clear and frequent senior leadership 
engagement across the businesses;

 \ upskilling, training and development initiatives 

at key levels throughout the business to 
reinforce Build to Last principles in key job 
families i.e. commercial, project management, 
engineering etc; and

 \ induction, recognition and PDR approach 
heavily weighted around Build to Last 
principles and culture including expected 
values and behaviours.

Decreased
The recent launch of the 
refreshed Cultural 
framework and associated 
values and behaviours has 
strengthened and 
reinforced Build to Last 
principles and disciplines 
across the business – 
improved oversight via 
regular reporting and 
discussion around KPIs 
has reduced risk overall. 
Continuous messaging 
and reinforcement across 
all employee touch points 
remains key.

9

  FINANCIAL STRENGTH

The Group’s inability to maintain 
the financial strength required to 
operate its business and deliver 
its objectives.

Failure to manage financial risks, 
including forecasting material 
exposures, and the financial resources 
of the Group that underpin its ability to:

The Group continues to operate within a low financial 
risk environment. On 1 July 2020 the Group 
redeemed in full its preference shares for £112m, 
reflecting its continued strong liquidity position.

Owner
The Board

Risk movement 

What impact it might have
Failure to protect and effectively 
deliver the required financial strength 
will mean the Group:

 \ fails to meet financial covenant 
tests, as set out in its financing 
facility agreements, leading to a 
default event if not remedied within 
a specific grace period;

 \ fails to pass the required tests that 
allow it to continue to use the going 
concern basis of accounting in 
preparing its financial statements;
 \ loses the confidence of its chosen 

markets; and/or

 \ loses the ability to compete for key 
long-term contracts that are critical 
to its viability and delivery of its 
long-term objectives.

 \ meet ongoing liquidity obligations 
so that it remains a going concern; 
and/or

 \ meet financial covenants as set 

The Group operates with a centralised Treasury 
function that is responsible for managing key 
financial risks, cash resources and the availability 
of liquidity and credit capacity.

out in financing facility 
agreements.

No movement
Controls within Finance 
and Treasury functions 
continue to demonstrate a 
clear ability to manage 
existing and anticipated risk.

The Group maintains significant undrawn term 
committed bank facilities with a banking group of 
high credit quality to underpin the liquidity 
requirements of the Group.

The Group maintains significant bank and surety 
bonding facilities to deliver trade finance 
requirements of the Group on an ongoing basis.

The Group operates standardised reporting, 
forecasting and budgeting financial processes. 
This allows monitoring of the impact of business 
decisions on financial performance over future 
time horizons.

Assets from the Investments portfolio can be 
sold to generate cash.

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DESCRIPTION AND IMPACT

CAUSES

MITIGATION

10

  SUPPLY CHAIN

Supply chain partners fail to meet 
the Group’s operational expectations 
and requirements in relation to 
capacity, competency, quality, 
financial stability, safety, 
environmental, social and ethical.

What impact it might have
Failure in delivery by, or management 
of a subcontractor or supplier, 
would result in the Group becoming 
involved in disputes, having to find a 
replacement or undertaking the task 
itself. This could result in delays, 
business disruption, additional costs 
or a reduction in quality/increased 
defects owing to lack of expertise 
or competency.

Mistreatment of suppliers, 
subcontractors and their staff, or poor 
ethical standards in the supply chain, 
could lead to legal proceedings, 
investigations or disputes resulting in 
business disruption, losses, fines and 
penalties, reputational damage and 
debarment.

Owner
Group management

Risk movement 

No movement
The Group continues 
to be diligent in its 
assessment of its supply 
chain. The reduction in 
the number of active 
suppliers and increased 
system solutions to track 
performance and metrics 
throughout operational 
delivery improve oversight.

Crystallisation of capacity, competency 
and stability risks to the Group’s 
supply chain may arise through:

 \ lack of capacity or failing to retain 

subcontractors in a buoyant 
market\ over-reliance on a limited 
number of suppliers or a failure of 
key supplier relationships;
 \ failure to embed the Group’s 
expectations within the 
procurement process;

 \ inadequate assessment of supply 
chain partner capabilities, capacity 
and process (including liquidity, 
quality, safety, ethics, materials 
stewardship, child labour, forced 
labour and modern slavery);

 \ lack of supplier resilience (due to 
economic uncertainty including 
Brexit or any lagging effects seen 
as a result of COVID-19 and 
artificial ‘propping up’ from the 
furlough scheme);

 \ failure to accurately assess project 
resource requirements and key 
deliverables; 

 \ impact from Brexit including 
increased tariffs and delays; 
 \ lack of adequate oversight, 
supervision or management 
during delivery; and/or
 \ unethical treatment of the 

supply chain.

The Group aims to develop long-term relationships 
with key subcontractors, working closely with 
them to understand their operations and 
dependencies. This includes relationship mapping 
with strategic suppliers, lessons learned from 
previous projects together and briefing on order 
book requirements.

The Group has undertaken significant work to 
identify and understand who its key supply chain 
partners are, reducing the number to 40 known 
core partnerships.

The risk management framework and the Gateway 
review process allow for early (Gates 1–4) and 
ongoing (Gate 6) assessment of the appropriateness 
of resource allocation and dependencies and 
development of procurement strategies.

Pre-qualification accreditation in place for core 
suppliers (validated in Gates 1–3), with oversight 
of supplier metrics and overall ‘health’.

Contingency plans address potential subcontractor 
failure, including replacement supplier list.

A central database tracks individual subcontractor 
scoring in relation to capacity, compliance, 
performance and financial health.

The Group obtains project retentions, bonds and/
or letters of credit from subcontractors, where 
appropriate to mitigate the impact of any insolvency.

Suppliers and subcontractors reviewed for 
third-party suitability compliance via PAS 91 
Assessment (Industry Standard).

Group-wide Code of Conduct and Supplier Code 
of Conduct, targeted training programmes and 
related policies and procedures in place.

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Strategic reportPRINCIPAL RISKS CONTINUED

DESCRIPTION AND IMPACT

CAUSES

MITIGATION

11

  CODE OF CONDUCT COMPLIANCE

Failure to comply with the Code 
of Conduct across the Group 
including employees, JV partners, 
and within the supply chain.

What impact it might have
Failure to comply with the Code of 
Conduct and Balfour Beatty values 
could leave the Group exposed to:

 \ instances of bribery and corruption;
 \ fraud, deception, false claims or 

false accounting;

 \ unfair competition practices;
 \ human rights abuses, such as child 

and other labour standards 
generally, illegal workers, human 
trafficking and modern slavery;
 \ unethical treatment of and by the 

supply chain; and/or
 \ ethics and values being 

compromised as a result of 
commercial pressures.

Failures could result in legal proceedings 
(including prosecution under the UK 
Bribery Act), investigations or disputes 
resulting in business disruption, 
losses, fines and penalties, reputational 
damage and debarment.

For more information please 
see ‘Business integrity’ on 
pages 52 to 54

Failure to comply with the Code of 
Conduct and Balfour Beatty values 
could arise from:

 \ failure to adopt a risk-based 

approach;

 \ failure to establish appropriate 

corporate culture;

 \ failure to embed the Company’s 
values and behaviours through 
the organisation;

 \ lack of effective training programme 

and compliance monitoring; 

 \ failure to have a robust testing and 
monitoring programme in place;

 \ lack of appropriate whistle 

blowing processes including 
ensuring awareness of such 
outlets across the organisation; 
and/or

 \ deliberate or reckless 

non-compliance.

A Group-wide Code of Conduct and Supplier 
Code of Conduct, and related policies, procedures 
and training are in place, promoted, monitored 
and assessed by the Business Integrity function.

Owner
The Board

Risk movement 

The function provides business integrity reports 
to the Board biannually and has its full support. 
Each business unit, supported by the Business 
Integrity function, is responsible for embedding 
the Code of Conduct and the Company’s values 
and behaviours within its operations.

The Group has a range of operational controls 
(commercial, including procurement, due 
diligence and risk assessment) that are designed 
to identify and manage risks internally and with 
third parties.

An independent third-party whistleblowing 
helpline and dedicated email contact are in place 
and actively promoted. All in-scope complaints 
are independently investigated by the Business 
Integrity function and appropriate action is taken, 
where necessary.

Balfour Beatty works with a limited number of agents, 
all of whom are, in addition to the Group’s due 
diligence and approval process, subject to specific 
contractual clauses, policies and agreements. 

Use of a central database to track supplier and 
subcontractor performance history providing 
insight into their internal operating processes, 
governance and values.

Decreased
The Business Integrity 
function continues to 
actively promote the 
required behaviours 
and learning tools to 
comprehensively support 
the Group’s conduct and 
compliance objectives. 
The risk is assessed as 
having reduced due to 
the consistent application 
of these controls.

12

  LEGAL AND REGULATORY

The Group does not respond to 
any change in relevant legal, tax 
and regulatory requirements in a 
timely manner.

A failure to recognise or adapt to 
potential impacts arising from changes 
in applicable laws affecting the 
Group’s businesses may result from:

What impact it might have
The Group could face legal proceedings, 
investigations or disputes resulting in 
business disruption, losses, fines and 
penalties, reputational damage and 
exclusion from bidding.

Such action could also impact upon 
the valuation of assets within the 
affected territory as well as have an 
impact on shareholder confidence.

 \ lack of awareness of any changes 

in law or regulations made;

 \ ineffective communication of the 
requirements across relevant 
business units; and/or

 \ entering into new markets and/ or 
sections with limited expertise 
and due diligence.

The Group monitors and responds to tax, legal 
and regulatory developments and requirements in 
the territories in which it operates.

Owner
The Board

Risk movement 

Changes in the law and the requirements of them 
are clearly cascaded to all affected businesses.

Local legal and regulatory frameworks are 
considered as part of any decision to conduct 
business in a new territory.

Appropriate and responsive policies, procedures, 
training and risk management processes are in 
place throughout the business.

No movement
Unforeseen exposure to 
legal and regulatory 
change is considered 
extremely unlikely- the 
controls embedded 
across the Group are 
considered effective 
in managing this risk.

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DESCRIPTION AND IMPACT

CAUSES

MITIGATION

13

  LEGACY PENSION LIABILITIES

The Group is exposed to and must 
therefore effectively manage 
significant defined benefit pension 
risks.

What impact it might have
Failure to manage these risks adequately 
could lead to the Group being exposed 
to significant additional liabilities due 
to increased pension deficits.

This has the potential to affect the 
ongoing sustainability of the Group as 
well as incur reputational harm.

The Group is unable to ensure that 
the trustees of the pension funds 
react effectively to or manage:

 \ changes in interest rates or 

outlook for inflation;

 \ an increase in life expectancies;
 \ regulatory intervention or 

legislative change;

 \ prudent funding assumptions; 

and/or

 \ investment performance of the 

funds’ assets.

The Group constructively and regularly engages 
with the trustees of the pension funds to ensure 
that they are taking appropriate advice and the 
funds’ assets and liabilities are being managed 
appropriately. This includes quarterly performance 
reporting and investment committee meetings in 
which the Company is represented.

The funding and investment arrangements of the 
pension funds are subject to an in-depth triennial 
valuation and funding review with regular 
monitoring in years between.

The Group’s main UK fund has hedged in excess 
of 80% of its exposure to interest rate and 
inflation movements.

14

  ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY

The effects of national or market 
trends including political or 
regulatory change, may cause 
customers to re-evaluate existing 
or future infrastructure expenditure 
and the procurement of services. 
It may also lead to changes in the 
price and availability of labour 
and products.

What impact it might have
Any significant delay or reduction in 
the level of customer spending or 
investment plans could adversely 
impact the Group’s strategy and order 
book, reduce revenue or profitability 
in the near or medium term, and 
negatively impact the longer-term 
viability of the Group.

Restrictions on the availability of 
skilled labour and competitively priced 
materials could lead to increased 
costs and hence potentially a 
devaluation of the business.

Financial failure of a customer, 
including any government or public 
sector body, could result in increased 
financial exposure to counterparty risk.

Potentially negative impacts related 
to the effects of:

 \ customers postponing, reducing 
or changing expenditure plans 
including any delays in funding or 
planning associated with COVID-19;
 \ wider than expected fluctuations 

in inflation;

 \ lagging effects from Brexit – e.g. 
inflation, exits from market or lack 
of UK investment having a 
knock-on effect; 

 \ increased competition (e.g. in the 

UK from foreign investors 
acquiring competitors);

 \ political change in both the UK and 
the US (new US administration 
may have potential impact on 
Federal spend);

 \ increased supply chain risks (e.g. 
solvency, people and materials); 
and/or

 \ reduced revenue or pressure 

on margins.

The Group primarily operates across three 
geographies (UK, US and Hong Kong) and three 
sectors (Construction Services, Support Services 
and Infrastructure Investments). This balanced 
portfolio of projects provides resilience and 
stability as the Group is less exposed to a 
downturn in a single geography or sector.

The Group continues to actively monitor market 
trends and potential impacts. A well-established 
cross-functional Brexit working group remains in 
place following the end of the transition period.

The financial solvency and strength of counterparties 
is always considered before contracts are signed 
and assessments are updated and reviewed 
whenever possible during the project lifecycle. 
The business also seeks to ensure that it is not 
over-reliant on any one counterparty.

The annual review of market forecasts continues 
to remain a core part of the Group’s Budget and 
Plan processes, and a focus on medium-term 
market outlook is considered and presented by 
each Strategic Business Unit. 

Owner
The Board

Risk movement 

No movement 
Triennial funding review 
of the main UK fund was 
completed in January 
2020. Diverse 
investment portfolio 
remains in place, with 
regular review on the 
trade off between risk 
and cost. No change 
in risk.

Owner
The Board

Risk movement 

No movement
Whilst there has been 
some shorter-term 
movement seen, including 
opportunities associated 
with government 
infrastructure spend, the 
longer-term outlook 
remains uncertain. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

101

Strategic reportPRINCIPAL RISKS CONTINUED

VIABILITY STATEMENT

Other risks
Climate change
Whilst climate change is not currently 
considered to be a principal risk to the 
business, it has been included as a risk on 
the Group Risk Register in 2020. The 
establishment of a sustainability specific 
functional risk register ensures the 
identification and management of climate 
related risks at a granular level to inform any 
movement or assessment at Group level.

Climate change increasing the intensity and 
frequency of weather events, infrastructure 
being deemed incompatible with targets and 
tightening of environmental legislation are 
identified as some the key drivers of the risk. 
It is acknowledged that whilst there remains 
risk associated with climate change to the 
Group’s business, it also presents a significant 
opportunity as Balfour Beatty works 
alongside clients to be part of the solution.

Further commentary on the potential impacts 
of climate change and Balfour Beatty’s 
approach to managing them is set out in the 
sustainability section on pages 55 to 70. 
Climate change risk is on pages 63 and 64.

Brexit
Following the end of the UK’s transition 
period on 31 December 2020, which ended 
previous exposures associated with the 
prolonged uncertainty around the terms of 
exit, the Group risk register no longer captures 
Brexit as a stand-alone risk. Any ongoing 
potential impacts or factors associated with 
Brexit are reflected as part of broader Group 
risks around supply chain and economic 
uncertainty.

Common industry-wide risks
In parallel with those principal and emerging 
risks identified and managed by the Group, 
Balfour Beatty faces significant risks and 
uncertainties that are prevalent to many 
companies – including financial and treasury, 
communications and marketing, regulatory 
reporting, information management, 
business continuity and disaster recovery, 
and general hazard risks.

In accordance with the requirements of the 
Code, the Directors have assessed the Group’s 
long-term prospects and its viability over a 
three-year period to 31 December 2023.

Assessing the Group’s 
long-term prospects
The Group operates primarily in the UK, US 
and Hong Kong, specialising in multiple facets 
of the construction and services industry. 
The Group also maintains an Investments 
portfolio which provides a strong underpin 
to the Group’s balance sheet.

The Group has many elements necessary 
for future business success – expertise in 
technology and innovation, strong customer 
relationships and a talented workforce. 
The Group seeks to build on these strong 
foundations with continued investment in 
technological advances, not only to ensure 
that projects are delivered on time and as 
efficiently as possible whilst maintaining the 
upmost focus on safety, but also to remain 
market leaders in the way construction is 
conducted and to push the boundaries of 
innovation in line with achieving industry 
leading margins.

In doing so, the Group is also mindful of the 
effects it has on the environment. The Group 
strives to adapt to the emerging demand to 
deliver innovative and sustainable solutions 
to ensure the impact of any adverse 
environmental impact is appropriately 
mitigated against.

Assessing the Group’s viability
The Directors have assessed the Group’s 
viability over a three-year period and consider 
this to be appropriate because this is the 
period aligned to the current order book 
and for which there is a good visibility of 
the pipeline of potential new projects. This 
period also allows greater certainty over the 
forecasting assumptions used in labour and 
material pricing, skills and availability. In the 
longer term, there is also significant political 
uncertainty. There is inherently limited 
visibility of contract bidding opportunities 
beyond the three-year period, and the 
accuracy of any forecasting exercise is also 
impeded by uncertainties around the costs 
involved in delivering contracts. Consequently, 
the Group performs its medium-term 
planning over three years.

The Directors and the Executive Risk 
Steering Group continue to monitor the 
principal risks facing the Group, including 
those that would threaten the execution of its 
strategy, its business model, future performance, 
solvency and liquidity. As part of assessing 
the Group’s future viability, the Directors 
have considered these principal risks and the 
mitigations available to the Group. These 
principal risks and the consequent impact 
these might have on the Group as well as 
mitigations that are in place are detailed on 
pages 93 to 102.

In their assessment of the Group’s viability, 
the Directors have also considered the need 
to be successful in focusing on the Group’s 
values of Lean, Expert, Trusted, Safe and 
Sustainable detailed on pages 10 to 13.

The Group has continued to exploit 
opportunities to re-engineer processes, 
reducing cost whilst maintaining or improving 
efficiencies. The Group’s Build to Last values 
for continuous improvement remains critical 
to future success, although success is also 
dependent on the Group’s ability to 
selectively win new contracts which will be 
partly impacted by political changes.

The Directors have assessed the Group’s 
viability in conjunction with its current position 
as well as its projections of its various debt 
facilities and associated covenants. These 
financial projections are based on the Group’s 
Three Year Plan, which has been built on a 
bottom-up basis with a Group overlay to 
provide a more top-down view and align to 
the Group’s strategic objectives. These 
projections indicate that the projected 
headroom, provided by the Group’s strong 
liquidity position, including its net cash position 
and under the debt facilities currently in place, 
is adequate to support the Group over the 
next three years, whilst still enabling the 
Group to repay the third tranche of its US 
private placement loan of US$209 million in 
March 2023. The Group does not have any 
other debt repayment obligations in the 
viability assessment period. In testing the 
headroom available under the key sensitivities 
modelled, the Group has assumed that this 
repayment will not be replaced with another 
form of debt. 

102

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

In assessing the Group’s viability under these 
severe but plausible scenarios (including in the 
instance of a ‘perfect storm’), the Directors 
have also considered the Group’s projected 
cash position (which excludes cash that is 
not immediately available to the Group), bank 
facilities and their maturity profile and 
covenants, the borrowing powers allowed 
under the Company’s Articles of Association 
and the fact that the Group’s PPP investments 
comprise reasonably realisable securities 
which can be sold to meet funding 
requirements if necessary.

It is unlikely, but not impossible, that the 
crystallisation of a single risk would test the 
future viability of the Group. However, it is 
possible to construct scenarios where either 
multiple occurrences of the same risk, or 
single occurrences of different principal risks, 
could put pressure on the Group’s ability to 
meet its financial covenants. The Directors 
have considered the strength of the mitigations 
available and whether these are sufficient to 
avoid a catastrophic outcome to the Group’s 
viability and believe that there are sufficient 
mitigations immediately available to minimise 
this risk.

Based on the assessment undertaken to 
stress-test the Group’s viability against 
severe but plausible scenarios, and taking 
into account the strength of mitigations that 
are immediately available to the Group, the 
Directors have concluded that there is a 
reasonable expectation that the Group will 
be able to continue in operation and meet its 
liabilities as they fall due over the three-year 
period until 31 December 2023.

Our 2020 Strategic report, from pages 
1 to 103, was approved by the Board 
on 9 March 2021.

Philip Harrison

Chief Financial Officer 

9 March 2021

The Group has access to its £375m 
committed bank facility, which was undrawn 
throughout the year to 31 December 2020 
and remains fully available to the Group until 
October 2023, with a one-year extension 
option through to October 2024 available to 
the Group subject to lenders’ consent. 

The Group’s projections have been stress-
tested against key sensitivities which could 
materialise as a result of crystallisation of one 
or a combination of the Group’s principal 
risks with the aim of stress-testing the 
Group’s future viability against severe but 
plausible scenarios. These scenarios include:

 \ failure to manage effectively any lagging 
effects caused by Britain’s exit from the 
European Union;

 \ an inability to collect recoverable amounts;

 \ an operating event that damages the Group’s 
reputation and results in significant penalty;

 \ more onerous payment terms demanded 
from suppliers leading to a reduction in 
creditor payment days; and

 \ failure to maintain the values of 

Build to Last.

The above scenarios result in: a reduction in 
revenue; a reduction in margin; an increase in 
operating costs; a slowdown in the Group’s 
investments asset disposal programme; and/
or negative changes to working capital.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 
impact it has had on the Group’s results, the 
Directors have also sensitised its projections 
against severe but plausible downside scenarios 
which could materialise. Further details of 
this can be found in the Group’s going 
concern disclosures on pages 128 and 170. 

The Directors also assessed a ‘perfect storm’ 
scenario by combining multiple scenarios 
(including COVID-19 downside scenarios as 
described in the Group’s Going Concern 
disclosure in Note 1) and modelling the 
resulting downside to stress-test the Group’s 
viability if these cash flows were to 
immediately and simultaneously come under 
severe threat. This scenario is aimed to test 
the viability of the Group if it was to experience 
a catastrophic failure and to allow the Directors 
to assess the mitigations available to avoid this.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

103

Strategic report Governance 
Promoting the long-term, 
sustainable success of 
the Company

IN THIS SECTION

Board leadership and  
Company purpose

Division of  
responsibilities

Composition,  
succession and 
evaluation

Committee  
reports

Audit, risk and  
internal control

Remuneration

Directors’ report

– Group Chair’s introduction 
– Board of Directors 
– Board activities 
– Promoting a positive culture 
– Stakeholder engagement

– Corporate governance framework

– Board composition 
– Board succession 
– Board evaluation

– Report of the Nomination Committee 
– Report of the Safety and Sustainability Committee

– Report of the Audit and Risk Committee 
– Risk management and internal control

– Report of the Remuneration Committee  
– Remuneration outcomes at a glance 
– Summary of policy and implementation in 2021 
– Annual Report on remuneration

p105

p116

p119

p122

p126

p134

p151

104

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

BOARD LEADERSHIP AND COMPANY PURPOSE

Group Chair’s 
introduction

Dear Shareholder
On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to 
present Balfour Beatty’s corporate 
governance report for 2020.

The Board provides effective leadership in 
promoting the long-term sustainable success 
of the Company. It establishes the Group’s 
purpose, values and strategy, ensuring that 
these are aligned to the culture of the business. 
In shaping the Group’s strategic direction, the 
Board has sought to ensure that good governance 
standards are embedded throughout the 
organisation to support Balfour Beatty’s 
purpose of Building New Futures. 

The financial year under review has proved to 
be challenging as a consequence of COVID-19. 
It has become more apparent that a strong 
corporate governance framework and a 
positive culture are the foundations of a 
resilient business. The Board acted quickly 
and decisively in response to the impact of 
COVID-19, leading the business from 
temporary site and office closures through to 
the re-opening of sites and offices where 
possible, having full regard to Balfour 
Beatty’s COVID-19 Site Operating 
Procedures.

As announced earlier this year, I will be 
stepping down from the Board of Directors 
at the AGM, after an orderly handover of 
my responsibilities.

UK Corporate Governance Code 
The Company is subject to the Financial 
Reporting Council’s (FRC) 2018 UK Corporate 
Governance Code (the Code), being the accepted 
standard of good governance practice in the 
UK. A copy of the Code can be found on the 
FRC’s website at: www.frc.org.uk. This 
report, together with the reports from the 
Audit and Risk, Nomination, Remuneration 
and Safety and Sustainability Committees 
provides details of how the Company has 
applied the principles of the Code (pages 105 
to 153). 

During 2020, we have sought to refine some 
of our existing practices to enhance our 
approach to governance. We have reviewed 
the terms of reference for each main Board 
Committee, to ensure that they are fit for 
purpose and fully reflect the current ways of 
working, which led to improvements being 
made to increase efficiency. 

Our culture
The Board recognises its role in setting the 
Group’s purpose, values and strategy. During 
the year, a UK Wellbeing survey and the 
Group Employee Engagement survey were 
carried out, the results of which were shared 
with the Board. In addition, the site visits that 
members of the Board were able to undertake 
in accordance with COVID-19 protocols, 
provided an insight into the Company’s 
culture and enabled the Board to understand 
the views of employees on matters of 
significance to them.

The Board acted 
quickly and decisively 
in response to the 
challenges posed by 
the COVID-19 
pandemic, ensuring 
decisions and actions 
were taken to 
promote the 
long-term sustainable 
success of the 
Company.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

105

GovernanceIt has been a pleasure 
serving as your 
Group Chair and I am 
proud of what we 
have achieved during 
my tenure and of the 
executive leadership 
team’s efforts in 
implementing the 
Build to Last strategy.

BOARD LEADERSHIP AND COMPANY PURPOSE CONTINUED

Board composition
The Board regularly reviews its composition 
to ensure it retains a balance of skills, 
experience, independence and knowledge, 
which enables it to discharge its duties 
and responsibilities effectively. I can report 
that there have been no changes to the 
composition of the Board in 2020. 

As in previous years, all Directors will stand 
for re-election by shareholders at the 2021 
Annual General Meeting. Further information 
on matters relating to the composition of the 
Board can be found on pages 119 to 121.

Succession planning
During 2020, the Board continued to assess 
the talent pipeline and identify the skills 
needed to support our Build to Last strategy. 
For example, Mark Bullock was appointed as 
Chief Executive Officer for UK Construction 
Services, Matthew Steele was appointed to 
the Executive Committee as Managing 
Director, Rail & Utilities, and Tracey Wood 
was appointed to the Executive Committee 
as Group General Counsel and 
Company Secretary. 

During the Board’s UK strategy session in 
July, the Board met remotely with a range of 
the Executive Committee’s direct reports 
from each of the strategic business units.

Further information on succession planning 
can be found on page 120.

Relations with stakeholders
The Board and I continue to recognise the 
responsibility that we have to the Group’s full 
range of stakeholders, including employees, 
shareholders, supply chain and strategic 
partners, governments, and the environment 
and communities in which it operates, and 
this forms an integral part of the Board’s 
discussions and decision-making.

Safety and sustainability
Tragically during 2020, there were four 
fatalities across the Group – three within 
Gammon, Balfour Beatty’s 50:50 joint 
venture based in Hong Kong, and one in the 
UK. The Safety and Sustainability Committee 
received reports setting out details of each 
incident and subsequent investigations, 
including an analysis of safety measures and 
improvements and learnings for the future. 
Such incidents are a sad reminder of the risks 
that our colleagues and partners face in 

delivering projects for the Group’s 
customers. The Board remains determined to 
drive industry-wide improvements in such 
areas to better protect all who work on 
Balfour Beatty’s sites.

Remuneration
Our remuneration policy was approved by 
shareholders at the 2020 AGM. The new 
policy is designed to support the delivery of 
the Group’s strategy and promote its 
long-term sustainable success, by ensuring 
that Balfour Beatty is able to attract and 
retain talented individuals with the requisite 
skills and experience to lead the Group. 
Details of how we are operating that policy 
can be found in the Remuneration Report on 
pages 134 to 150. 

Evaluation
In 2020, an internally facilitated review of the 
performance of the Board, its main 
Committees and individual Directors was 
completed. Useful opportunities for 
improvement on specific aspects of our 
governance practices were highlighted and 
are set out on pages 120 and 121. 

Overall, the results confirmed that the Board 
and its Committees continue to function 
effectively and in accordance with their 
respective constitutions.

Looking forward
The Board will continue to respond to the 
challenges brought about by the ongoing 
COVID-19 pandemic and is confident that its 
commitment to the Company’s culture will 
result in the right decisions and actions being 
taken to promote the sustainable success of 
the Company over the long-term.

It has been a pleasure serving as your 
Group Chair and I am proud of what we 
have achieved during my tenure and of 
the executive leadership team’s efforts in 
implementing the Build to Last strategy. 
I look forward to handing over to my 
successor once they have been identified.

Philip Aiken AM
Group Chair

9 March 2021

106

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

BOARD OVERVIEW

BOARD MEMBERS BY GENDER

BALANCE OF THE BOARD

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ TENURE

 Male 
 Female 

6
2

 Non-executive 
 Executive 

6
2

 0-3 years  1
 3-6 years  5

BOARD & COMMITTEE MEETING ATTENDANCE AT SCHEDULED MEETINGS DURING THE YEAR

KEY 

 Attended

DIREC TOR

B

BOARD

A

AUDIT  
AND RISK

N

NOMINATION

R

REMUNERATION

S

SAFETY AND 
SUSTAINABILITY

Philip Aiken

Leo Quinn

Philip Harrison

Stephen Billingham

Anne Drinkwater

Stuart Doughty

Barbara Moorhouse

Michael Lucki

BOARD & COMMITTEE SCHEDULED MEETINGS DURING THE YEAR

B

R

S

B

A

N

R

S

B

A

R

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

B

S

JUL

B

B

A

B

B

A

R

S

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

107

Governance 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BOARD LEADERSHIP AND COMPANY PURPOSE CONTINUED

Board of Directors

The Directors have skills and experience relevant to the sector in 
which the Group operates in order to effectively set the strategic 
direction and purpose of the Group.

PHILIP AIKEN AM
Non-executive Group Chair 

LEO QUINN
Group Chief Executive 

PHILIP HARRISON
Chief Financial Officer

N

R

S

N

S

Appointed
26 March 2015

Nationality
Australian

Appointed
1 January 2015

Nationality
British

Independent
On appointment

Independent
No

Experience
Philip has 50 years of board-level 
experience including extensive international 
business expertise, principally in 
the resources sectors. Philip was a 
non-executive director of National Grid 
plc, chairman of Robert Walters plc, a 
non-executive (and senior independent) 
director of Kazakhmys plc and Essar 
Energy plc, and a senior adviser at 
Macquarie Bank Ltd. Prior to that, he was 
group president energy at BHP Billiton, 
president at BHP Petroleum and chief 
executive of BTR Nylex, and held senior 
roles in BOC Group. 

Philip was awarded a Member of the 
Order of Australia in June 2013. Philip 
serves as a non-executive director of 
Gammon China Ltd, the 50:50 joint 
venture between Balfour Beatty and 
Jardine Matheson, and its subsidiary 
Gammon Construction Holdings Ltd.

Key external appointments
Philip is non-executive chairman of 
Aveva Group plc, a non-executive 
director of Newcrest Mining Limited and 
a director of Australia Day Foundation.

Experience
Leo has strong leadership expertise and 
has significant experience of successfully 
delivering transformation strategies for 
large multi-national companies. Leo is a 
civil engineer and began his career at 
Balfour Beatty. He was educated at 
Portsmouth University and Imperial 
College, London, where he completed his 
MSc in Management Science. Before 
being appointed as Group Chief Executive 
at Balfour Beatty, Leo spent five years as 
group chief executive of QinetiQ Group plc 
and, prior to that, five years as chief 
executive officer of De La Rue plc. Before 
this, he spent almost four years as chief 
operating officer of Invensys plc’s 
production management business, 
headquartered in the US and 16 years with 
Honeywell Inc. in senior management 
roles across the UK, Europe, the Middle 
East and Africa, including global president 
of H&BC Enterprise Solutions. Leo was 
previously a non-executive director of 
Betfair Group plc and Tomkins plc.

Key external appointments
Leo is the founder of The 5% Club, 
a UK employer led initiative focused 
on reducing youth unemployment by 
creating momentum behind the 
recruitment of apprentices and 
graduates into the workforce and a 
member of the Build Back Better Council. 

Nationality
British

Appointed
1 June 2015

Independent
No

Experience
Philip has considerable financial expertise 
and extensive experience of working 
in large multi-national manufacturing 
and services businesses. Philip was 
appointed as Chief Financial Officer in 
June 2015, having previously served as 
group finance director at Hogg Robinson 
Group plc, and as group finance director 
at VT Group plc. Prior to that, he was 
VP finance at Hewlett-Packard (Europe, 
Middle East and Africa regions) and was 
a member of the EMEA board.

Philip’s earlier career included senior 
international finance roles at Compaq, 
Rank Xerox and Texas Instruments. Philip 
is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of 
Management Accountants.

Key external appointments
Philip does not hold any external 
appointments. 

DR STEPHEN BILLINGHAM CBE
Non-executive Director and  
Senior Independent Director

A

N

Appointed
1 June 2015

Independent
Yes

Nationality
British

Experience
Stephen has significant recent and 
relevant financial experience and has 
worked in the construction, 
infrastructure and support services 
industries for over 30 years. Stephen 
was the chief financial officer of British 
Energy Group plc (a FTSE 100 company 
and the UK’s largest electricity 
generator) and the group finance director 
of the FTSE 250 company, WS Atkins 
plc. He was also executive chairman at 
Punch Taverns plc, the UK’s second 
largest pub owner and non-executive 
chairman of Anglian Water Group. He 
played instrumental roles in the financial 
and operational transformation of all 
companies. Stephen also spent 11 years 
with Balfour Beatty, when it was named 
BICC plc, in corporate finance and other 
roles. He is a fellow of the Association of 
Corporate Treasurers. He was awarded a 
CBE by the Queen in 2019 for services 
to Government owned, public and 
regulated businesses.

Key external appointments
Stephen is currently non-executive 
chairman of Urenco Ltd. He chaired the 
Urenco Ltd Audit Committee from 2009 
to 2015.

108

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

COMMITTEES KEY

 Chair

 Member

A  Audit and Risk 

N  Nomination 

R  Remuneration

S  Safety and Sustainability

ANNE DRINKWATER
Non-executive Director 

STUART DOUGHTY CMG
Non-executive Director 

BARBARA MOORHOUSE
Non-executive Director 

MICHAEL LUCKI
Non-executive Director 

R

S

Appointed
1 December 
2018

Independent
Yes 

Nationality
British

S

A

N

Appointed
8 April 2015

Independent
Yes

Nationality
British

A

N

R

Appointed
1 June 2017

Independent
Yes

A

R

Nationality
British

Appointed
1 July 2017

Nationality:
American

Independent:
Yes

Experience
Anne has significant experience in heavy 
industry including multiple large capital 
expenditure projects with infrastructure 
considerations and knowledge of doing 
business in the UK and US. She was at 
BP plc for over 30 years, holding a 
number of senior strategic and 
operational roles across multiple 
jurisdictions including the US, Norway, 
Indonesia, the Middle East and Africa 
culminating in the role of president and 
CEO of the Canadian business. Anne 
was previously a non-executive director 
at Aker Solutions A.S.A. and at UK listed 
Tullow Oil plc, where she served on a 
number of key board committees. She 
was previously oil and gas adviser to the 
Falkland Islands Government.

Key external appointments
Anne is a non-executive director of 
Equinor A.S.A.

Experience
Stuart has over 54 years experience in the 
civil engineering, construction and 
infrastructure sectors. Stuart was chief 
executive of Costain Group plc between 
2001 and 2005. This followed executive 
positions in Welsh multi-utility Hyder plc, 
Alfred McAlpine plc and Tarmac 
Construction, where he represented the 
company on the Channel Tunnel board, 
following 21 years with John Laing 
Construction. He has also served as a 
senior non-executive director of Scott 
Wilson Group plc, and as chairman of 
Alstec Ltd, Somero plc and Beck and 
Pollitzer Limited. He is a Chartered 
Engineer and a fellow of both the 
Institution of Civil Engineers and the 
Institute of Highway Engineers. Stuart 
was honoured by the Queen with a CMG 
in 2004 and received an honorary 
doctorate from Aston University in 2018. 

Key external appointments
Stuart is a non-executive director 
representing AustralianSuper (the largest 
pension fund in Australia) on the Board of 
King’s Cross Development Partnership LLP. 

Experience
Barbara has extensive leadership 
experience across the private, public and 
regulated sectors. She was group finance 
director at Morgan Sindall plc, regulatory 
director at South West Water and chief 
finance officer for two international listed 
IT companies – Kewill Systems plc and 
Scala Business Solutions NV. Latterly, 
she was director general at the Ministry of 
Justice and the Department for Transport. 
Her most recent executive appointment 
was as chief operating officer at 
Westminster City Council. She is a fellow 
of the Chartered Institute of Management 
Accountants and an associate member of 
the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Experience:
Michael has over 40 years of business 
and leadership experience in the US and 
internationally in the engineering and 
construction sector. He has held a 
number of leadership and finance roles, 
including that of chief financial officer, 
executive vice president and board 
member at CH2M HILL. He was formerly 
an audit partner at Ernst & Young LLP 
and as its global industry leader for 
infrastructure, construction and 
engineering practices. He has recently 
acted as a strategic adviser to companies 
and private equity firms in the engineering 
and construction industry.

Key external appointments
Barbara is chair of the Rail Safety 
Standards Board and a non-executive 
director at Aptitude Software Group plc 
and Agility Trains East (Holdings) Limited. 
Additionally, she is a director at Heartgood 
Ltd and at Kipling House Management 
Right to Manage Company Limited.

Key external appointments:
Michael is a board member of Pankow 
Management Services, Psomas and 
Pankow Management Inc. and also 
serves as an advisory board member of 
Anchor QEA, LLC. He is a trustee of the 
California State University Foundation 
Board and a member of the Investment 
Advisory Committee of The California 
State University System.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

109

Governance 
BOARD LEADERSHIP AND COMPANY PURPOSE CONTINUED

Board activities

The Board met sufficiently frequently 
throughout the year to fully discharge its 
duties. There were eight scheduled meetings 
held, the majority of which took place via 
video conference as a result of the restrictions 
imposed following the outbreak of the 
COVID-19 virus. 

Balfour Beatty understands the importance 
of delivering attractive total cash returns to 
shareholders. The Group is therefore committed 
to maintaining an appropriate balance between 
investment in the business, maintaining a 
strong capital position and cash returns to 
shareholders. In March 2021 the Company 
announced a new capital allocation framework 
which can be read in full on page 11.

HOW THE BOARD SPENT 
ITS TIME DURING 2020 

INDICATION OF TIME SPENT IN 
BOARD MEETINGS 

Sub-committees were established and met 
on an ad hoc basis in order to deal with 
matters arising outside the formal schedule 
of meetings.

Meetings were attended by all Board 
members and attendance details can be 
found on page 107. There were additional ad 
hoc Board & Committee meetings that took 
place within the year relating to COVID-19 
and Group Chair succession. 

The Group Chair sets agendas, with support 
from the Company Secretary, and ensures 
sufficient time is allocated to promote 
effective debate and to support sound 
decision-making. 

The Company Secretary supports the Group 
Chair in annual agenda planning, ensuring 
that matters are scheduled for the 
appropriate meetings based on the business 
cycle and an even distribution of matters 
throughout the year.

In addition, the Board holds ‘Focus’ sessions, 
which are deep-dive presentations covering 
specific topics, such as individual key projects 
and other matters of strategic significance.

A full schedule of Board activities can be 
found opposite and further detail on key 
actions below. 

Capital allocation
In March 2020, the Company announced the 
postponement of its final dividend as a result 
of the postponement of the AGM at which 
the final dividend was to be approved. In 
June 2020, the Board decided that no final 
dividend for 2019 would be paid given the 
uncertain economic climate due to COVID-19.

In July 2020, the Company’s cumulative 
convertible redeemable preference shares 
were redeemed in full.

The Board is committed to a sustainable 
ordinary dividend which is expected to grow 
over time, targeted at a pay-out ratio of 40% 
of underlying profit after tax excluding gain 
on disposal of Investment assets. The Board 
has therefore recommended a final dividend 
of 1.5 pence per share for the year ended 31 
December 2020. There was no interim 
dividend, so the total dividend for the year is 
also 1.5 pence per share.

COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a 
devastating impact on the global population, 
changing society dramatically within a short 
space of time. The effects of the pandemic 
have been far reaching, bringing about social 
and economic uncertainty. The pandemic has 
therefore been at the forefront of the Board’s 
agenda, shaping its conversations around 
risk, internal control, resourcing and strategy.

The UK Government declared the construction 
and infrastructure sector as a key player in 
keeping the country operating and supporting 
sectors and employers. Whilst far reaching in 
its impact on the Group’s operations, the 
COVID-19 pandemic has proven the resilience 
of the Group’s Build to Last strategy. Further 
information on how the Group has responded 
to COVID-19 can be found on pages 4 and 5.

The Board met on an ad hoc basis throughout 
2020 to discuss the impact of the pandemic 
and to receive updates from management 
regarding how the business was adapting to 
the ever-changing environment.

Strategy
The Board held a UK-focused strategy 
session in July and a US-focused strategy 
session in September. During these sessions, 
various senior leaders from each area of the 
business presented on the following matters:

 \ recent operational and financial 

performance, including risk and safety;

 \ key strategic issues and actions;

 \ market overview and future pipeline of 

opportunities; and

 \ stakeholder engagement.

Speak Up
The Group operates a confidential and 
anonymous Speak Up service, which enables 
colleagues to report any concerns related to 
unethical conduct in any area of the business. 
The Board receives biannual reports from the 
Business Integrity and Security function 
which include updates on the operation of 
the Speak Up platform and details of cases 
raised and instances where a proportionate 
and independent investigation has been 
conducted. Biannual updates also include 
detail on progress against any follow-up 
actions. Further detail on the Speak Up 
service can be found on page 53.

110

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

  Strategy, performance and operations
  Committee matters 
  Governance and other matters

INDICATION OF RELATIVE 
TIME SPENT ON BOARD AND 
COMMITTEE MEETINGS

  Board 
  Remuneration Committee 
  Nomination Committee  
  Audit and Risk Committee 
  Safety and Sustainability Committee

BOARD ACTIVITIES IN 2020

PERFORMANCE

 \ Reviewed routine reports from the executive Directors on performance
 \ Reviewed Group strategy and approved the Group’s budget 
 \ Approved the Company’s annual report and accounts, financial results, trading updates and ancillary 

documents relating to the Annual General Meeting, including the Notice of Meeting

 \ Reviewed the capital allocation policy
 \ Approved certain significant contracts and bid submissions where thresholds relating to value or complexity 

were reached (as set out in the matters reserved for the Board)

 \ Received ‘deep-dive’ presentations and reports on significant matters, key contracts and projects
 \ Received updates on the investigation into the US military housing business (further details on page 128 and 156)
 \ Reviewed reports from the Group’s brokers

HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

 \ Received verbal updates from the Safety and Sustainability Committee following each Committee meeting
 \ Received routine Group health, safety, environment and sustainability reports at each Board meeting where a 

Safety and Sustainability Committee meeting was not scheduled in the same cycle of meetings 

AUDIT AND RISK

 \ Received verbal updates from the Audit and Risk Committee following each Committee meeting 
 \ Received reports on financial and accounting issues and contract and commercial issues
 \ Approved the going concern statement and assessment of viability, the Directors’ valuation of the Investments 

portfolio and principal and emerging risks as disclosed in the annual report and accounts

 \ Approved recommendations from the Audit and Risk Committee relating to the fee and appointment of the 

external auditor

 \ Received reports from the external auditor in respect of full and half year results
 \ Received regular reports on meetings of the Group Tender and Investment Committee and its significant 

projects pipeline 

 \ Received general updates on meetings of the Finance and General Purposes Committee

CULTURE

 \ Monitored the Company’s purpose, vision, values and behaviours 
 \ Monitored engagement with key stakeholder groups
 \ Received reports from Directors on engagement activity with the Group’s workforce undertaken in 

accordance with the Stakeholder Voice initiative (further details can be found on page 113)
 \ Received biannual updates on business integrity including reports on Speak Up, the Group’s 

whistleblowing service

 \ Approved the Group’s 2020 Modern Slavery Statement

PEOPLE

 \ Received verbal updates from the Remuneration Committee following each Committee meeting
 \ Received an annual update on pensions 
 \ Supported workforce diversity and inclusion 

GOVERNANCE

 \ Internally evaluated the performance of the Board, its main Committees and individual Directors
 \ Reviewed conflicts of interest of Directors
 \ Reviewed the formal matters reserved for the Board and terms of reference for each of the main 

Board Committees

 \ Approved changes relating to the office of the Company Secretary 
 \ Convened sub-committees of the Board to deal with specific matters

  Reference to the Principal Risks in this table can be found on pages 93 to 102

LINK TO VALUES

LINK TO 
PRINCIPAL RISKS

1

2

LEAN

EXPERT

1

4

2

8

3

9

10

14

1

4

5

1

3

3

4

2

3

5

LEAN

SAFE

SUSTAINABLE 

1

4

2

3

11

12

LEAN

TRUSTED

TRUSTED

SAFE

3

9

6

7

11

12

2

12

5

8

14

7

11

13

EXPERT

TRUSTED

SUSTAINABLE 

3

TRUSTED

7

12

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

111

Governance 
 
 
BOARD LEADERSHIP AND COMPANY PURPOSE CONTINUED

Promoting a 
positive culture 

The Board is responsible for instilling 
throughout the Group a culture of integrity 
and openness that values diversity and is 
responsive to the views of its shareholders 
and wider stakeholders. This is achieved 
through the establishment of the Company’s 
strategy, values and purpose which were 
reviewed and refreshed by the Board during 
the year. Further detail on the new cultural 
framework can be found in the front cover 
pull out. 

Culture is monitored and assessed by the 
Board to ensure alignment with Group 
strategy and is reinforced through its 
decision-making.

Positive health, safety, environment and 
sustainability performance are key indicators 
of an underlying culture reflective of the 
Company’s values. Details of the Safety and 
Sustainability Committee’s oversight of HSES 
performance can be found on pages 124 and 125.

Feedback gathered from members of the 
Board on their engagement with stakeholder 
groups gives the Board and its Directors, 
collectively and individually, a better 
understanding of the points of view of 
stakeholders which ensures that decisions 
taken are more rounded and based on actual, 
rather than perceived, stakeholder views.

The actions taken throughout the year gave the 
Board a first-hand experience of culture within 
the business to gauge the extent to which the 
Company’s values are embedded and to 
experience real time examples of its 
behaviours in action. Having monitored culture 
through regular site visits, individual Directors 
were able to report back to the Board and 
management where they witnessed positive 
or negative examples of values and behaviours.

Supporting structures
The Balfour Beatty Code of Conduct helps 
aid the understanding and embodiment of 
behaviours that align employees with the 
culture as set by the Board. The Code of 
Conduct is accessible on the Company’s 
intranet and is circulated to employees upon 
joining the Group. Employees are also required 
to undertake e-training modules, as part of 
their induction programme, on the Code of 
Conduct and other topics including anti-bribery, 
conflicts of interest and whistleblowing. 
Regular refresher training is carried out by all 
employees on a two-year cycle, and new 
e-Learning modules are developed.

The Board’s role in setting the purpose, vision 
and long-term strategy of the Group is key in 
supporting a healthy culture. The Employee 
Voice initiative helps the Board to understand 
the views of the workforce which are taken 
into consideration when reviewing and setting 
the Company’s strategy, further details of 
which can be found on pages 12 and 13.

OUR CULTURAL FRAMEWORK

Our purpose

Building New Futures

Our strategy 

Build to Last

Our values

LEAN

EXPERT

TRUSTED

SAFE

SUSTAINABLE

Our behaviours

TALK  
POSITIVELY

COLLABORATE 
RELENTLESSLY

ENCOURAGE 
CONSTANTLY

MAKE A 
DIFFERENCE

VALUE  
EVERYONE

HOW THE BOARD MONITORED CULTURE IN 2020

ACTION TAKEN

LINK TO CULTURE

Undertook visits to sites and 
employee events 

Provided verbal feedback on visits 
to sites and employee events to 
the rest of the Board 

Reviewed whistleblowing 
statistics, details of cases raised 
through the Speak Up service and 
related independent investigations 

Updated on a broad range of 
business integrity matters 
including approaches to 
combatting modern slavery

 \ Provided direct insights into workforce working 

environments, their behaviours and practices, their attitudes 
and approaches to other stakeholders, and the practical 
application of policies and standards

 \ Sharing experiences of visits and discussing these as a 
Board assisted in creating a broader exposure for each 
Director than would otherwise be possible due to the range 
and scale of the Group’s operations across different sectors 
and geographies

 \ Provided a perspective on the nature of employee concerns and 

trends in the behaviours of the workforce generally

 \ Provided the Board with a broad understanding of practices 

and behaviours and how these align with the purpose, 
values, vision and strategy of the Group 

Reviewed statistics and trends of 
lost time injury rates

 \ Enabled Directors to assess the effectiveness of safety 

practices and behaviours

Reviewed metrics on safety 
observations reported 
by employees

 \ Allowed further insight into safety behaviours by evidencing 
the extent of individual responsibility taken by employees 
with regard to proactively reporting safety concerns 

Reviewed details of the outcomes 
of internal audits judged to be less 
than satisfactory (undertaken by 
the Audit and Risk Committee 
with details available to all 
Board members) 

Reviewed and approved the 
Group’s Modern Slavery 
Statement

 \ Supplied the Board with a direct view of areas of practice, 

policy and behaviours that were not at the desired standard 
and provided details of the corrective action being taken

 \ Provided oversight of steps taken to prevent modern slavery 
and human trafficking within the Group and its supply chain

112

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Stakeholder engagement

The Board takes responsibility for considering stakeholder needs and 
interests in its decision-making.

As has been set out earlier in the report, there 
are many different ways in which the Group 
engages with its key stakeholders. The Board 
itself has a robust programme of stakeholder 
engagement, aimed at identifying and 
understanding the interests of the Group’s 
customers, workforce, supply chain and strategic 
partners, communities, governments and 
investors so that the interests of these key 
stakeholders can be taken into consideration 
when decisions need to be taken.

The Board receives reports on relationships with 
each of the Group’s key stakeholder groups and 
there are opportunities for individual Directors to 
attend sites and meetings (both in-person and 
virtually), providing an opportunity for direct 
engagement. Findings from engagement activities 
help to inform the Board’s decision making, 
which in turn helps to mould the strategic 
direction of the Group set by the Board.

In compliance with Section 172 of the Companies 
Act 2006, a statement regarding consideration 
of concerns for each of the key stakeholder 
groups can be found in the Strategic report 
on page 7.

Customers
The Company’s aim, set by the Board, is to 
be the partner of choice for customers. 
The Group is structured to focus on customers 
in core markets. The Group is selective in the 
work it wants to win, which plays to its 
strengths so the Company is always the best 
at what it does. As a result of engagement 
with customers the Board defines the 
Company’s drivers of value for customers as:

 \ Lean – customers want the Company to 

target inefficiency across the business and 
supply chain.

 \  Safe – customers want to ensure that the 
Company’s workspaces are healthy and 
safe places.

 \ Trusted – customers want confidence that 
the Company will always be able to deliver 
on our commitments, be they a two-year 
building project or a ten-year framework.

 \ Expert – customers want the Company to 

be at the cutting edge.

 \ Sustainable – customers want the 

Company to work sustainably.

Workforce
The Company complies with the UK 
Corporate Governance Code requirement to 
formally engage with its workforce through a 
bespoke arrangement, which is summarised 
below. The Board believes that the workforce 
is central to the business and its long-term 
success. The Board prioritises engagement 
with the breadth of the employee population 
through its Stakeholder Voice initiative. 
Stakeholder Voice is supported by reports on 
key performance indicators, including an 
‘engagement index’ figure (as measured by 
employee surveys), voluntary attrition rates, 
safety observations and participation rates for 
the My Contribution initiative, where 
employees are encouraged to propose and 
develop innovative ideas to drive 
improvements in the Group’s operations.

In addition to the Stakeholder Voice Initiative, 
non-executive Directors are kept abreast of 
engagement opportunities throughout the 
year, for example through training workshops, 
talent activities, site visits, town halls, 
contract award meetings and more. Care is 
taken to ensure each non-executive Director 

“ The team I met were passionate about the 
sustainability agenda they were working to.“

Philip Aiken, Group Chair

SENTOSA ISLAND REDEVELOPMENT

Philip Aiken, Group Chair, visited a Gammon project site on Sentosa 
Island, Singapore in February 2020, where the redevelopment of 
the North-South Link Precinct is underway. Facilitated by a Gammon 
Director, the Group Chair met with Gammon employees and 
received a briefing on the Singapore division of the business. 
Employees then had the opportunity to chat informally with the 
Group Chair and ask questions.

The Sentosa Island project site is in an active pleasure destination. 
The Group Chair was able to gain insight into the impacts of the 
business on key stakeholders and review initiatives employed to 
reduce disruption to the ongoing tourism activities. The trip 
provided a valuable opportunity to discuss the sustainability 
agenda with the senior management responsible for its implementation.

 RIGHT
Philip Aiken, Group Chair, meeting with the local management 
team and on-site workers at the Sentosa Island project site.  
(Photo taken before the introduction of social distancing measures).

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

113

GovernanceBOARD LEADERSHIP AND COMPANY PURPOSE CONTINUED

has a broad exposure across the workforce 
and areas of the business.

Non-executive Directors are encouraged to 
carry out site visits and are provided with a 
form to be completed, which helps provide a 
template for discussions and engagement 
activities. Topics that Directors are asked to 
report back on include: 

 \ health, safety, environment and sustainability;

 \ leadership;

 \ engagement and morale;

 \ resources and tools for the job;

 \ understanding of Group strategy, 

values and behaviours;

 \ diversity and inclusion;

 \ future, change and innovation; and

 \ director remuneration.

All site visits undertaken by Directors are 
reported back to the full Board at each 
meeting, allowing for further discussion and 
the identification of any gaps in the 
engagement programme. Due to COVID-19, 
fewer site visits were undertaken in the year 
however, Board members carried out some 
site visits before the first national lockdown 
and were able to carry out a reduced number 
of visits during lockdown within the guidelines 
set by the UK Government.

During lockdown, a significant number of 
employees were required to work from home 
at short notice. The Board was updated on 
engagement activities that were undertaken 
during this time and, as a result of feedback 
received, a range of COVID guides for 

employees were introduced, including best 
practice for remote working, financial 
wellbeing and domestic abuse.

The Board closely monitored the impact that 
COVID-19 had on the Group’s performance 
and made the difficult decision to furlough 
some of its employees. The Board and senior 
leaders within the Group also decided to take 
a 20% pay cut for two months.

Following feedback from employees about the 
need to better leverage our international 
footprint, in November 2020, the Group 
launched a health and safety initiative called 
The Big Conversation. Over 300 projects from 
different geographies and areas of speciality 
were partnered together, to discuss fatal risks 
and share lessons, advice and best practice. 
80% of participants said the conversation was 
worthwhile and 53% reported a direct 
improvement to health and safety.

The following pages detail case studies of site 
visits undertaken by non-executive Directors 
during the year, before social distancing 
restrictions were imposed.

Supply chain and strategic partners
The Board receives updates on relationships 
with supply chain and strategic partners within 
the context of routine business updates and 
presentations. The Board also receives 
updates on the Group’s 50:50 Gammon joint 
venture together with updates on the Group’s 
relationship with its key joint venture partner, 
Jardine Matheson. The Group Chair is a 
member of the Gammon board, and as such 
engages closely with the Gammon team and 
Jardine Matheson. Below is a case study of 
one of the Group Chair’s visits to a Gammon 

project site. The Group Chair reports back to 
the Board following any Gammon board 
meeting or visit and a more detailed update on 
Gammon is provided to the Board at least 
every 12 months.

During the year under review, there were 
three fatalities in the Gammon business, more 
details concerning which are reported on page 
51. The circumstances that resulted in the 
fatalities were all reviewed by the Safety and 
Sustainability Committee, which was able to 
hear from the Gammon team directly 
concerning the fatalities. As a result of this 
engagement, the Safety and Sustainability 
Committee was able to ensure that learnings 
were taken in both the Gammon and the 
Balfour Beatty businesses to further mitigate 
the relevant risks.

Communities 
The Board is responsible for promoting the 
sustainable success of the Company, with 
regard to the impact of the Company’s 
operations on the community and the 
environment. Individual Directors have taken 
up opportunities to learn more about 
engagement with community stakeholders on 
specific projects during site visits. Through 
engagement, it is clear that local communities 
are interested in individual projects and the 
impacts on them. The impact on communities 
is recognised as an important factor to 
consider in the delivery of operational projects 
and is referenced where appropriate in reports 
to the Board throughout the year.

The environment is a topic in which all 
stakeholders are interested and as such 
sustainability is high up on the Board’s agenda. 
As a result of input received from key 

“ The team I met represented a diverse range 
of backgrounds and were optimistic about the 
future of Balfour Beatty.”

Anne Drinkwater, non-executive Director

PALACE STREET AND VINE STREET

In February 2020, Anne Drinkwater attended and toured 
the Palace Street and Vine Street construction sites.

These site tours provided an invaluable opportunity to meet 
with site employees and suppliers. Anne met employees 
from a wide range of backgrounds, including recent 
graduates, apprentices and career switchers as well as 
long-term construction workers. 

During Anne’s tour, she was able to engage with site 
workers and ascertain a sense of the engagement and 
morale of the project teams, who were observed to be 
motivated and energetic.

Insights into the health, safety, environment and 
sustainability practices of the site were gathered, with the 
site seen to be clean and well-managed with a proactive 
approach to safety.

Anne met for lunch with some senior members of the UK 
Construction leadership team, providing an opportunity for 
open feedback to be provided.

114

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

stakeholder groups in the UK, US and Hong 
Kong, the Board launched its new sustainability 
strategy in December 2020, focusing on the 
three most important areas to the business – 
the environment, materials and communities. 
More information can be found on page 55 of 
this report and the sustainability strategy can 
be found on the Company’s website. Members 
of the Health Safety Environment and 
Sustainability (HSES) team presented to the 
Safety and Sustainability Committee on key 
performance metrics related to HSES and 
provided updates on sustainability initiatives 
launched by the Group. Further detail can be 
found within the Safety and Sustainability 
Committee report on pages 124 and 125.

Governments
National and local governments are both 
customers, in shaping the regulatory landscape 
within which the Group operates, and key 
stakeholders, in setting the conditions for 
investment in large infrastructure projects. 
The Board receives regular updates on new 
contract negotiations and the performance of 
existing contracts with national and local 
government as appropriate. In addition, the 
Board will receive updates from the General 
Counsel and Company Secretary on any 
changes in legislation that are material to 
the business.

The Group Chief Executive had direct 
engagement with the UK Government in 
relation to the continued operation of the 
construction sector and its supply chain during 
the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of this 
engagement, the Board determined that 
contracts should continue to operate as much 
as possible in a manner that followed the 
COVID-19 restrictions and as a result the 
negative impact of COVID-19 was reduced. 

Investors
Investors play a valuable role in the corporate 
governance of the Company. The Board is 
committed to maintaining an open dialogue 
with its investors, which is achieved through a 
programme of structured engagement. A 
selection of investor events that took place in 
the year can be found within the investor 
calendar on the right. A similar programme is 
anticipated to be followed in 2021.

Institutional investors
One-to-one meetings between the Group 
Chair, Group Chief Executive, Chief Financial 
Officer and individual institutional investors 
continued throughout 2020, taking place 
electronically from March 2020, including 
virtual UK and US roadshows, in order to 
comply with strict social distancing measures. 
The executive Directors also conducted 
analyst presentations following financial 
results announcements. Each Committee 
Chair seeks regular engagement with 

investors on matters related to their areas of 
responsibility and reports back to the full 
Board in order to keep them cognizant of all 
shareholder views. The Senior Independent 
Director is also available to shareholders. In 
addition, the Company will consult with proxy 
advisory firms to support such firms in their 
reporting to their members.

The Head of Investor Relations reports to the 
Board biannually and provides summaries of 
analyst research briefings and share price 
movements on an ad hoc basis.

Retail investors
Full year and half year results presentation 
materials, including transcripts, are made 
available on the Company’s website so that 
retail investors receive the same information 
as institutional investors. Retail investors are 
also encouraged to raise any questions they 
may have concerning the company through 
the Company Secretary who will arrange for 
an appropriate response to be provided. In 
October, the Group Chair met with the UK 
Shareholders Association via virtual video 
conference call. 

Annual General Meeting (AGM) 
The AGM would normally provide an opportunity 
for investors to engage in person with the 
board. As a consequence of the COVID-19 
pandemic, investor attendance at the 2020 
AGM was discouraged. A dedicated email 
address was set up and used by shareholders, 
giving them the opportunity to exercise their 
right to ask questions and engage with the 
Company and the Board on matters relating 
to the AGM. 

Corporate website
The Company’s website: www.balfourbeatty. 
com, has a section dedicated to investors 
where a range of valuable information can be 
found, including:

CALENDAR OF VIRTUAL 
SHAREHOLDER EVENTS

MARCH 2020

 \ Full year results presentation

 \ London roadshow

 \ US roadshow

 \ COVID-19 update

APRIL 2020

 \ Edinburgh roadshow

MAY 2020

 \ UBS Pan European Small  
and Mid-Cap Conference 

 \ Jefferies Structural Winners Conference 

JUNE 2020

 \ COVID-19 trading update

 \ Annual General Meeting

AUGUST 2020

 \ Half year results presentation

 \ Virtual UK roadshow

SEPTEMBER 2020

 \ UK roadshow

 \ US roadshow

 \ Bank of America Infrastructure Field Trip

 \ published annual reports and results 

OCTOBER 2020

announcements;

 \ a financial calendar of events;

 \ detail on the Company’s corporate 

governance arrangements;

 \ Peel Hunt Buildings, Industrials and 

Support Services Conference

 \ Jefferies UK Industrials Conference 

 \ UK Shareholders’ Association Meeting 

 \ board and Executive Committee profiles;

 \ Continental Europe roadshow 

 \ the Group’s enhanced sustainability 

strategy; and

 \ regulatory announcements.

Investors are consulted on an ongoing basis to 
ensure that the Group has a full and clear 
understanding of their requirements. An 
example of this is the Board’s assessment of 
the optimal balance sheet structure for the 
Group, a sustainable dividend policy and future 
capital return programme, which was 
announced in December 2020. 

NOVEMBER 2020

 \ Investec Best Ideas Conference 

 \ Goldman Sachs Industrials Conference 

DECEMBER 2020

 \ Bank of America Materials and 

Infrastructure Conference

 \ Berenberg European Conference

 \ Trading update

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

115

GovernanceDIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITIES

A robust framework 
of governance

Authority for taking certain decisions is formally delegated by the Board and flows through 
the Group to ensure an appropriate and consistent approach across all parts of the business. 

The Board is the principal decision-making body of the Company with 
authority for specific matters being delegated to Committees 
of the Board. Responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the Group 
is formally delegated by the Board to the Group Chief Executive 
who manages the running of the business through the Executive 
Committee. The members of the Executive Committee each have 
responsibilities for particular functions with authority being further 

delegated to appropriate individuals throughout the Group based 
on their role and seniority. 

The framework set out below provides a high-level summary of 
matters within scope at each level of the Group’s governance 
framework and illustrates the flow of authority as it is delegated 
throughout the Group.

 \ Establishes the Company’s strategic direction, purpose and values
 \ Assesses culture and promotes the long-term success of the Company
 \ Approves the Company’s financial statements, dividends and budget

 \ Ensures maintenance of a framework of prudent and effective controls
 \ Ensures effective engagement with stakeholders including employees 
 \ Approves matters relating to the composition of the Board and Committees

B

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

N

NOMINATION 
COMMITTEE 

R

REMUNERATION 
COMMITTEE 

A

AUDIT AND RISK 
COMMITTEE 

S

SAFETY AND 
SUSTAINABILITY 
COMMITTEE 

 \ Oversees the 
process for 
appointment and 
induction of new 
Directors

 \ Makes 

recommend-
ations regarding 
Directors’ 
independence in 
light of the Code 
independence 
criteria

 \ Reviews the 
remuneration 
policy for 
Directors and 
Executive 
Committee 
members 
 \ Approves the 

remuneration of 
Directors and 
Executive 
Committee 
members 
 \ Oversees the 

implementation of 
the remuneration 
policy

 \ Reviews the form, 

 \ Reviews 

content and 
process for 
preparing 
financial 
statements 

 \ Reviews principal 
risks and internal 
controls, and the 
risk management 
framework
 \ Monitors the 

effectiveness of 
the internal audit 
function and 
external auditor 

strategies, 
policies and 
performance in 
relation to health, 
safety and the 
environment 
 \ Reviews the 

environmental 
impact and 
sustainability of 
operations 

 \ Reviews in detail 
incidents where 
significant harm 
has occurred 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

T

GROUP  
TENDER AND 
INVESTMENT 
COMMITTEE

 \ Responsible for 
the content, 
maintenance and 
operation of the 
Gated Business 
Lifecycle which 
forms the core 
process for 
evaluating and 
monitoring the 
governance of 
operational 
projects

F

FINANCE AND  
GENERAL 
PURPOSES 
COMMITTEE

 \ Approves 

borrowings, 
banking 
arrangements, 
management of 
interest rate and 
foreign exchange 
rate exposures, 
contract financing, 
bonding and 
leasing matters 
and guarantees

 \ The Group Chief Executive works through the Executive Committee, members of which are responsible for particular business units and enabling functions 

including overseeing the implementation of Group strategy, and matters relating to health and safety, sustainability, employee matters (including succession and 
remuneration), legal and governance, technology and innovation, and communications and investor relations

 \ Responsibility for the day-to-day running of each of the strategic business units and enabling functions is delegated to individual members of the 

Executive Committee

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

SUPPORT SERVICES

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS

GROUP ENABLING FUNCTIONS

 \ Responsible for engineering, 
building, ground engineering, 
M&E, refurbishment fit-out and 
rail engineering projects

 \ Responsible for design, 

 \ Responsible for development 

 \ Bring together our shared 

upgrade, management and 
maintenance of critical 
national infrastructure 

and financing of both public and 
private infrastructure projects

services including Legal, Finance, 
IT and Procurement, 
Communications, HR and HSES. 
Together, they support delivery 
of business objectives whilst 
improving efficiencies and 
standardising our approach, 
systems and processes

116

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 
 
 
This section sets out the roles, and effective division of responsibilities between the Group Chair, Group Chief Executive and non-executive 
Directors, and outlines the support the Directors receive to assist them in meeting their responsibilities under the UK Corporate Governance 
Code and discharging their duties, both individually and collectively. 

Leadership

GROUP CHAIR

GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE

 \ Leads the Board and demonstrates objective judgement

 \ Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Group 

 \ Encourages high standards of corporate governance 

 \ Sets the Board agenda and drives Board effectiveness 

 \ Promotes a culture of constructive debate and openness

 \ Ensures that Directors receive accurate, timely and 

clear information

 \ Engages with stakeholders, including shareholders

Oversight

and the Group’s performance

 \ Leads the Group

 \ Enables planning and execution of the Company’s strategy, 

objectives and values set by the Board 

 \ Drives the cultural tone of the Group

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

SENIOR INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR

 \ Oversee the Company’s strategy and provide strategic guidance 

 \ Sounding board for the Group Chair

to management

 \ An intermediary for the Group Chief Executive, non-executive 

 \ Monitor Group performance against objectives

Directors and shareholders as required 

 \ Review management proposals

 \ Leads review of the Group Chair’s performance

 \ Provide effective challenge to management

 \ Chairs the Nomination Committee when the Group Chair’s 

 \ Serve on Board Committees which are responsible for specified 

governance roles

succession is considered

 \ Available to meet with shareholders

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MEETINGS

The non-executive Directors, led by the Group Chair, without the 
executive Directors present, hold regular scheduled meetings 
prior to or following Board meetings.

The executive and non-executive Directors meet annually, led by 
the Senior Independent Director and without the Group Chair 
present, to discuss the Group Chair’s performance.

Governance

COMPANY SECRETARY 

The Board is supported by the Company Secretary who ensures 
that the Board is able to function effectively and efficiently. The 
Company Secretary is available to all Directors and maintains 
dialogue with each of them on an individual basis. 

In addition to making all logistical arrangements for meetings, the 
Company Secretary is responsible for advising the Board on all 
governance matters, managing the policies and processes related 
to the Board and ensuring that the Directors receive information 
in a timely manner.

Role of the Board 
The role of the Board is to be effective and 
entrepreneurial and to promote the long-term 
sustainable success of the Company, 
whilst having regard to interests of stakeholders 
and ensuring high standards of business 
conduct. The division of responsibilities across 
the Board is clear, with each Director having 
a defined role with individual duties. A distinction 
is made between the leadership, which is the 
Group Chair’s responsibility, and the 

executive leadership of the Company’s 
business, which is the Group Chief 
Executive’s role. The counter balance of 
responsibilities at Board level is set out above 
and demonstrates that no one individual has 
unfettered powers of decision-making.

Time commitment of Directors 
The Board recognises the importance of 
individual members having sufficient time 
to discharge their duties effectively. On an 

annual basis, each Director declares their 
external appointments and commitments 
to the Board as part of the conflicts of 
interest declaration. The Directors’ significant 
commitments are set out in their biographies 
and remained unchanged throughout 2020 
with the exception of Stephen Billingham 
who resigned as chairman of Anglian Water 
in March 2020. Neither of the executive 
Directors hold any non-executive board 
positions at a FTSE 100 company. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

117

GovernanceThe Group Chair encourages all Directors to 
attend all Committee meetings unless conflicted 
e.g. where an individual’s performance or 
remuneration is being considered. Additional 
attendees are invited to attend Board and 
Committee meetings at the discretion of the 
relevant chair e.g. the Group Financial 
Controller and Group Head of Internal Audit 
are invited to attend the Audit and Risk 
Committee together with representatives of 
the Company’s auditor KPMG LLP. 

As part of the internal controls framework, 
the Board has delegated responsibility for 
overseeing the implementation of Group 
strategy and policies set by the Board, to the 
Executive Committee. The Executive 
Committee is chaired by the Group Chief 
Executive and comprises the Chief Financial 
Officer and nine senior Group executives.

Primary Executive Committee 
responsibilities include:

 \ developing Group strategy for approval by 

the Board;

 \ ensuring Group, regional and functional 
strategies and resources are effective 
and aligned; 

 \ monitoring Group operating performance;

 \ managing the Group enabling functions;

 \ overseeing the management and 
development of Group talent;

 \ monitoring communication to Group 

employees and external stakeholders; and

 \ responsibilities for matters relating to health 
and safety, sustainability and employees.

DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITIES CONTINUED

Corporate governance 
framework

The Company’s governance framework 
operates to support the delivery of its strategy 
by ensuring that business is conducted 
within a framework of robust principles and 
procedures and in an orderly way.

The Company has a premium listing on the 
London Stock Exchange and is therefore 
subject to the Code. A copy of the Code can 
be found on the FRC’s website at 
www.frc.org.uk.

 \ approval of the annual accounts and 
financial reports to shareholders;

 \ setting of dividend policy;

 \ bid and contract updates;

 \ legacy contract out-turns;

 \ pipeline of significant projects;

 \ engagement with shareholders, 

employees and wider stakeholders;

 \ review and monitoring of culture and its 
alignment with Group purpose, values 
and strategy;

The Company’s compliance with the Code is 
set out in the Directors’ report on page 151.

 \ results of employee engagement 

surveys; and

The Board
The Board establishes the strategic direction 
of the Group and assesses the basis upon 
which the Company generates and preserves 
value over the long-term. The Board sets the 
culture for the business which sets the tone 
as to how the Company will achieve its 
strategic goals and purpose – further details 
on the Board’s oversight of the Company’s 
culture can be found on page 112. The Board 
ensures that its decision-making is long term 
in its nature and takes into account the 
desirability for maintaining high standards of 
business conduct and the need to act fairly 
between members.

The Board determines the Group’s key policies 
and reviews management and financial 
performance. The Group’s governance 
framework is designed to facilitate a 
combination of effective, resilient and 
prudent management of the business. 

One of the primary responsibilities of the Board 
is to ensure that the Company preserves value 
over the long term in a sustainable manner, 
taking into consideration both value derived 
for the Company’s stakeholders and the 
Company’s contribution to wider society. 
In setting, reviewing and ensuring the 
implementation of the Group’s Build to Last 
strategy, the Board ensures that these objectives 
are met while taking into account risks and 
opportunities facing the Group. 

Primary Board responsibilities include:

 \ Group strategy and ensuring resources are 

in place to meet objectives;

 \ setting Group performance objectives 

and monitoring performance;

 \  significant corporate activities; 

 \ approval of the annual Group budget;

 \ risk management and internal control; and

 \ board, Executive Committee and Company 
Secretary appointments and succession;

 \ control of the Company’s share capital structure.

Board and Committee meetings 
In order to discharge its responsibilities, the 
Board held eight scheduled meetings during 
2020, plus a number of ad hoc Board meetings 
in order to deal with specific matters which 
arose outside the formal schedule of 
meetings. Details of attendance by all Board 
members at scheduled meetings, can be 
found on page 107. 

The Group Chair sets a structured agenda for 
each meeting in consultation with the Group 
Chief Executive and Company Secretary. 
Capacity is maintained on the agenda for 
each meeting to allow for the timely 
consideration of matters as they arise during 
the year. The Group Chair seeks a consensus 
at Board meetings, but, if necessary, decisions 
are taken by majority. If any Director has 
concerns on any issues that cannot be 
resolved, such concerns are noted in the 
Board minutes. No such concerns arose 
in 2020. 

The key activities of the Board in 2020 are 
detailed on page 111. These activities are 
discussed under the value pillars of Lean, Expert, 
Trusted, Safe and Sustainable and these underpin 
the Board’s decision-making process.

During the year, the Board devoted considerable 
attention to dealing with the impact of COVID-19 
and internal control and compliance matters. 
Regular deep dive presentations form part of 
the annual meeting cycle focusing on 
particular business areas or major projects of 
strategic importance to the Group. 

The Board has a formal schedule of matters 
reserved for its decision and has delegated 
certain responsibilities to the Board Committees, 
each with separate terms of reference. There 
are four main Board Committees (Audit and 
Risk, Nomination, Remuneration and Safety 
and Sustainability). The principal activities of 
each committee during the year are set out in 
the Committee reports on pages 122, 125, 
127 and 134.

118

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

COMPOSITION, SUCCESSION AND EVALUATION

Board composition

Processes and procedures are in place to ensure that there is an appropriate balance 
of Board members who have the skills, experience and independence to discharge 
their duties as Directors.

The Board consists of eight members, comprising 
the non-executive Group Chair, the Group Chief 
Executive, the Chief Financial Officer, the senior 
independent non-executive Director and four 
independent non-executive Directors. Biographies 
of the Board members are set out on pages 
108 and 109. The Board considers that it is an 
appropriate size and the Directors have an 
appropriate balance of skills and experience to 
manage the requirements of the business.

Independence of Directors 
In accordance with the provisions set out in 
the Code, the Group Chair was independent 
at the time of his appointment. The Board 
considers that all non-executive Directors are 
independent including Stephen Billingham 
who is a member of the Company’s pension 
scheme resulting from his employment with 
the Group over 20 years ago. Stephen 
Billingham was also chairman of Anglian 

Water until 31 March 2020. Anglian Water 
has had business relations with the Group, 
the value of which are considered to be 
immaterial in the context of the Group (more 
detail relating to value is set out in Note 38 
on page 219). 

Conflicts of interests 
The Board has formal procedures for the 
declaration, review and authorisation of 
conflicts of interest of Board members. 
Conflicts are considered and where appropriate 
authorised by the Board on an annual basis. 
In addition, Directors are requested to declare 
any conflicts at the start of all Board 
meetings. The Board was satisfied that none 
of the Directors had any conflict of interest 
during the year which could not be authorised 
by the Board. There is a formal process in 
place for the approval of all new external 
appointments of Directors.

KEY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE OF DIRECTORS

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

NUMBER OF DIRECTORS

Directors have an 
appropriate balance of 
skills and experience 
to manage the 
requirements of 
the business.

Corporate governance 

Culture and values

Financial management 

Health/safety/sustainability

Public/government

Risk and regulation

Strategy

Hong Kong and Far East experience

US experience

Construction sector experience

Major complex projects experience

       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

119

GovernanceCOMPOSITION, SUCCESSION AND EVALUATION CONTINUED

Board succession

In 2020, the Board commenced the process 
for searching for a successor for the Group 
Chair, further details of which can be found 
on page 123. Succession plans are based on 
merit and assessed against objective criteria 
with the promotion of diversity of gender, 
social and ethnic backgrounds, cognitive and 
personal strengths. Further information is set 
out in the Nomination Committee report on 
pages 122 and 123. 

All Directors are subject to annual re-election 
by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting 
where letters of appointment for each 
non-executive Director are available for 
inspection. Set out in the Notice of Annual 
General Meeting is information on the skills 
and experience of each Director seeking 
re-election, as well as details regarding their 
individual contributions to the long-term 
success of the Company. 

Set out below is the current length of tenure 
for the Group Chair and each of the non-executive 
Directors as at 31 December 2020. 

Training and development
Non-executive Directors receive a full 
programme of briefings annually across all 
areas of the Company’s business from 
the executive Directors, members of the 
Executive Committee, senior executives and 
representatives of external professional bodies. 

Focus areas in 2020 included an update on 
the progress of the UK Government’s review 
and consultations in relation to the UK audit 
market and proposed reform of the Financial 
Reporting Council (FRC). These briefings 
were provided in the context of the Board’s 
review of key business stakeholders. The 
Board was also updated on the implementation 
of revisions to the Group’s governance 
framework to align with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code. 

Throughout the year, the Group Chair maintains 
dialogue with individual Directors to identify 
any specific training needs. Where appropriate, 
such training is delivered by the topic being 
included at a Board meeting so that all Directors 
can benefit. Alternatively, training is delivered 
by way of formal presentations, individual 
meetings and site visits in order to learn 
more about a particular initiative or project.

Information and support
During the year, the Company Secretary 
advised the Board on matters related to 
governance, ensuring Board procedures were 
followed and relevant statutory and regulatory 
requirements were complied with. The 
Company Secretary has responsibility for 
facilitating the timely distribution of 
information between the Board and its 
Committees and the executive and 
non-executive Directors.

The Directors have direct access for advice 
to the Company Secretary who is able to 
arrange, at the Company’s expense, for the 
Directors to receive independent professional 
advice where appropriate. 

Board evaluation

Reviews of the effectiveness of the Board, 
its principal Committees, the Group Chair 
and individual Directors are carried out on 
an annual basis. This process is externally 
facilitated every three years, allowing for a 
fresh and independent perspective to be 
brought to the review. The last externally 
facilitated review took place in 2018, with 
the next due to take place in 2021.

Process
The 2020 evaluation process was internally 
facilitated and entailed issuing questionnaires 
to all Board members. Questionnaires 
covered a range of topics including:

 \ Board leadership;

 \ Board effectiveness;

 \ Board behaviours; and

 \ risk management and internal controls.

Questionnaires are developed by the Company 
Secretary in conjunction with the Group Chair 
and Committee Chairs, according to the 
principles of the UK Corporate Governance 
Code and supporting FRC Guidance on Board 
Effectiveness. Where possible, questionnaires 
remain the same from one year to the next 
so that progress can be monitored. The 
process is designed to illicit open and honest 
feedback. In order to facilitate transparent 
feedback, questionnaires are anonymised 
when shared with the Group Chair, Board 
and Committees.

TENURE AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2020 FOR NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

1 YEAR

2 YEARS

3 YEARS

4 YEARS

5 YEARS

6 YEARS

7 YEARS

8 YEARS

9 YEARS

DIRECTOR

Philip Aiken 

Stephen Billingham 

Anne Drinkwater

Stuart Doughty

Barbara Moorhouse

Michael Lucki

120

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

BOARD EVALUATION PROCESS

2020

YEAR 1 – INTERNAL ASSESSMENT 

YEAR 2 – INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

YEAR 3 – EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT

 \ Evaluation co-ordinated internally 

 \ Outcomes from previous 

 \ Independent external evaluation 

by Group Chair, Committee 
Chairs and Company Secretary.

 \ Separate questionnaires 

prepared on a range of issues 
related to the Board and Board 
Committees generally, and 
each Committee specifically.

evaluation and progress against 
each action reviewed.

 \ Internal evaluation questionnaires 
prepared by Group Chair and 
Company Secretary, taking 
account of areas of concern in 
previous year.

 \ One to one meetings held 

 \ One to one meetings held 

between Group Chair and each 
Director to review responses and 
for individual appraisal. Senior 
Independent Director leads the 
review of the Group Chair. 

 \ Group discussion at a Board 
meeting and agreement on 
further action required.

between Group Chair and each 
Director to review responses and 
for individual appraisal. Senior 
Independent Director leads the 
review of the Group Chair. 

 \ Group discussion at a Board 
meeting and agreement on 
further action required.

firm appointed.

 \ Evaluator works with Group 
Chair to refine scope of 
evaluation in light of previous 
internal evaluations.

 \ Evaluation conducted by use of 
interviews with Directors and 
key regular attendees at Board/
Committee meetings and review 
of agendas/papers.

 \ Report on evaluation discussed 
with Group Chair and tabled for 
discussion at full Board meeting.

 \ Outcomes and actions agreed.

Committees
There was a clear consensus that the 
Committees were operating effectively 
with evidence of:

 \ appropriate size, membership 

and composition;

 \ clearly defined roles and responsibilities 

that are appropriate and clearly understood;

 \ an atmosphere of trust and respect 

between the Committee and management;

 \ adequate opportunity to discuss issues 

and ask probing questions;

 \ adequate access to management and 

external advisers between meetings; and

 \ strong Committee Chair leadership.

It was concluded that the Nomination 
Committee and Safety and Sustainability 
Committee could benefit from more 
presentations from senior management and 
that this would be actioned during 2021.

It was suggested that, in light of restrictions 
imposed by COVID-19, renewed emphasis 
should be placed upon the relationship and 
interactions between each Committee and 
management in order to maintain the 
atmosphere of trust highlighted by the 
evaluation process.

Group Chair
The Board was unanimous in its conclusion 
that it received strong leadership from the 
Group Chair, who maintains a cohesive and 
collegiate board and is effective at focusing 
discussion in a calm and productive fashion. 
It was concluded that the Group Chair sets 
the agenda, style and tone of Board meetings 
to promote decision-making and allow for 
constructive debate.

The evaluation process highlighted the Group 
Chair’s success in adapting to the use of 
virtual meetings by ensuring all Directors 
are given the opportunity to contribute. The 
Group Chair dedicates sufficient time to the 
role in order to discharge his duties effectively, 
and is easily accessible by Board members 
between the formal meetings.

Further detail on the succession planning 
process for the Group Chair can be found 
on page 123.

Individual Directors
The evaluation concluded that each Director 
continues to have sufficient time, knowledge 
and commitment to effectively contribute to 
the long-term sustainable success of 
the business.

The review of the Group Chair was facilitated 
by the Company Secretary on behalf of 
the Senior Independent Director. The 
questionnaires were completed by Board 
members in December 2020, with the 
results being shared with the Group Chair 
and Committee Chairs in January 2021 
and discussed in Board and Committee 
meetings in February and March 2021.

Board
Directors concluded that the Board and its 
Committees continue to function well. There 
is a culture of openness, transparency and 
healthy challenge, along with well-defined 
roles and delineations between the Board 
and the Executive Committee.

It was concluded that the number and 
structure of meetings throughout the year 
was appropriate for the Board to properly 
discharge its duties. It was further concluded 
that the Board has a strong process for 
monitoring revenue, profitability, margin and 
other financial indicators against the 
objectives set.

It was agreed that there would be more 
focus on keeping up-to-date with industry 
developments, particularly in the US, and the 
Group’s relative competitive positioning by 
encouraging increased emphasis within 
routine management presentations. It was 
further agreed that the Board would review 
its approach to assessing and setting the 
Group’s strategic direction and adjust future 
agendas and meeting structures as 
appropriate. It was agreed that the regularity 
of reporting on Gammon would be reviewed, 
as well as the optimum reporting and 
presentation format for executive reporting.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

121

GovernanceCOMMITTEE REPORTS

Report of the 
Nomination 
Committee

I am pleased to present the report of the 
Nomination Committee, setting out the key 
activities undertaken during 2020.

During the year the Committee focused 
on its core responsibilities and, where 
appropriate, worked closely with the 
Remuneration Committee.

The Committee held one scheduled meeting 
during the year and one ad hoc meeting to 
discuss matters related to the Group Chair’s 
succession. At its February 2020 meeting, 
the Committee reviewed the Board’s balance 
and composition and Committee memberships 
to ensure that these would allow for duties to 
be effectively discharged. At its ad hoc 
meeting in September 2020, the Committee 
focused on the executive search process for 
my role of Group Chair.

The Committee’s terms of reference can 
be found on the Company’s website,  
www.balfourbeatty.com.

Philip Aiken AM
Chair of the Nomination Committee

MEMBERSHIP
 \ Philip Aiken (Chair of the Committee)
 \ Leo Quinn
 \ Stephen Billingham
 \ Stuart Doughty
 \ Barbara Moorhouse

KEY ACTIONS FROM 2020
 \ Oversaw executive search for new 

Group Chair

 \ Reviewed Committee memberships

 \ Reviewed the balance of Directors’ skills 
and experience, independence and tenures

Philip Aiken
Chair of the Nomination Committee

9 March 2021

PRIORITIES FOR 2021
 \ Continue to oversee Group Chair 

succession plan

 \ Evaluation of the Board and its 

main Committees

 \ In the event of vacancies arising on the 
Board, the selection of new Directors

Roles and responsibilities 
of the Committee

 \ Making recommendations as to the 

appointment, reappointment, retirement 
or continuation of any Director

 \ Proposing and overseeing induction 
plans for new Board appointments 

 \ Making recommendations regarding 

Directors’ independence in light of the 
Code independence criteria

 \ Monitoring the structure, size, 

composition and balance of the 
Board and Committees

 \ Spearheading Board succession 

planning and reviewing succession 
plans at Executive Committee level

Committee composition
The Committee consists of two independent 
non-executive Directors, the Senior Independent 
Director, the independent non-executive 
Group Chair and the Group Chief Executive, 
thereby fulfilling the 2018 UK Corporate 
Governance Code requirement that the 
majority of members of the Nomination 
Committee should be independent 
non-executive Directors.

Main activities of the Committee during the year
The Committee met during the year to consider the following matters. Further detail on 
Board and Committee attendance can be found on page 107.

February 2020

September 2020 (ad hoc)

 \ reviewed the Board’s composition and 
the balance of skills, knowledge and 
experience of individual Directors; 

 \ succession planning for the role of 
Group Chair, discussed further on 
page 123; and

 \ constituted a sub-Committee to take 
decisions and actions related to the 
process for succession of the Group 
Chair role.

 \ reviewed Committee memberships; 

 \ reviewed the non-executive 

Directors’ tenures; 

 \ reviewed the non-executive Directors’ 

independence and conflicts of 
interest; and

 \ assessed the Committee’s 

effectiveness in 2019, following the 
internal evaluation of the Committee.

ALLOCATION OF TIME

   Group Chair succession planning29+

   Review of Board balance and composition

122

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

71
+
N
Group Chair succession
The Committee focused on the search 
process for the role of Group Chair, given 
Philip Aiken will be stepping down from the 
Board at the Company’s AGM in 2021.

A sub-Committee was set up in September 
2020, a meeting of which can be constituted 
by any two of the Committee members, 
excluding Philip Aiken. The sub-Committee 
was established to allow for actions and 
decisions to be taken as necessary, on 
behalf of the Committee, allowing for pace 
to be maintained. The Committee, with 
support from the Group HR Director, compiled 
a specification for the role of Group Chair and 
undertook a competitive tender process for 
executive search agencies in order to find a 
firm with appropriate credentials, terms of 
business and cultural fit. Pursuant to this 
process, Egon Zehnder was engaged. Egon 
Zehnder is an independent executive search 
consultancy, compliant with the Enhanced 
Code of Conduct for Executive Search Firms, 
and has no connections to the Company or 
any of its individual Directors.

Following engagement, a timetable was drawn 
up setting out key milestones in the process, 
including the drawing up of long- and short-lists 
of candidates and the commencement of a 
staged interview process.

The Committee is responsible for ensuring 
that candidates are free of conflicts of 
interest and are able to commit sufficient 
time in order to properly discharge the duties 
of the Group Chair.

Attendance
At the invitation of the Committee, the Group 
HR Director attended an ad hoc meeting of 
the Nomination Committee in September 2020, 
to present to the Committee with regards to 
the succession of the Group Chair.

The Company Secretary or their nominee 
attended all Committee meetings.

Evaluation of the Committee
During the year, an internal evaluation of the 
effectiveness of the Committee was conducted. 
Further details can be found on pages 120 
and 121. 

Appointment and 
reappointment of Directors
The Committee unanimously recommends 
the re-election of each of the Directors at the 
2021 AGM. In making this recommendation, 
the Committee carried out an assessment 
of each Director including their performance, 
contribution to the long-term sustainable 
success of the Company, and capacity to 
discharge their responsibilities effectively, 
given their external time commitments 
and responsibilities.

Diversity and inclusion remain central to the 
Committee’s decision-making and oversight 
in relation to new Board appointments. The 
non-executive Directors come from broad 
industry and professional backgrounds, with 
varied experience aligned to the needs of the 
business. Further detail on backgrounds and 
experience of the Directors can be found on 
pages 108 and 109.

The Committee acknowledges the Hampton-
Alexander Review, which set recommendations 
aimed at increasing the number of women in 
leadership positions in FTSE 350 companies, 
including a target of 33% representation of 
women on FTSE 350 boards by 2020. The 
Committee further acknowledges the Parker 
Review directing that boards of FTSE 250 
companies should have at least one director 
from an ethnic minority background by 2024. 
Diversity of backgrounds not only ensures a 
more proportionate representation of wider 
society but also places the Group in a stronger 
position to deliver for its stakeholders. At Board 
level, two of the Company’s eight Directors 
(25%) are women.

Diversity and inclusion
A range of personal strengths and industry 
backgrounds are represented on the Board, 
which is made up of two female and six male 
Directors. Further information on the skills 
and backgrounds of individual Directors can 
be found in the Board biography section on 
pages 108 and 109.

Senior leadership, comprising the Executive 
Committee and their direct reports (excluding 
administrative assistants), consists of 33 
females and 91 males, meaning a 26.6% 
female representation. Details of the gender 
breakdown across the Group can be found in 
the People section on page 75.

The Board is committed to ensuring that it 
remains diverse and it has a diversity and 
inclusion policy to support this. At Board 
level, currently two out of eight Directors 
(25%) are women. The Board recognises that 
it does not currently meet the target set by 
the Hampton-Alexander Review and will aim 
to enhance the diversity of its Board through 
ongoing succession planning. 

The Board further acknowledges the Parker 
Review directing that boards of FTSE 250 
companies should have at least one director 
from an ethnic minority background by 2024 
and also aims to address this through future 
succession planning. 

Appointment and 
induction programmes
There were no new Board appointments 
during 2020. However, when making a new 
appointment, the Committee identifies and 
articulates objectives and criteria based on its 
Board composition reviews. The Committee 
is responsible for engaging an executive 
search consultant and reviewing shortlists of 
candidates and attending interviews. The 
candidate’s existing appointments and 
associated time commitments and actual or 
potential conflicts of interest are also 
assessed. The Committee will agree a 
recommendation for appointment to the 
Board, taking account of matters such as 
gender, social and ethnic backgrounds and 
cognitive and personal strengths.

A bespoke induction programme is prepared 
for all new Directors joining the Company. 
Induction programmes are designed by the 
Company Secretary in conjunction with the 
Group Chair, Senior Independent Director and 
Group Chief Executive and include one-to-one 
meetings with the Executive Directors, 
Executive Committee members, the Group 
General Counsel and Company Secretary. 
Meetings are set up with key members of 
senior management from a variety of 
departments and business units, with the 
content of meetings varying depending on 
the Director being inducted and their 
background and individual experience.

An induction programme would also include:

 \ documents provided via the electronic 
Board portal covering key information 
relating to the Group including financial 
performance, Board policies and procedures 
and governance matters. These documents 
are also available to all other Board members 
as a continuing point of reference; and

 \ visits to key operational sites, offering a 
chance to meet face-to-face with the 
workforce, under normal circumstances, 
without government restrictions in place 
enforcing social distancing. Directors 
continue to make regular site visits 
throughout their tenure, in line with the 
Company’s Employee Voice initiative, 
gaining valuable insight into operations 
and feedback from the workforce. Further 
detail on the Employee Voice initiative 
can be found on page 112.

Succession planning
The Board considers the length of service of 
the members of the Board as a whole and 
the need for it to refresh its membership 
progressively over time. Although no Directors, 
other than the Group Chair, have retired or 
stated their intention to retire, Director 
succession planning remained a priority 
for the Committee in 2020. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

123

GovernanceRoles and responsibilities 
of the Committee

 \ Reviewing strategies, policies, 

procedures and performance of the 
Group in relation to health, safety, 
environment and sustainability 
(HSES) matters

 \ Monitoring and driving 
HSES improvements

 \ Approving health and safety targets and 

key performance indicators and 
monitoring the Group’s performance 
against them

 \ Monitoring the Group’s performance 
against main safety risk groups and 
strategies for mitigating such risks

 \ Reviewing Group environmental and 
social performance, including but not 
limited to carbon emissions, energy, 
resource efficiency and compliance 

COMMITTEE REPORTS CONTINUED

Stuart Doughty CMG
Chair of the Safety and 
Sustainability Committee

MEMBERSHIP
 \ Stuart Doughty (Chair of the Committee)
 \ Philip Aiken
 \ Anne Drinkwater 
 \ Leo Quinn

KEY ACTIONS FROM 2020
 \ Received reports on the implementation 

of Group initiatives

 \ Reviewed findings from serious incidents 

and fatalities

 \ Reviewed the results of the 

Loughborough Report

 \ Reviewed and agreed new Sustainability 

Strategy targets

PRIORITIES FOR 2021
 \ Keeping our sites open and 

COVID-19 secure

 \ Agreeing science-based sustainability targets

 \ Launch of new Health and Wellbeing 

strategy

 \ Continued focus on risk elimination

Report of the Safety 
and Sustainability 
Committee

I am pleased to present the report of the 
Safety and Sustainability Committee 
for 2020.

During 2020, the Committee’s attention 
focused on the impacts of the COVID-19 
pandemic, with Group processes and 
procedures being reviewed to ensure they 
remain in line with UK Government and World 
Health Organisation best practice guidelines.

Although the Committee saw continuing 
trends of improved Group HSES performance, 
we nonetheless suffered the tragic loss of 
four of our people during the year. Three of 
these incidents occurred within Gammon, the 
Group’s Hong Kong-based 50:50 joint venture 
with Jardine Matheson, and one in the UK. 
The Group’s HSES targets and priorities were 
presented to the Committee during the year, 
including the new sustainability strategy 
called Building New Futures. The Committee 
also reviewed a fatal incident in the US 
involving one of our joint venture partner’s 
workers. The Committee continues to focus 
on thoroughly investigating such events and 
distilling key learnings to be applied 
throughout the Group’s operations.

The Committee met four times in 2020 and 
its meetings were regularly attended by other 
members of the Board and the Group HSES 
Director. Further attendees attended at the 
discretion of the Committee, including the 
Group Head of Environment and Sustainability 
and other key individuals from the HSES 
Executive and business unit managing 
directors who are also leaders of our fatal 
risk groups.

Stuart Doughty
Chair of the Safety and 
Sustainability Committee

9 March 2021

ALLOCATION OF TIME

10+

  Group performance updates
  Zero Harm updates 
  Notable incidents and learnings
   Environment and sustainability updates 
  Governance and other matters

124

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

4
+
43
+
38
+
5
+
N
Environment and sustainability
The Committee received regular updates 
throughout the year on the Company’s 
performance with regards to sustainability 
and environmental factors.

During the year, the Committee oversaw the 
implementation of the new Building New 
Futures Sustainability Strategy, launched on 
9 December 2020, which sets out the 
Group’s sustainability targets and ambitions 
and commitment to set a science-based 
target to reduce its carbon emissions. The 
Strategy demonstrates alignment with the 
‘Sustainable Development Goals’ set by the 
United Nations and allows for consistency 
across the business in light of the breadth of 
matters that operational and work winning 
teams have responsibility for.

The Committee further noted the Group’s 
long- and short-term sustainability targets, 
including those around generation of social 
value (further detail on pages 68 to 70) and 
reduction of carbon emissions and waste.

Governance
During the year, the Committee reviewed 
its terms of reference and approved minor 
changes. The Committee’s terms of 
reference can be found on the Company 
website at www.balfourbeatty.com.

Main activities of the 
Committee during the year
COVID-19
The Committee received reports on the 
implementation of best practice procedures 
for both construction and office sites and 
noted the extensive risk assessments carried 
out to ensure that sites remain safe. Reports 
included updates to communications, controls, 
monitoring and Site Operating Procedures in 
addition to the required processes to be 
followed where an employee is diagnosed 
with COVID-19 or has to self-isolate.

The Committee reviewed the results of the 
Loughborough Report, “COVID-19 and 
construction: Early lessons for a new normal?”, 
a research report conducted by Loughborough 
University in collaboration with Balfour Beatty 
and other Tier One contractors and supply 
chain partners (being those deemed essential 
by the UK Government and therefore able to 
remain open throughout the pandemic). The 
report revealed the early learning threats and 
opportunities of the pandemic. One of the 
threats is higher stress levels and a threat to 
wellbeing of employees, leading the Group to 
engage Mates in Mind, a charity focusing on 
construction worker mental health, to provide 
additional tailored support to the wider business.

Further detail on the COVID-19 pandemic and 
its effects on the business can be found on 
pages 4 and 5. 

Safety performance and Zero Harm
The Group HSES Director reported to the 
Committee during the year on Group 
performance against various safety metrics. 
The Committee saw significant Group-wide 
reductions in lost time incident rates, falling 
object incidents and a positive increase in 
safety observation rates during 2020. Strong 
staff engagement results also supported the 
strong Zero Harm culture within the business.

Reports were received regarding progress on 
Group initiatives, including:

 \ The Big Conversation – launched on 9 

November 2020, an initiative encouraging 
the workforce to share challenges, solutions 
and innovations around fatal risks and mental 
health (further details on page 50); and

 \ Health and Wellbeing strategy – launched 

in January 2021.

An update on the Zero Harm strategy was 
presented in February 2020, which included 
an overview of the Group’s achievements in 
improving plant standards by instigating 
safety changes directly with manufacturers 
of plant equipment and machinery. The 
Committee was further informed of the 
related implementation plans, targeted 
inspections and internal audit reviews in 
place to manage the embedding of safety 
innovations. Further detail on Zero Harm 
can be found on pages 48 to 51.

Notable incidents and fatalities
Tragically, four fatal incidents took place 
during 2020, further details of which can be 
found on page 51.

The Committee received reports on notable 
incidents and events that are deemed to have 
had a high potential of serious injury, including 
detail on learnings that are shared and applied 
across the Group. The Committee was also 
presented with case studies of external 
incidents and key lessons to be applied to the 
Group’s operations.

The Committee received updates on past 
incidents and progress made in implementing 
key learnings within the Group, for example 
the introduction of a Temporary Works Working 
Group. This included reports regarding the 
strengthening of internal controls following 
serious event investigations.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

125

GovernanceAUDIT, RISK AND INTERNAL CONTROL

Report of the Audit 
and Risk Committee

I am pleased to present the report of the 
Audit and Risk Committee for the year ended 
31 December 2020. This report contains 
explanations and insights into how the 
Committee discharged its duties during this 
unprecedented year.

The Audit and Risk Committee assists the 
Board in fulfilling its responsibilities related to 
Group financial statements, risk management 
and financial controls and the internal and 
external audit functions.

The Committee held four meetings during the 
year (further detail on attendance can be found 
on page 107). All non-executive Directors are 
encouraged to attend Committee meetings 
and meetings were also regularly attended by 
the Group Chair, Group Chief Executive, Chief 
Financial Officer, Group Risk and Audit Director, 
UK Head of Internal Audit, Group Financial 
Controller, Group General Counsel and Company 
Secretary and representatives of the external 
auditor, including the lead audit partner. There 
were further ad hoc attendees throughout the 
year who joined Committee meetings for 
specific agenda items. All meetings were 
held in line with government guidance in 
relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During 2020, the Committee remained 
focused on monitoring the integrity of the 
Group’s financial reporting, particularly in light 
of the uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 
pandemic. Further detail on the impact of the 
pandemic, including on the Group’s external 
and internal audit plans, is set out on the 
following pages.

The Committee also continued its 
programme of annually recurring compliance 
matters. The Committee’s terms of reference 
can be found on the Company’s website, 
www.balfourbeatty.com.

Stephen Billingham
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee

Stephen Billingham CBE
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee

MEMBERSHIP
 \ Stephen Billingham (Chair of the 

Committee)
 \ Stuart Doughty
 \ Michael Lucki
 \ Barbara Moorhouse

KEY ACTIONS FROM 2020
 \ Reviewed impacts of the COVID-19 

pandemic on the Group’s key judgements 
on significant accounting issues (including 
key contract judgements), risk and internal 
controls and internal and external audit plans

 \ Monitored and assessed the impact of 
the ongoing investigation into the US 
military housing business

 \ Reviewed and challenged management’s 
going concern and viability assessments 
conducted under severe downside scenarios 
in light of the COVID-19 pandemic

PRIORITIES FOR 2021
 \ Continue to review and challenge 

management’s judgements on significant 
accounting issues including key 
contract judgements

 \ Assess the effectiveness of the Gated 

Business Lifecycle including the 
mitigation of project risk 

 \ Monitor the progress and effectiveness 
of the Performance Improvement Plan 
(PIP) in place as agreed with the Air Force 
in relation to the US military housing business
 \ Assess management’s review of policies 

within its Investments business

9 March 2021 

ALLOCATION OF TIME

40+

  Financial reporting
   Internal audit, risk management

and internal control

The Committee remained 
focused on monitoring the 
integrity of the Group’s financial 
reporting, particularly in light 
of the uncertainties posed by 
the COVID-19 pandemic.

  External auditor
   Governance and other matters

126

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Roles and responsibilities 
of the Committee

 \ Monitoring the integrity of the Group’s 

financial statements, including 
formulating an opinion on whether the 
Annual Report and Accounts are fair, 
balanced and understandable

 \ Reviewing the significant financial issues 
and judgements related to the Group’s 
financial statements, including Investments 
portfolio valuations

 \ Ensuring management has relevant 

systems of risk management and internal 
control in place

 \ Monitoring the effectiveness of the internal 

audit function

 \ Overseeing the relationship with the 

external auditor, including annual approval 
of the external audit plan, review of audit 
opinions, setting of external auditor 
remuneration, and reporting the results 
of external audits to the Board

 \ Monitoring the effectiveness, objectivity 
and independence of the external auditor, 
including factors related to the provision of 
non-audit services

Committee composition
The Committee is chaired by Stephen 
Billingham, who the Board has determined as 
having the recent and relevant financial 
experience required by the UK Corporate 
Governance Code.

The Chair is supported by the other 
Committee members in delivering the 
Committee’s governance responsibilities. 
Committee members possess a range of 
experience relevant to the sector within 
which the Company operates, particularly 
in relation to financial management and risk. 
The Committee members’ full biographical 
details can be found on pages 108 and 109. 

All meetings were attended by the Company 
Secretary or their nominee. 

Evaluation of the Committee
During the year, an internal evaluation of the 
effectiveness of the Committee was 
conducted. Further details can be found on 
pages 120 and 121. 

Corporate governance
The Committee reviewed its terms of 
reference in November 2020 and approved 
minor changes. The Committee’s terms of 
reference can be found on the Company’s 
website, www.balfourbeatty.com.

19.5
+
24
+
16
+
N
COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES DURING 2020

The Committee has a substantial agenda of items formulated to fully discharge its roles and responsibilities, whilst maintaining sufficient 
time for discussion of ad hoc items that arise throughout the year.  

MARCH

MAY

AUGUST

NOVEMBER

Group financial 
statements

Received reports on financial and accounting, contract and 
commercial issues and litigation

Approved financial results press releases and the Annual 
Report and Accounts to be put to the Board

Approved the Group's viability and going 
concern statements







Reviewed Directors' valuation of the Investments portfolio 

Approved Greenhouse Gas Emissions representation 
letter to PwC

External auditor

Reviewed the external auditor’s report on the Company’s 
full year and half year financial statements

Reviewed the external auditor’s assessment of its 
objectivity and independence including a review of 
non-audit services (and associated fees) provided by the 
external auditor







Reviewed management representation letters related to 

the Company’s full year and half year financial statements 

Reviewed process and control issues identified during the 
external audit and recommendations to management set 
out in the external auditor’s management letters



Reviewed the external auditor’s audit plan and strategy

Approved the external auditor’s fees

Risk management 
and financial 
controls (including 
the internal audit 
function)

Conducted an annual assessment of risk and internal 
control, including a robust assessment of principal and 
emerging risks

Reviewed findings and recommendations from internal 
audit reports and on work plans

Received an update on the impact of COVID-19 on 
internal controls

Received risk and internal control reports

Reviewed and approved the internal audit plan

Other matters

Received updates on US military housing investigation

Received updates on Group tax and insurance

Conducted an annual review of its terms of reference

















































Private meetings between the non-executive Directors, 
Head of Internal Audit and KPMG







Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

127

GovernanceAUDIT, RISK AND INTERNAL CONTROL CONTINUED

Significant issues and other accounting judgements
In accordance with Code provision 26, the following sets out all significant issues reviewed by the Committee throughout the year, being those 
requiring management to exercise the highest level of judgement or estimation. The Committee assesses these judgements to determine if 
they are reasonable and appropriate.

REVENUE AND MARGIN RECOGNITION

PROVISIONS

Given the nature of the Group’s operations, these elements are central to 
how it values its work. Having reviewed detailed reports and met with 
management, the Committee considered contract and commercial issues 
with exposure to both revenue and margin recognition risks. As a key area of 
audit focus, the Committee also received a detailed written report from the 
external auditor setting out the results of its work in relation to key 
contract judgements.

GOING CONCERN AND VIABILITY STATEMENT

In order to satisfy itself that the Group has adequate resources to continue 
in operation for the foreseeable future and that there are no material 
uncertainties that could lead to significant doubt as to the Group’s ability to 
continue as a going concern, the Committee considered the Group’s viability 
statement, cash position (both existing and projected), bank facilities and 
covenants (including bonding lines) and the borrowing powers allowed under 
the Company’s Articles of Association. The Committee subsequently 
recommended to the Board the adoption of the going concern statement 
and the viability statement for inclusion in the Annual Report and Accounts. 
More details on going concern and the viability statement are contained on 
pages 170 and 102 respectively.

NON-UNDERLYING ITEMS

The key judgement is whether items relate to underlying trading or not and 
whether they have been presented in accordance with the Group’s accounting 
policy. The Committee conducted a review of each of the non-underlying 
items, receiving written reports from management and the external auditor 
as to their quantum and nature.

The Committee reviewed the significant judgements relating to provisions, 
including litigation and other risks. The Committee received detailed reports, 
including relevant legal advice.

RETIREMENT BENEFITS

The key judgement relates to the assumptions underlying the valuation of 
retirement benefits. The Committee received reports from management 
outlining the assumptions used, including input from the Group’s actuaries, 
in particular in relation to discount rates, inflation and mortality which were 
evaluated against external benchmarks and, in relation to which, the external 
auditor also provided reports.

DEFERRED TAX ASSETS

The Committee reviewed the Group’s considerations on future profitability 
to evaluate the judgement that it is probable the deferred tax assets are 
recoverable.

DIRECTORS’ VALUATION OF THE INVESTMENTS PORTFOLIO

The Committee assessed the methodology used to value the assets in 
terms of the discount rates applied. It also critically appraised the output 
of the Directors’ valuation exercise.

Financial reporting
A key responsibility of the Committee is to 
monitor and oversee the integrity of the 
Group’s published financial statements. This 
responsibility is discharged in part through 
the review and evaluation of the Company’s 
full year and half year financial statements.

The Committee has full access to 
management, in order to ask questions and 
gain further insights where necessary, and 
receives reports from members of the 
Finance team and the external auditor.

The Committee assessed whether the annual 
financial statements provided a ‘fair, balanced 
and understandable’ view of the Company’s 
position, performance, business model and 
strategy, as well as:

 \  assessing whether the accounting policies 
applied, and judgements (including key 
contract judgements), estimates and 
assumptions made, by management are 
reasonable and appropriate based on 
information available (detail on pages 171 
to 176); and

 \ assessing whether the Company has 

complied with relevant financial reporting 
standards and other regulatory requirements, 
including the Code, European Securities 
and Markets Authority and Markets 
Authority Guidelines on Alternative 
Performance Measures.

Going concern and viability
The Committee reviewed and challenged 
management’s assessment of the Company’s 
viability over a three-year period, and its going 
concern basis for the period of at least 
12 months from the date of approval of 
the financial statements as part of its wider 
responsibility for assessing the Group’s principal 
and emerging risks (see pages 92 to 103). 

Due to the uncertainty following the 
COVID-19 pandemic, the Directors have 
carried out an assessment on the Group’s 
ability to continue as a going concern for the 
period of at least 12 months from the date of 
approval of the financial statements 
alongside the Group’s viability assessment 
for the period to 31 December 2023. These 
assessments have involved the review of 
medium-term cash forecasts based on the 
Group’s Three Year Plan which reflects the 
estimated impact of COVID-19 on each of the 
Group’s operations on which the Directors 
have modelled a series of analyses based on 
severe but plausible downside scenarios. 

The Committee assessed these analyses and 
assumptions, taking into account cash flows, 
current levels of debt and the availability of 
future finance if required. The viability and 
going concern assessments including the 
severe but plausible downside scenarios 
modelled were discussed and the Committee 
concluded that the assessments were 
appropriate. The Committee subsequently 

approved the viability statement and the 
going concern disclosures for inclusion in the 
2020 Annual Report and Accounts. 

The viability statement and the going concern 
disclosure can be found on pages 102 and 
170 respectively.

US military housing
The Committee continued to receive updates 
and reports from the Group Financial 
Controller, Group Risk and Audit Director and 
Group General Counsel on the status and 
impact of the US military housing allegations 
levied in June 2019, related to the handling of 
certain work orders for US military bases 
managed by the Group’s subsidiary, Balfour 
Beatty Communities (BBC). Reports to the 
Committee included detail on impairment and 
sensitivity testing, internal audit investigations 
and the status of the ongoing litigation.

Balfour Beatty instructed Hunton Andrews 
Kurth LLP, BBC’s outside counsel, to conduct 
its own investigation, and BBC proactively 
contacted the Department of Justice (DoJ) to 
notify them of the review. Balfour Beatty’s 
own investigation is substantially complete, 
and the Group’s findings have been shared 
with the DoJ. 

128

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

The Company remains committed to keeping 
abreast of good practice and changing reporting 
requirements and will continue to develop its 
reporting and disclosures. 

The FRC’s review provides no assurance that 
the report and accounts are correct in all 
material respects; the FRC’s role is not to 
verify the information provided but to consider 
compliance with reporting requirements. The 
FRC’s letters are written on the basis that it 
(and its officers, employees and agents) 
accepts no liability for reliance on them by 
the Company or any third party, including but 
not limited to investors and shareholders.

External auditor
Rotation and reappointment
The Company’s external auditor is KPMG 
LLP. KPMG’s appointment was approved by 
shareholders at the 2016 AGM, following an 
audit tender process in 2015. KPMG 
replaced Deloitte, the incumbent for the 
preceding 14 years.

Pursuant to the provisions of the EU Audit 
Directive (as summarised below), the Company 
has adopted a policy that no external auditor, 
appointed following the implementation of 
the June 2016 EU Audit Directive, can remain 
in post for longer than 20 years. The Company 
has adopted a policy that the Committee will 
lead an audit tender process every ten years 
and that this will apply to the current 
incumbent, KPMG. Consequently, the next 
external audit tender is anticipated to take 
place following the completion of KPMG’s 
audit for the year ended 31 December 2025. 

Balfour Beatty has made a provision in its 
2020 year end results for an estimate of the 
historical incentive fees that its investigation 
was unable to fully verify and which BBC has 
proposed to be repaid. The Group’s external 
counsel is engaging with the DoJ, with the 
intention of seeking resolution but as the DoJ 
investigation is still ongoing, the Group is not 
able to provide any further indication or 
measure with sufficient reliability the 
outcome of the investigation, including the 
timing or any quantum of any possible fine, 
penalty or damages that may arise.

Following a series of operational challenges 
at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, the 
US Air Force required BBC to develop a 
comprehensive Performance Improvement 
Plan (PIP). The plan, which includes a variety 
of objectives and performance metrics, was 
agreed with the Air Force in February 2020. 
All initiatives set out in the plan have been 
completed, including implementing a 
significant management restructuring to 
better align technical support and resident 
services and appointing a Transformation 
Director. To date, 44 lines of effort have been 
signed off by the Air Force, whilst four 
remain under review.

COVID-19
During the year, the Committee received 
reports from the Group Risk and Audit Director 
regarding the creation of a new risk profile 
related to COVID-19 and related internal audit 
plan. The Committee received reports on 
disruption to the Group’s internal audit plan 
caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the 
mitigating actions being taken to ensure a 
smooth recommencement of work following 
easing of lockdown measures. The Committee’s 
review of the impact included discussion 
around the adaptations made to processes 
and the prioritisation of remote audits over 
project site visits. 

The Committee also reviewed and approved 
management’s assessment of the Group’s 
half year going concern and viability 
statement which included severe but 
plausible downside scenarios modelled in 
light of the impact of COVID-19.

Similarly, the Committee received updates 
from the Group Head of Tax regarding the 
impact of government schemes introduced 
to help businesses through the pandemic, 
including deferral of tax payments in the UK 
and US and grant claims in relation to the UK 
Government’s Job Retention Scheme.

The Group Financial Controller presented to 
the Committee the effects of COVID-19 on 
half year revenue and profit from operations. 
This included effects of increased costs as 
a result of implementing new operating 
procedures, lengthened site programmes 
and deterioration in contract recoverability, 
ultimately leading to a decline in profit 
from operations. 

The Group Financial Controller further reported 
on the effects of COVID-19 on internal controls. 
Additional procedures have been put in place 
in addition to the Group’s standard reporting 
with the aim of enhancing control and 
oversight whilst remote working is in place. 
This is aimed at critical finance processes 
which includes the tracking of progress on 
sites experiencing disruption due to COVID-19, 
and monitoring the Group’s liquidity position 
against the latest COVID-19 developments. 

The Committee also received updates from 
the external auditor regarding the evolution of 
risks related to the audit of the Group 
resulting from the pandemic.

Financial Reporting Council (FRC)
The Company’s 2019 Annual Report and 
Accounts were subject to a review by the 
FRC’s Corporate Reporting Review team. 
The Company received a letter from the FRC 
in November 2020 requesting further information 
on certain financial reporting matters and 
how the Group had satisfied the relevant 
reporting requirements relating to its key 
estimates and judgements disclosures under 
IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements 
including with respect to revenue, margin and 
provisions. The Company has responded to 
the FRC with an explanation of its approach 
and rationale taken. The FRC concluded its 
enquiry in March 2021 and the Company 
undertook to make certain disclosure 
enhancements to its 2020 Annual Report 
and Accounts.

EXTERNAL AUDITOR ROTATION AND REAPPOINTMENT

2001 – 2014

2015 – 2016

2023

2026

 \ Deloitte incumbent external 

 \ Audit tender process 

 \ Lead audit partner due for 

auditor

conducted; KPMG appointed 
as external auditor at 2016 
AGM

rotation

 \ Next scheduled audit tender 
process, per Company policy

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

129

GovernanceAUDIT, RISK AND INTERNAL CONTROL CONTINUED

The Committee considers that the external 
auditor relationship is appropriate and 
productive and the Committee is satisfied 
with KPMG’s effectiveness. The Committee 
considers annually the need to conduct an 
earlier formal tender process, where this may 
be required for audit quality or independence 
reasons. Provided the results of the annual 
external audit review are satisfactory, KPMG 
is recommended for reappointment at the 
AGM on an annual basis. There are no 
contractual obligations in place that restrict 
the Group’s choice of statutory auditor.

Paul Sawdon completed his third year as 
lead audit partner for the year ended 
31 December 2020. The external auditor is 
required to rotate the lead partner every five 
years – such changes are planned carefully to 
ensure business continuity, whilst avoiding 
the introduction of undue risk or inefficiencies. 
Therefore, KPMG are due to rotate their 
partner following the conclusion of the audit 
for the year ended 31 December 2022.

The key aspects of the EU Audit Directive 
include the following:

 \ Audit firms should have a maximum tenure 
of 10 years, although the UK Government 
proposes to allow an extension of:

 » up to an additional 10 years where a public
tender is carried out after ten years; or

» by up to an additional 14 years where

more than one audit firm is appointed to
carry out the audit.

 \ Audit firms are prohibited from providing 

certain non-audit services.

 \ Where permitted non-audit services are 

provided by a group’s auditor, they will be 
subject to a fees cap.

 \ Restrictions within any contract limiting a 
group’s choice of auditor are prohibited.

The disclosures provided within this report 
constitute the Company’s statement of 
compliance with the requirements of the 
Statutory Audit Services for Large Companies 
Market Investigation (Mandatory Use of 
Competitive Tender Processes and Audit 
Committee Responsibilities) Order 2014.

Independence
A formal review of the external auditor’s 
independence is conducted by the Committee 
annually. This review took place in March 
2020, where the Committee considered a 
letter submitted by KPMG which sets out:

 \  any relationships that bear on their 

objectivity and independence and the 
safeguards implemented to address any 
consequent threats to independence; and

 \ considerations related to the provision of 

non-audit services, including a comparison 
for the prior year (further detail below).

Following review of this letter, the Committee 
satisfied itself that KPMG remained 
sufficiently independent in accordance with 
the relevant professional ethical standards.

Non-audit work
The Company maintains a policy governing 
the provision of non-audit services to the 
Group, which sets out certain services that 
KPMG are prohibited from providing to the 
Group as well as detailing characteristics that 
would make a service potentially prohibited. 
In addition to this, the policy sets out a 
requirement for the Chief Financial Officer to 
approve non-prohibited services where the 
fee is below £250,000, and for the Chair of 
the Audit and Risk Committee to approve 
non-prohibited services where the fee 
exceeds £250,000. This is in addition to 
KPMG’s internal policy that prohibits it from 
providing any non-audit service, other than 
one closely related to an audit, to any FTSE 350 
company (including Balfour Beatty plc).

These provisions help to safeguard the 
external auditor’s objectivity and 
independence and ensure that no assignment 
be given to KPMG that may result in:

 \  audits of its own work;

 \ making management decisions on behalf 

auditor where necessary. The Committee 
members meet privately with the external 
auditor and management throughout the 
year in order to gain feedback to support 
these assessments.

Risk management 
and internal control 
The Committee is responsible for reviewing 
the Company’s internal financial controls and 
internal control and risk management systems. 
The internal audit function is key in assisting 
the Committee in discharging this duty and 
presents at each meeting during the year on 
internal audit workplans and key findings.

In March, the UK Head of Internal 
Audit reported to the Committee on the 
implementation of a new intelligent risk 
information system and the detailed 
review of all risk and associated controls 
that had been undertaken as part of 
the implementation.

The Committee approved the internal 
audit function’s:

 \ COVID-19 related amendments to the 

workplan in May 2020;

 \ UK half year workplan in August 2020; and

of the Group;

 \ 2021 workplan in November 2020.

In March 2020, the Committee reviewed the 
effectiveness of the Group’s systems of risk 
management and internal control. As a 
consequence of this review, it was agreed 
to implement measures to improve control 
environments at strategic business unit level.

Evaluation of internal 
auditor effectiveness
The Committee reviews the effectiveness of 
the internal audit function formally on an 
annual basis, and informally on an ongoing 
basis. Reports setting out the function’s work 
and findings are presented to the Committee 
at each meeting for discussion. An independent 
review of the function is undertaken periodically, 
as well as an internal self-assessment review. 
Such reviews are held in accordance with 
best practice guidelines and help contribute 
to the Committee’s formal annual evaluation. 
In light of the reviews, the Committee 
satisfied itself that the quality, experience 
and expertise of the function is appropriate 
for the business.

 \ acting as advocate for the Group; and

 \ a mutuality of interest with the Group 

being created.

In accordance with the policy for the provision 
of non-audit services, the aggregated spend 
on non-audit services with the external auditor 
must not exceed 60% of the Group audit fee, 
unless exceptional circumstances exist, with 
a three-year rolling average not exceeding 
70% of the Group audit fee (in line with the 
Financial Reporting Council’s ethical standards).

During 2020, there were fees of £0.5 million 
(2019: £0.4 million) paid to the external auditor 
for non-audit services. 2020 non-audit services 
provided by KPMG primarily related to the 
review of the Group’s half-year results.

Audit fees for 2020 were £3.6 million (2019: 
£3.3 million). Further details are included in 
Note 6.2 on page 182.

86% of non-audit related work provided by 
international accounting firms in 2020 was 
carried out by firms other than KPMG. 

External auditor
Effectiveness
The Committee assess the effectiveness of 
the external auditor and the appropriateness 
of the audit plan on an annual basis, in addition 
to the level of the external auditor’s 
professional scepticism. From this review, 
recommendations for improvement are 
identified and communicated to the external 

130

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Risk management and 
internal control
Risk management 
Balfour Beatty’s risk management policy 
demonstrates the Board’s commitment to 
meeting the relevant requirements of the Code.

Through adoption of the policy, the Board 
accepts its responsibility to establish 
procedures to manage risk, oversee the 
internal control framework, and determine 

the nature and extent of the principal risks 
the Company is willing to take in order to 
achieve its long-term strategic objectives. As 
part of its ongoing system of monitoring and 
control reporting, the Board is also informed 
of any emerging risks that are faced by the 
Group, including potential impacts and 
timeframes and the required responses. 
More information on the principal and 
emerging risks faced by the Group are found 
on pages 92 to 102.

Balfour Beatty’s approach to risk 
management seeks to reduce the likelihood 
of risk events occurring, limit or remove any 
negative impact of those events, and identify 
opportunities where taking risks may benefit 
the Group. The Enterprise Risk Management 
(ERM) framework is integral to this approach 
and, as such, undergoes regular review as 
part of the ongoing monitoring of, and 
response to, changes to the Group’s risk 
profile and business operating model.

RISK MANAGEMENT: RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACTIONS

RESPONSIBILITIES

BOARD

ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN

 \  Responsible for establishment of a framework of prudent and effective 

controls to enable risk to be assessed and managed

 \ Reviews the Group’s risk landscape, profile, principal risks and required responses
 \ Reviews the effectiveness of the Group’s whistleblowing helpline and other 

 \ Determines Group appetite for and attitude to risk in pursuit of its 

channels for raising concerns about Code of Conduct breaches

strategic objectives

AUDIT AND RISK COMMITTEE

 \ Reviews significant accounting judgements
 \ Reviews the effectiveness of Group internal controls, including systems 

to identify assess, manage and monitor risks

 \ Reviews and assesses the internal audit workplan

 \ Receives regular reports on internal and external audit and other assurance 

activities

 \ Reviews the effectiveness of Group risk management and internal control 

systems

SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE

 \ Reviews main risks in relation to safety 

 \ Receives regular reports on risks in relation to safety

GROUP TENDER AND INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

 \ Reviews and approves tenders and investments, triggered by certain 

 \ Critically appraises significant tender and investment/divestment proposals, 

financial thresholds or other risk factors

with a specific focus on risk

GROUP MANAGEMENT

 \  Strategic leadership
 \ Responsible for reviewing and implementing the Group risk 

management policy

 \ Ensures appropriate actions are taken to manage strategic risks and 

 \ Strategic plan and annual budget process
 \ Produces and monitors Group Risk Register
 \ Reviews risk management and assurance activities and processes
 \ Monthly/quarterly finance and performance reviews

other key risks

STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNIT MANAGEMENT

 \ Responsible for risk management and internal control systems within its 

business

 \ Ensures that business units’ responsibilities are discharged

 \ Reviews key risks and mitigation plans
 \ Reviews and challenges business units’ internal control environment
 \ Reviews results of internal control testing
 \ Escalates key risks to Group management and the Board

ENABLING FUNCTION MANAGEMENT

 \ Maintains an effective system of risk management and internal control 

within its enabling functions

BUSINESS UNIT MANAGEMENT

 \ Maintains an effective system of risk management and internal control 

within its business units and projects

 \ Maintains and regularly reviews enabling function risk registers
 \ Reviews mitigation plans
 \ Plans, executes and reports on internal control testing
 \ Escalates key risks to Group management and the Board

 \ Maintains and regularly reviews project, functional and strategic risk registers
 \ Reviews mitigation plans
 \ Plans, executes and reports on internal control testing
 \ Escalates key risks to strategic business unit management

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

131

GovernanceAUDIT, RISK AND INTERNAL CONTROL CONTINUED

Roles and responsibilities
The Board is responsible for the 
establishment and oversight of Balfour 
Beatty’s ERM framework and embedding an 
effective risk management culture. The 
Board establishes the Group’s risk attitude 
and appetite by directing the level of risk that 
can be taken by the Group and its strategic 
and individual business units without specific 
approval. Group policies, procedures and 
delegated authority levels set by the Board 
provide the structure within which risks are 
reviewed and escalated to the appropriate 
level, up to and including the Board, for 
consideration and approval.

The roles and responsibilities of the Board, 
its Committees, strategic business unit and 
individual business unit management are 
set out opposite.

Balfour Beatty’s ERM framework comprises 
the policy, operating standards and 
associated procedures and supporting tools 
to identify, assess, respond to and monitor 
risk. Risk registers across the Group are 
maintained within the bespoke ERM system, 
IRIS (Intelligent Risk Information System), 
which enables increased oversight and 
central review as well as consistency in 
the application of the process at all levels 
of the organisation. 

In 2020 the roll out of IRIS into the US 
business has increased visibility of risk 
profiles and enables the consistent roll up 
of operational and business risk profiles 
to Group level.

As mandated in the Balfour Beatty risk 
management policy, business units and 
enabling functions are responsible for 
ensuring that effective arrangements, and 
management controls, are established and 
implemented across their organisation, and 
escalated to Group management as relevant.

Balfour Beatty is relentless in ensuring that 
a positive risk management culture remains 
embedded at all levels. This is achieved 
through senior management ownership and 
application of the framework at each level 
of the organisation, ensuring that effective 
risk identification and management aligned 
to appetite remain at the heart of key 
decision making.

Risk management is central to the work 
winning and project delivery process and an 
assessment of risk is built into each stage 
within the Gated Business Lifecycle, informing 
decisions to proceed to the next stage. As an 
opportunity develops, detailed analysis of 
risks which have the potential to influence 
a project’s ability to meet its objectives, 
including the achievement of expected 

contract targets and the meeting of client 
expectations, is performed and associated 
mitigation strategies are challenged.

The Circles of Risk act as a prompt to ensure 
early consideration is given to the pursuit of 
an opportunity as it aligns to risk appetite and 
provides guidance on the identification of 
potential project-level risk themes and 
associated mitigation to support the 
decision-making process. For more information 
on the Circles of Risk see page 89.

In addition, the Board’s delegated authority 
levels act as triggers for the escalation of 
matters requiring approval as the opportunity 
proceeds through the gates at bid stage. This 
means projects above a certain value, or 
those with bespoke aspects such as a move 
into new markets, require approval by the 
Group Tender and Investment Committee or 
the Board, as appropriate.

Escalation and reporting structures ensure 
that risk oversight is rigorously applied at all 
levels of the business from operational 
review through to scrutiny by the Executive 
Risk Steering Group (ERSG) and the Board. 
The ERSG monitors any changes in the Group’s 
risk profile and its members act as the executive 
sponsor for risk management within their 
respective businesses and functions, ensuring 
that the Group risk profile is informed by 
business and operational risk trends.

It remains vital that the Group’s approach to 
risk management continues to be reflective 
of the shape and direction of the business 
and the wider industry. A further review and 
streamline of the Group Risk Register was 
reviewed and refreshed in 2020 as part of the 
biannual formal review of the Group’s risk 
profile to verify that all identified risks and 
associated controls have been appropriately 
assessed and have an allocated owner at 
senior management level.

Internal control
The Board has ultimate responsibility for the 
Group’s internal control and risk management 
systems and regularly reviews their 
effectiveness. The Group’s systems and 
controls are maintained centrally on the 
Business Management System (BMS) and 
are designed to ensure exposure to 
significant risk is both understood and 
appropriately managed. The Board 
recognises that any system of internal control 
is designed to identify and control rather than 
eliminate risk and can only provide 
reasonable and not absolute assurance 
against material misstatement or loss. In 
addition, not all the material joint ventures in 
which the Group is involved sit wholly within 
Balfour Beatty’s internal control environment. 
Where this is the case, separate systems of 

132

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

internal control and risk management are applied 
as agreed between the joint venture partners.

Central to the Group’s systems of internal 
control are its processes and framework for 
risk management. These align with the 
Financial Reporting Council’s Guidance on 
Risk Management, Internal Control and 
Related Financial and Business Reporting and 
were in place throughout 2020 and up to the 
date of signing this report. The Group has a 
thorough understanding of its risk exposures 
and has in place a key control statement.

Topics covered by policies, standards and 
expectations include but are not limited to:

 \ a comprehensive system of delegated 

authorities from the Board to management 
with certain matters reserved by the 
Board;

 \ monthly financial reporting against budgets 
and the review of results and forecasts by 
executive Directors and management, 
including particular areas of business or 
project risk. This is used to update 
management’s understanding of the 
environment in which the Group operates 
and the methods used to mitigate and 
control identified risks;

 \ annual review of the strategy and plans of 

each business and of the Group as a whole 
to identify risks to the achievement of 
objectives and, where appropriate, any 
relevant mitigating actions;

 \ a comprehensive suite of policies, manuals 
and instructions setting out the requirements 
of the Group Finance function covering the 
financial management of the Group, 
including but not restricted to arrangements 
with the Group’s bankers and bond 
providers, controls on foreign exchange 
dealings and management of currency and 
interest rate exposures, application of 
accounting policies and financial controls;

 \ risk management requirements which are 
embedded throughout the Group and held 
on the BMS;

 \ enhanced systems for the management 
and reporting of risk which have been 
deployed throughout the Group;

 \ reviews and tests by the internal audit 
function of critical business financial 
processes and controls and specific reviews 
in areas of perceived high business risk;

 \ reviews and authorising of proposed 
investment, divestment and capital 
expenditure through the Board and 
Board Committees;

The Audit & Risk Committee’s role in ensuring the financial 
statements taken as a whole are fair, balanced and understandable
As part of the Committee’s assessment whether the annual financial statements provides 
a ‘fair, balanced and understandable’ view, the Committee has oversight that the following 
processes have been implemented effectively by management:

 \ comprehensive guidance issued to all contributors;

 \ verification of the factual content of the financial statements;

 \ review of the disclosures made by the contributors to each section; and

 \ comprehensive reviews by senior management to ensure consistency and overall balance.

In addition to the above, the Committee also undertakes a review to determine if the entire 
financial statements is representative of the Group’s performance in the year and challenges 
management on the overall balance of the report prior to recommending approval of the 
financial statements to the Board.

 \ regular reporting, monitoring and review of 

the effectiveness of health, safety, 
environment and sustainability processes. 
These processes are subject to independent 
audit and certification to internationally 
recognised standards as appropriate;

 \ legal and regulatory compliance risks 
which are addressed through specific 
policies and training on such matters as 
business integrity, competition and data 
protection laws; and

 \ promotion of a culture of compliance with 
ethics and integrity responsibilities to help 
manage legal and reputational risks across 
the Group. A ‘Speak Up’ ethics helpline 
encourages the workforce to raise 
concerns, in confidence, about possible 
breaches of the Code of Conduct.

There is also an independent internal audit 
function that executes a risk-based 
programme of audit throughout the entire 
Group. All audit reports are shared with 
relevant management in addition to being 
reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee; 
see pages 130 and 131.

It is the expectation and requirement of the 
Board that business unit, enabling function 
and shared services management teams 
ensure this comprehensive internal control 
environment (including internal audit) is 
embedded within their respective areas.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

133

GovernanceREMUNERATION

Anne Drinkwater
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

MEMBERSHIP
 \ Anne Drinkwater (Chair of the Committee)

 \ Philip Aiken

 \ Michael Lucki

 \ Barbara Moorhouse

KEY ACTIONS FROM 2020
A significant amount of the Committee’s 
time in 2020 was spent assessing the 
impact of COVID-19 and overseeing the 
implementation of the new Remuneration 
Policy, which was approved by shareholders 
at the 2020 AGM. Our other key actions 
from 2020 included:

 \ Engaged with shareholders around 

proposed Remuneration Policy changes

 \ Ensured the Remuneration Policy was 

implemented in alignment with business 
strategy and culture

 \ Continued to monitor remuneration 

practice across the Group as a whole, 
keeping abreast of market practice

PRIORITIES FOR 2021
 \ Maintain alignment of remuneration with 

strategic and operational delivery

 \ Review incentive plan measures to ensure 
they support the sustainability strategy

 \ Consider impact of culture on 

remuneration strategy implementation 

 \ Widen engagement with stakeholders 

around remuneration practices

 \ Ensure appropriate remuneration structure 
across all global Balfour Beatty operations

Report of the 
Remuneration 
Committee

As Chair of the Remuneration Committee 
I am pleased to present our Directors’ 
remuneration report for the year ended 
31 December 2020. At the AGM in 2020, the 
Remuneration Policy was approved by over 
93% of shareholders, and a summary of the 
policy and how it will be implemented for the 
year ending 31 December 2021 is included in 
the Remuneration At A Glance section on 
page 137. The remainder of the report sets 
out the Annual Report on Remuneration 
detailing how the remuneration policy was 
applied over the year ended 31 December 2020. 

In this unprecedented year, our focus has 
been to ensure we take a balanced approach 
to remuneration reflecting the huge range of 
challenges facing individuals, businesses and 
governments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic 
and recognising the significant contributions 
of the whole workforce across the Group 
who have continued to deliver projects and 
services safely for our customers. The 
deliberations of the Committee are made 
against the backdrop of continued progress 
against the Build to Last strategy, the 
markets in which the Group operates, the 
wider general economy and developing 
corporate governance and shareholder views. 

Roles and responsibilities 
of the Committee
The terms of reference of the 
Remuneration Committee are available in 
full on the Company’s website at https://
www.balfourbeatty.com/investors/
governance/board-committees.

The Committee’s terms of reference 
were reviewed during the year to ensure 
compliance with the Code and recognise 
best practice.

Strategic and business context
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Balfour 
Beatty has responded swiftly and decisively 
to the rapidly evolving situation, protecting 
the Group’s expert capability and financial 
strength, whilst continuing to deliver for 
all stakeholders:

 \ Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted 
profitability, the Group has recovered from 
a half-year loss to deliver a resilient 
performance, including a second half profit.

 \ The actions of management have meant 
cash performance continues to be strong 
(with average net cash of £527 million – 
significantly higher than last year and 
exceeding previous guidance).

 \ Recognising the positive momentum 
across the business as a result of the 
actions of management, including a record 
year end order book of £16.4 billion giving 
clear medium-term visibility, the Board has 
recommended the payment of a 2020 final 
dividend. In addition, as a first step in a 
programme of returning capital to shareholders, 
the Company commenced a £50 million 
share buyback programme in January 2021 
and in March increased this to £150 million 
for 2021.

 \ The executive Directors and management 
have made an exceptional contribution 
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 
leading industry-wide practice to keep sites 
open and people safe. Leo Quinn’s industry 
leadership and regular liaison with the UK 
Government helped to develop industry 
national safety guidelines and the Company’s 
inclusion on the Build Back Britain 
Better Council.

 \ Whilst the Group accessed support under 
the UK Job Retention Scheme between 
March and October, which avoided the 
necessity to declare significant 
redundancies as a direct result of the 
impact of the pandemic, pay for impacted 
employees was topped up above the 
minimum level of government support. 
This protected employees and ensured 
jobs were retained during this challenging 
period. With 2020 full year results now 
finalised, the Group has taken the decision 
to repay the £19 million claimed under the 
UK Job Retention Scheme.

 \ Throughout this difficult time, enhanced 

communication and engagement with our 
workforce has led to an increase from 66% 
to 75% in the employee engagement index 
score across the UK and US.

 \ Members of the Board and the Executive 

Committee agreed a voluntary pay reduction 
of 20% in April and May. In addition to this, 
during May other management-level 
employees agreed up to 20% reductions 
in base salary whilst continuing to work. 

Balfour Beatty has launched its refreshed 
sustainability strategy, Building New Futures, 
which forms an important part of its business 
strategy. The Group’s international footprint 
and the expert capability of its employees will 
allow it to drive best practice, innovate and 
deliver real impact at scale. During 2021, the 
Remuneration Committee will be reviewing 
the incentive plan performance measures 
used and how these can support the 
sustainability strategy.

134

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

ALLOCATION OF TIME

14+

  Remuneration policy
   Remuneration of Directors and 
Executive Committee members

    Governance and other matters

Throughout the COVID-19 
pandemic, Balfour Beatty has 
responded swiftly and 
decisively to the rapidly 
evolving situation, protecting 
the Group’s expert capability 
and financial strength, whilst 
continuing to deliver for all 
stakeholders.

Reward for 2020
The Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) outcomes for 
the executive Directors was 59.25% and 
59.00% of maximum for Leo Quinn and 
Philip Harrison respectively: 

 \ Given the exceptionally challenging 
circumstances brought about by the 
pandemic, the stretching profit targets 
which were set at the start of the year and 
not adjusted, were not met and this 
element of the bonus did not pay out. 
However, the maximum cash target was 
significantly exceeded, reflecting prudent 
cost management during the year.

 \ Representative of the exemplary 

leadership of the Company shown by Leo 
Quinn and Philip Harrison, 97% and 96% 
respectively of their strategic business and 
personal objectives were met. The 
achievement levels include adjustment 
downwards based on the safety metric 
where, tragically, there were four fatal 
incidents in the year, one in the UK 
business and three in the Hong Kong 
based joint venture.

 \ Leo Quinn led the rapid mobilisation of 

revised safe operating procedures across 
the organisation in response to the 
pandemic and led engagement across the 
construction sector, as well as achieving 
increases in employee engagement scores 
and ensuring major strategic wins in 
relation to HS2. 

 \ Philip Harrison has continued to deliver a 
robust financial platform for the Group 
including successful implementation of the 
HS2 financial systems, delivering continued 
improvements to cash liquidity management 
and completing an extension of the 
Group’s committed bank facility.

 \ Further details of the strategic business 
and personal objectives are set out on 
pages 142 and 143.

50% of this AIP payment will be deferred 
into Balfour Beatty shares for three years.

The proposed award of a 2020 Performance 
Share Plan (PSP) to the executive Directors 
was held back at their request in March 2020 
due to the high level of business uncertainty 
relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 
PSP awards were made to the executive 
Directors in June 2020 although the share 
price improvement between those dates 
created a significant reduction in the number 
of shares granted.

The performance conditions relating to the 
2018 PSP awards measured performance 
over the three years ended 31 December 
2020 for all participants. TSR performance 
over the period fell marginally below median. 
Given the impact of the pandemic, the 
stretching EPS targets set at the start of the 

performance period, which were not adjusted, 
were not met. Therefore the EPS and TSR 
elements of the awards lapsed in full. However, 
the maximum operating cash flow target was 
met and as a result, 33.3% of these awards 
will vest for Leo Quinn and Philip Harrison on 
27 March 2021.

In assessing the appropriateness of the AIP 
and PSP outcomes, the Remuneration 
Committee considered the impact of actions 
taken by management to maintain a strong 
cash position (including the cessation of the 
dividend and government support received) 
and the consequent successes and subsequent 
actions (including the reinstatement of the 
dividend and decision to repay the UK 
Government Job Retention Scheme). In 
addition to the voluntary pay cut for the Board 
in April and May, the outcomes represent a 
significant reduction in both incentive outcomes 
and total single figure remuneration compared 
to the prior year. On balance, the Remuneration 
Committee considered the vesting outcome 
appropriately reflected the Group’s underlying 
performance over the relevant periods.

As a result of the outcome of the voluntary 
reduction in salary and the lower outcome of 
both the AIP and the PSP, the single figure of 
remuneration for both executive Directors fell 
by approximately 30% from 2019 (see page 
141). The Committee believes that the total 
remuneration received, and the change from 
the prior year, was appropriate in the context 
of business performance in this 
unprecedented year.

Remuneration for 2021
Since appointment in January 2015, the 
Group Chief Executive has not taken a salary 
increase and the only increase for the Chief 
Financial Officer was on 1 July 2019 in line 
with the wider workforce (compared to an 
average salary increase over this period of 
around 14% for the wider workforce). 

In July 2020, the Remuneration Committee 
awarded a base salary increase of 2.5% to 
the Group Chief Executive (in line with the 
wider workforce). Whilst this increase would 
usually be effective from 1 July 2020, the 
executive Directors and the Remuneration 
Committee delayed the effective date of 
implementation to 1 January 2021. However, 
the Group Chief Executive declined the increase 
to his base salary which remains unchanged. 

The Chief Financial Officer’s salary on 
appointment was positioned towards the 
lower end of the Construction sector and 
since then, he has been instrumental in the 
success of the business. The Chief Financial 
Officer’s role continues to become 
increasingly strategic and critical to the 
success and stability of the business in the 
coming years. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

135

Governance67
+
19
+
N
Shareholder engagement 
Shareholder consultation is an ongoing 
process. Past consultations have informed 
the implementation of our Remuneration 
Policy during 2020. The Remuneration 
Committee also recognises the 83% ‘vote 
for’ the Annual Report on Remuneration and 
the feedback from shareholders at the 2020 
AGM, which helped inform the Committee’s 
decision making during the year.

Conclusion
We believe that our implementation of the 
Company’s Remuneration Policy will 
continue to deliver a robust link between 
strategy, reward and performance, supporting 
Balfour Beatty’s drive to deliver profitable 
managed growth and cash generation into 
the future. The Remuneration Policy has 
been, and will continue to be, implemented 
rigorously, aligned with the Group’s strategic 
goals and culture. We hope you will support 
the Remuneration report at the 2021 AGM.

Anne Drinkwater
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

9 March 2021

REMUNERATION CONTINUED

In July 2020, the Remuneration Committee 
agreed a base salary increase for the Chief 
Financial Officer of 5.8%. This is the second 
increase in his salary since his appointment 
in June 2015 and reflects his contribution 
in moving Balfour Beatty into a 
market-leading position. 

No changes are proposed to the basis for the 
performance measures to be used in the AIP 
for 2021. The AIP will continue to be based 
on profit (40%), cash (35%) and strategic 
business/personal objectives (25%), with 
challenging performance targets set for each. 
The executive Directors will be able to earn a 
maximum bonus of 150% of base salary in 
line with the policy. Details of the targets for 
the 2021 AIP will be disclosed on a 
retrospective basis.

As in previous years, the PSP awards will be 
based on a mix of adjusted earnings per 
share (one-third), cash (one-third) and relative 
total shareholder return (one-third) targets. 
The Committee is satisfied that the balance 
of measures remain appropriate, aligned to 
long-term business strategy, with stretching 
targets which reflect the current environment. 
The Group Chief Executive will be granted a 
PSP award over shares worth 200% of base 
salary and the Chief Financial Officer 175% 
of base salary.

Full details of how the Remuneration Policy 
will be applied during 2021 (including the 
basis for the performance measures) are 
detailed on pages 138 to 140.

Wider workforce remuneration
In addition to the executive Directors, the 
Committee reviewed both the level and 
structure of remuneration for the members of 
the Executive Committee, with a focus on 
alignment with strategy and culture. The 
Committee receives regular updates on pay 
and benefits for the wider workforce and 
takes these into account when reviewing 
executive and senior management remuneration.

Results of the employee engagement 
surveys are also reviewed to monitor how 
the Company’s policies and practices support 
culture and strategy.

The UK Gender Pay Gap Report was 
discussed, including the steps Balfour 
Beatty is taking to narrow its gender pay 
gap through the Diversity and Inclusion 
action plans in the UK and US.

The pay ratio of Group Chief Executive to 
average employee reduced for 2020 in 
comparison to 2019 which reflected the 
reduction in the single figure of remuneration 
for the Group Chief Executive as a result of 
the voluntary reduction in salary and the 
lower outcome of both the AIP and the PSP.

136

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Remuneration at a glance 

Ahead of the Annual Report on Remuneration, we have summarised below the key remuneration outcomes for 2020, the key 
elements of the Company’s remuneration policy approved at the AGM held on 25 June 2020 and how we intend to implement 
it in 2021 in line with the changes set out in the Remuneration Committee Chair’s annual statement on pages 134 to 136. 

Our full Remuneration Policy can be found on the Balfour Beatty website at: www.balfourbeatty.com.

AIP metrics and outcomes

PROFIT BEFORE TAX AND  
NON-UNDERLYING ITEMS

GROUP TOTAL  
CASH FLOW¹

STRATEGIC BUSINESS AND  
PERSONAL OBJECTIVES

AIP OUT-TURN

£36m

ACTUAL

0%
OF MAX.

£69m

ACTUAL

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

100%
OF MAX.

97%
OF MAX.

96%
OF MAX.

59.25%
OF MAX.

59%
OF MAX.

£
1
4
4

.

8
m

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

£
1
8
1
m

T
a
r
g
e
t

£
1
9
9

.

1
m

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

£
(
7
8

.

7
)
m

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

T
a
r
g
e
t

£
(
6
5

.

6
)
m

£
(
4
5

.

9
)
m

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

PSP metrics and outcomes

TOTAL SHAREHOLDER  
RETURN

OPERATING CASH FLOW 
(OCF) TARGETS

EARNINGS  
PER SHARE2

Below 
median

ACTUAL

0%
OF MAX.

£280m

ACTUAL

100%
OF MAX.

3.7p

ACTUAL

PSP OUT-TURN

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

0%
OF MAX.

33.3%
OF MAX.

33.3%
OF MAX.

m
e
d
i
a
n

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

u
p
p
e
r

q
u
a
r
t
i
l
e

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

£
1
4
1
m

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

£
1
7
6
m

T
a
r
g
e
t

£
2
1
1
m

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

2
2
p

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

3
1
p

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REMUNERATION SCENARIOS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ SHAREHOLDING GUIDELINES

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

£

£2,149k

£2,381k

£1,070k

£1,175k

Key:
 PSP
 AIP
  Fixed pay

23%

33%

34%

25%

44%

41%

A
c
t
u
a
l

O
n
-

t
a
r
g
e
t
5

20%
34%

46%

A
c
t
u
a
l

31%

26%

43%

O
n
-

t
a
r
g
e
t
5

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

923%

200%

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

364%

150%

(% of base 
salary held) 

A
c
t
u
a
l
3

,

4

G
u
i
d
e
l
i
n
e

A
c
t
u
a
l
3

,

4

G
u
i
d
e
l
i
n
e

1  Group total cash flow is the movement between opening and closing total net cash/debt.
2  Underlying basic earnings per share from continuing operations.
3  Calculations shown include shares beneficially owned at 31 December 2020 plus unvested shares, which are not subject to a further performance condition, on a net of tax basis.
4  Actual holdings are shown on IA basis.
5  Group Chief Executive’s and Chief Financial Officer’s scenarios are calculated on base salaries at 1 January 2020 of £800k and £411k respectively.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

137

Governance 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Summary of policy and implementation in 2021

Remuneration policy

Our approach for 2021

Base salary

To provide a competitive salary relative to 
comparable companies in terms of size 
and complexity.

Since appointment, the Group Chief Executive has not taken a salary increase and the only 
increase for the Chief Financial Officer was on 1 July 2019 in line with the wider workforce 
(compared to an average salary increase over this period of c.14% for the wider workforce). 

The salary of the Chief Financial Officer is positioned towards the lower end of the 
Construction sector, which generally comprises companies of smaller financial size and 
international exposure. During this time, the Chief Financial Officer has been critical to the 
success of Build to Last, delivering the strong cash performance of the business and building a 
resilient foundation that will enable the Company to recover strongly from the COVID-19 
pandemic. The Chief Financial Officer’s role has also transformed to become more strategic 
which will be critical to the success and stability of the business in the coming years. 

In reaction to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive Directors took appropriate 
action to shore up the cash position and strength of the business including taking a voluntary 
20% reduction in base salary in April and May 2020. In June, in recognition of the progression 
made under Build to Last and their exceptional leadership, the Committee awarded a 2.5% 
increase to the Group Chief Executive (in line with the wider workforce) and a 5.8% increase to 
the Chief Financial Officer (recognising his increasing role over the last five years). Whilst these 
increases would usually have been effective from 1 July 2020, the executive Directors and the 
Committee delayed the effective date of implementation to 1 January 2021. The Group Chief 
Executive declined the increase to his base salary which remains unchanged.

The next base salary review date is 1 July 2021.

Date of
appointment

Jan 2015
Jun 2015

Salary on
appointment
£

800,000
400,000

1 July 2019
£

800,000
411,000

1 January 
2021
£

800,000
435,000

%
increase

0%
5.8%

The executive Directors receive a pension cash allowance equivalent to 20% of base salary. 
As disclosed in the 2019 Remuneration report, the pension provision for incumbent executive 
Directors will align to the level of the wider workforce, currently 7% of base salary, from the 
end of December 2022.

For 2021, the AIP for the executive Directors will be a maximum bonus of 150% of base salary, 
based on the achievement of three performance measures:

 \ profit before tax (40%);

 \ cash (35%); and 

 \ strategic business and personal objectives (25%).

The three elements are measured and calculated independently of each other and 50% of any 
bonus earned will be deferred for three years in Balfour Beatty shares.

While the Committee has chosen not to disclose in advance the performance targets for 2021 
as these include items which the Committee considers commercially sensitive, retrospective 
disclosure of the targets and performance against them will be presented in the Remuneration 
report for 2021.

For 2021, and consistent with 2020, the Group Chief Executive will be granted a Performance 
Share Plan (PSP) award over shares worth 200% of base salary and the Chief Financial Officer 
175% of base salary. The PSP awards to be granted in 2021 will be based on the 
achievement of three performance measures:

 \ relative TSR (33.3%) – the Company’s TSR measured against a comparator group. There is 
no vesting for ranking below median, with 25% of this part of an award vesting at median 
ranking, rising to 100% vesting of this part of an award at upper quartile or higher;

 \ EPS (33.3%) – the Group’s EPS over the three-year performance period (underlying basic 

earnings per share from continuing operations); and

 \ cash (33.3%) – cash remains critical as a long-term performance measure.

The performance measures are aligned to long-term business strategy and appropriately 
stretching reflecting the current environment.

Leo Quinn
Philip Harrison

Pension and benefits

Annual Incentive Plan 
(AIP)

Long-term incentive

Executive Directors can elect for Balfour 
Beatty to contribute to a defined contribution 
pension or receive a cash equivalent.

Benefits are provided that are appropriate 
to the role and which take into account 
typical practice.

Bonuses are subject to the achievement 
of stretching key performance measures 
without encouraging excessive risk. 
Performance measures are aligned to the 
Company’s strategy and reflect the changing 
needs of the business. A minimum of 
70% is based on financial measures.

A proportion of any bonus earned is 
deferred into shares to facilitate share 
ownership, aid retention and provide 
further alignment with shareholders.

Incentivise and reward delivery of 
long-term performance linked to the 
business strategy and further facilitate 
share ownership and alignment with 
shareholders.

Vesting, subject to performance, on the 
third anniversary of the grant followed by 
a two-year holding period, with a 
minimum of 30% based on relative total 
shareholder return and the balance based 
on other financial targets.

138

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Remuneration policy

Our approach for 2021

200% of base salary for the Group Chief Executive and 150% of base salary for the Chief 
Financial Officer. 

The post vesting holding condition applying to PSP awards requires the vested shares (net of tax) to 
be held until the fifth anniversary of grant and will continue to apply post cessation of employment.

Shareholding 
guidelines

Shareholding guidelines apply to executive 
Directors to align their long-term interests 
with those of shareholders.

The Group Chief Executive and Chief 
Financial Officer must accumulate a 
shareholding to the value of 200% and 
150% of base salary respectively (200% 
of base salary for all new executive Directors). 

New executive Directors will be required 
to hold the lower of 100% of their in-post 
share ownership requirement or their 
actual holding on departure, for two years 
post cessation of employment.

Non-executive 
Directors

Fees are set at a level to attract and retain 
high quality and experienced 
non-executive Directors.

The Company’s approach to setting non-executive Directors’ fees is by reference to fees paid at 
similar companies and reflects the time commitment and responsibilities of each role.

At the annual review of fees for the Chairman and non-executive Directors on 1 July 2020, fees 
were increased, in line with the general workforce, as set out below. Whilst these increases 
would usually have been effective from 1 July 2020, the Chairman and non-executive Directors 
delayed the effective date to 1 January 2021.

Chairman
Base fee
Senior independent Director fee
Committee Chair fee

Alignment with provision 40 of the Corporate Governance Code

Code requirements

Our approach

1 July 2019
£

277,000
62,500
10,000
15,000

1 January 
2021
£

284,000
64,000
10,000
15,000

%
increase

2.5%
2.4%
0%
0%

Simplicity & clarity
Remuneration arrangements should be transparent and promote 
effective engagement with shareholders and the workforce. 
Remuneration structures should avoid complexity and their rationale 
and operation should be easy to understand.

Risk 
Remuneration arrangements should ensure reputational and other 
risks from excessive rewards, and behavioural risks that can arise 
from target-based incentive plans, are identified and mitigated.

The remuneration framework is made up of three key elements: fixed 
pay (including base salary, pension and benefits), annual bonus (AIP) 
and a separate long-term incentive (PSP).

The framework is simple to understand for both participants and 
shareholders and the incentive elements are aligned to the strategic 
priorities for the business. 

Identified risks have been mitigated as follows:

 \ Variable remuneration targets are set at levels which reward high 

performance but which do not encourage inappropriate business risk.

 \ Deferral of part of any bonus earned under the AIP into shares 

and the holding period applied to any PSP award ensure variable 
remuneration is linked to sustainable performance and discourages 
short-term behaviours.

 \ All AIP and PSP awards to executive Directors include provisions for 

malus and clawback.

 \ The Committee has the discretion to vary formulaic outcomes for 
incentive vesting should outcomes not reflect the underlying 
performance of the Company.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

139

GovernanceREMUNERATION CONTINUED

Code requirements

Our approach

Predictability 
The range of possible values of rewards to individual directors and 
any other limits or discretions should be identified and explained at 
the time of approving the policy.

Our remuneration policy in the 2019 Directors’ remuneration report 
set out the potential remuneration in future periods under several 
performance scenarios for the Group Chief Executive and the Chief 
Financial Officer in respect of awards to be made in 2021.

Proportionality 
The link between individual awards, the delivery of strategy and the 
long-term performance of the company should be clear. Outcomes 
should not reward poor performance.

Alignment to culture
Incentive schemes should drive behaviours consistent with company 
purpose, values and strategy.

The Committee is comfortable that the discretions available to it 
are sufficient.

A significant proportion of an executive Director’s reward is linked to 
performance through the incentive framework, with a clear line of sight 
between performance and the delivery of long-term shareholder value.

Performance measures and the underlying targets are reviewed 
regularly by the Committee to ensure that they are directly aligned to 
the Group’s strategic priorities, and targets are calibrated to reward for 
strong performance over the performance period.

Executive Directors are required to build material shareholdings in the 
Group and going forward will be subject to a post cessation 
shareholding requirement which will ensure that their interests are 
aligned to the Group’s long-term performance. 

The Committee is focused on ensuring a healthy culture exists across 
the entire business; a refreshed Cultural Framework was launched in 
2020 and the Committee believes that the executive Directors are 
rewarded on both what they deliver and how that is delivered. 

140

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Annual report on remuneration 

This part of the Remuneration report sets out how the Remuneration Policy was implemented over the year ended 31 December 2020. Details 
of the remuneration earned by Directors and the outcomes of incentive schemes, including details of relevant links to Company performance, 
are also provided in this part.

The following sections have been audited by KPMG: Remuneration received by Directors for the year ended 31 December 2020 including 
related notes (page 141); outstanding share awards (page 145); PSP awards granted during the year (page 146); payments to past Directors 
(page 146); and Statement of Directors’ shareholdings and share interests (page 146).

Remuneration received by Directors for the year ended 31 December 2020
The table below sets out the Directors’ remuneration for the year ended 31 December 2020 (or for performance periods ended in that year in 
respect of long-term incentives) together with comparative figures for the year ended 31 December 2019.

Fixed pay

Variable pay

Base salary 

and fees 1,2

Taxable 
benefits 3,4

Year

£

£

Pension 
cash
allowance 5
£

Sub total
£

Annual 
incentive 
cash 6
£

Annual 
incentive
deferred
shares 6
£

Long-term
incentives 7,8

£

Sub total
£

Total 8
£

Executive Directors
Philip Harrison

Leo Quinn

Non-executive Directors
Philip Aiken

Stephen Billingham

Stuart Doughty

Anne Drinkwater9

Michael Lucki

Barbara Moorhouse

2020 397,300
2019 405,500
2020 773,333
2019 800,000

2020
267,767
2019 277,000
74,917
2020
75,750
2019
74,917
2020
75,750
2019
75,417
2020
71,085
2019
60,417
2020
62,000
2019
60,417
2020
62,000
2019

14,533
14,502
21,066
21,004

–
–
232
328
886
1,849
5,000
5,657
10,246
16,842
1,173
875

Former non-executive Director
Iain Ferguson10

2020
2019

–
28,082

–
1,219

80,560
80,000
154,667
160,000

492,393
500,002
949,066
981,004

181,868
296,691
355,500
577,500

181,868
296,691
355,500
577,500

213,894
407,144
488,904
930,620

577,630

1,070,023
1,000,526 1,500,528
 1,199,904
2,148,970
2,085,620 3,066,624

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–

267,767
277,000
75,149
76,078
75,803
77,599
80,417
76,742
70,663
78,842
61,590
62,875

–
29,301

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

267,767
277,000
75,149
76,078
75,803
77,599
80,417
76,742
70,663
78,842
61,590
62,875

–
–

–
29,301

1  Base salary and fees were those paid in respect of the period of the year during which the individuals were Directors. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive Directors 

and non-executive Directors took a voluntary 20% reduction in salary/ fees in April and May.

2 

In practice, the base salary paid to Leo Quinn was reduced due to his participation in the Company’s Share Incentive Plan. The salary reduction in both 2019 and 2020 was £1,800.

3  Taxable benefits are calculated in terms of UK taxable values. Leo Quinn received private medical insurance for himself and his spouse and received a car allowance of £20,000 per 

annum. Philip Harrison received private medical insurance for himself only and received a car allowance of £14,000 per annum.

4  The non-executive Directors received taxable travel expenses and/or travel allowances which are shown in the taxable benefits column. The taxable benefits in 2020 for Michael Lucki 

include two payments of £2,500 each relating to allowances for travel in December 2018 and May 2019 respectively.

5  The pension cash allowance for Philip Harrison increased in line with his base salary from 1 July 2019. This increase was not actioned until March 2020, backdated to 1 July 2019. 

6  AIP 2020: further details of these awards are set out on pages 141 to 143. For 2019, details of the AIP awards were set out in the 2019 Remuneration report.

7  For 2020, this relates to the 2018 PSP award for which the performance period ended in 2020, with the valuation of vesting shares calculated on a three-month average share price to 
31 December 2020 of 247.6p. This compares to the 270.167p average middle market for the three dealing dates before the PSP award date which was used for calculating the number 
of shares granted, so there is no benefit relating to share price appreciation since award. Further details of the 2018 PSP awards are set out on page 144 For 2019, this relates to the 
2017 PSP award for which the performance period ended in 2019, details of which were set out in the 2019 Remuneration report. For 2019, the valuation of the vesting shares for the 
2017 PSP has been adjusted from the valuation included in the 2019 Remuneration report to reflect the actual valuation on the 8 June 2020 vesting date, based on a share price of 
263.8p. Under the rules of the PSP scheme, the participants may also receive an award of cash or shares in lieu of the value of dividends paid over the vesting period on vested shares.

8  Total figures and long-term incentives figures for 2019 have been adjusted from the figures included in the 2019 Remuneration report to reflect the actual valuation on the 8 June 2020 

vesting date of shares vesting under the 2017 PSP.

9  The 20% temporary reduction in April and May 2020 was applied to the base fee only for Anne Drinkwater but not the Committee Chair fee. This was corrected through a deduction 

made in 2021.

10 Iain Ferguson retired from the Board effective 16 May 2019.

AIP awards for the year ended 31 December 2020
For 2020, the AIP for the executive Directors was a maximum bonus of 150% of base salary based on the achievement of three performance measures:

 \ profit before tax (40%);

 \ cash (35%); and

 \ strategic business and personal objectives (25%).

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

141

GovernanceREMUNERATION CONTINUED

The three elements are measured and calculated independently of each other and 50% of the bonus earned is deferred for three years in the 
form of Balfour Beatty shares. For the profit before tax element, 20% of the award would vest for threshold performance, increasing to 50% 
vesting of that element at target performance and then to 100% of that element at maximum performance or above. For the Group total cash 
flow element, 5% of that element would vest for threshold performance, increasing to 50% vesting of that element at target performance and 
then to 100% of that element at maximum performance or above.

AIP metrics and outcomes
In addition to considering the formulaic outcome against the targets as shown above, the Committee reflected on the broader performance of 
the business, including the business resilience and industry leadership shown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As explained in the 
Chair’s statement on pages 134 to 136, this included:

 \ Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted profitability, the Group has recovered from a half-year loss to deliver a resilient performance, 

including a second half profit. 

 \ The actions of management that led to positive momentum across the business including a record year end order book of £16.4 billion enabling the 

Board to recommend the payment of a 2020 final dividend. In addition, as a first step in a programme of returning capital to shareholders the 
Company commenced a £50 million share buy-back programme in January 2021 that will be increased to £150 million in March 2021.

 \ The exceptional contributions made by the executive Directors and management in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading industry 
wide practice to keep sites open and people safe. Leo Quinn’s industry leadership and regular liaison with the UK Government helped to 
develop industry national safety guidelines and the Company’s inclusion on the Build Back Britain Better Council.

PROFIT BEFORE TAX AND  
NON-UNDERLYING ITEMS

GROUP TOTAL  
CASH FLOW¹

STRATEGIC BUSINESS AND  
PERSONAL OBJECTIVES

AIP OUT-TURN

£36m

ACTUAL

0%
OF MAX.

£69m

ACTUAL

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

100%
OF MAX.

97%
OF MAX.

96%
OF MAX.

59.25%
OF MAX.

59%
OF MAX.

£
1
4
4

.

8
m

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

£
1
8
1
m

T
a
r
g
e
t

£
1
9
9

.

1
m

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

£
(
7
8

.

7
)
m

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

T
a
r
g
e
t

£
(
6
5

.

6
)
m

£
(
4
5

.

9
)
m

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

1  Group total cash flow is the movement between opening and closing total net cash/debt.

Performance against the 2020 AIP strategic business and personal objectives as it relates to the executive Directors was:

Summary of key strategic objectives, including:

Examples of achievement

Lean: 
Deliver Build to Last for 2020, including:

Strong achievement, including:

 \ hold overhead cost flat across the Group (year on year);
 \ continue US implementation of shared service model
 \ ‘Cash is our Compass’; retire preference shares while 

delivering average net cash with target range of 
£375 million to £425 million.

 \ overhead reduction by over £40 million;
 \ HR, Finance and IT fully aligned in US as planned; 
changes to US Civils reporting arrangements will 
enable the next stage of plans; and

 \ average net cash for 2020 of £527 million.

Expert:
Drive employee engagement and position the business 
for important work winning opportunities:

Achieved in full, including:

 \ voluntary attrition in the UK reduced year on year 

 \ continue to reduce voluntary attrition rates to below 10%;
 \ secure the HS2 civils N1/N2 order in 2020, working 

from 10.9% in 2019 to 9.8% in 2020;

 \ major strategic win of HS2 civils N1/N2 during the 

with government and the HS2 team; and

 \ position the business to be shortlisted for further 
HS2 opportunities – to be awarded in 2021/22.

first half of 2020; and

 \ Balfour Beatty joint venture shortlisted for HS2 track 

slab & catenary packages of work.

Group Chief Executive

Weight %

Out-turn %

30

29

30

30

142

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Summary of key strategic objectives, including:

Examples of achievement

Trusted:
Lead the Group in responding to the onset of the 
COVID-19 pandemic, retaining employee, customer and 
shareholder confidence.

Achieved in full, including:

 \ rapid mobilisation of new safety procedures across 

whole organisation, within weeks of the first lockdown, 
aiming to give employees and customers confidence in 
the Group’s ability to continue working safely; 

 \ increase in Group employee engagement index, from 

66% in 2019 to 75% in 2020; and

 \ leading the engagement across construction sector 
tier one contractors in the first 100 days response to 
the pandemic.

Group Chief Executive

Weight %

Out-turn %

30

30

Safe:
Continue to demonstrate safety leadership and 
performance across the Group including:

Mixed performance, including:

10

8

 \ Group LTIR reduction to 0.10 in 2020 from 0.14 

in 2019; and

 \ focus on safety improvement across the 

 \ reduction in US LTIR from 0.10 in 2019 to 0.09 

US businesses.

in 2020.

but reduction to out-turn due to one fatality in the UK 
business and three fatalities in Hong Kong based joint 
venture during 2020.

Total

Summary of key strategic objectives, including:

Examples of achievement

100

97

Chief Financial Officer

Weight %

Out-turn %

45

45

Lean: 
Deliver Build to Last for 2020 including:

 \ successful implementation of HS2 joint venture 

financial systems;

 \ upgrade forecasting tools for UK Construction; and
 \ improve R&D tax credit performance by 30%.

Expert:
Continue to improve cash liquidity management, including:

 \ retiring preference shares while delivering £100 

million higher average net cash in 2020, with target 
range of £375 million to £425 million; and

 \ year on year improvement in performance against UK 

Government’s Prompt Payment Code.

Trusted:
Strengthen the position of the Group, including:

 \ completion of committed bank facility extension; and
 \ roll out of new risk toolset for US Buildings to 

Achieved in full, including:

 \ HS2 financial systems ‘go live’ decision in December 2020;
 \ UK Construction 2021 budget successfully 

completed on new tool; and

 \ year on year increase of 37% in R&D tax credit.

Mixed performance, including:

35

32

 \ average net cash for 2020 of £527 million; and
 \ improvement of 2% in invoices paid within 60 days 

versus 2019.

Achieved in full, including:

17

17

 \ agreement of a one year option extension to the 
committed bank facility in October 2020; and

 \ new risk register process successfully implemented 

improve effectiveness of the risk register process.

in US Buildings in Q4 2020.

Safe:
Continue to drive and role model improvement in safety 
culture and performance across the Group.

Mixed performance, including:

3

2

 \ Group LTIR reduction to 0.10 in 2020 from 0.14 

in 2019; and

 \ demonstrable strong personal leadership;

but reduction to out-turn due to one fatality in the UK 
business and three fatalities in Hong Kong based joint 
venture during 2020. 

Total

100

96

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

143

GovernanceREMUNERATION CONTINUED

Vesting of PSP awards for the year under review
The PSP awards granted on 27 March 2018 were based on a performance period for the three years ended 31 December 2020. The performance 
conditions applying to one-third of each award were comparative total shareholder return measured versus the companies ranked 51–200 by 
market capitalisation in the FTSE All Share Index (excluding investment trusts), operating cash flow and earnings per share. 25% of each of the 
total shareholder return and earnings per share parts of the award would vest for threshold performance increasing to 100% of each part of the 
award vesting for maximum performance or above. For the operating cash flow part, 25% of that part would vest for threshold performance, 
increasing to 50% vesting of that part at target performance and then to 100% of that part at maximum performance or above.

In assessing the appropriateness of the formulaic outcomes of the performance targets, the Remuneration Committee considered the 
underlying performance of the Group over the three year period and, on balance, the Committee considered the vesting outcome appropriately 
reflected the Group’s underlying performance.

Details of the PSP awards vesting for the year under review are therefore as follows:

TOTAL SHAREHOLDER  
RETURN

OPERATING CASH FLOW 
(OCF) TARGETS

EARNINGS  
PER SHARE1

Below 
median

ACTUAL

£280m

ACTUAL

3.7p

ACTUAL

PSP OUT-TURN

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

0%
OF MAX.

100%
OF MAX.

0%
OF MAX.

33.3%
OF MAX.

33.3%
OF MAX.

m
e
d
i
a
n

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

u
p
p
e
r

q
u
a
r
t
i
l
e

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

£
1
4
1
m

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

£
1
7
6
m

T
a
r
g
e
t

£
2
1
1
m

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

2
2
p

T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

3
1
p

M
a
x
i
m
u
m

1  Underlying basic earnings per share from continuing operations.

Metric

Performance condition

Measure

Threshold 

Target

Maximum

Actual

Vesting %

Total shareholder 
return

TSR against the 120 remaining 
companies ranked 51–200 in the FTSE All 
Share Index (excluding investment trusts)

TSR ranking

60.5 or 
above

–

30.8 or 
above

66  
(below 
median)
£280m

0%

100%

£141m

£176m

£211m

22p

–

31p

3.7p

0%

Cash

Earnings per share

Operating cash 
flow (OCF)
Underlying basic 
earnings per share 
from continuing 
operations

Total vesting

33.33%

Name of Director

Philip Harrison
Leo Quinn

Type of award

2018 conditional
2018 conditional

Vesting date

Number 
of shares 
at grant

Number 
of shares 
to vest

Number 
of shares 
to lapse

Value of
vesting 
shares 1

27 March 2021
27 March 2021

259,163
592,373

86,387
197,457

172,776 £213,894
394,916 £488,904

1  Valuation of vesting shares calculated on a three-month average share price to 31 December 2020 of 247.6p. This compares to the 270.167p average middle market price for the three 

dealing dates before the PSP award date which was used for calculating the number of shares granted, so there is no benefit relating to share price appreciation since award.

144

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

 
 
Outstanding share awards

Name of Director

Share award

Date granted

Philip Harrison

Maximum number of shares subject to award

At 
1 January
2020

Awarded 
during the 
year

Vested 
during the 
year

Lapsed 
during the 
year

At 
31 December
2020

Exercisable and/or 
vesting from

Leo Quinn

PSP1,5,6
PSP2,3,5,6
PSP3,5,6,7
PSP5,6,7
DBP8,10,11,13
DBP8,9,11,13
DBP8,9,11,13
DBP8,9,11,12,13

PSP1,5,6
PSP2,3,5,6
PSP3,5,6,7
PSP4,5,6,7
DBP8,10,11,13
DBP8,9,11,13
DBP8,9,11,13
DBP8,9,11,12,13

7 June 2017
27 March 2018
28 March 2019
11 June 2020
31 March 2017
3 April 2018
1 April 2019
31 March 2020

7 June 2017
27 March 2018
28 March 2019
11 June 2020
31 March 2017
3 April 2018
1 April 2019
31 March 2020

253,347
259,163
269,438
–
44,464
110,736
81,555
–

579,080
592,373
615,858
–
89,729
223,779
163,112
–

–
–
–
274,104
–
–
–
136,768

–
–
–
609,756
–
–
–
266,214

154,338
–
–
–
44,464
–
–
–

352,775
–
–
–
89,729
–
–
–

99,009
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

226,305
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

8 June 2020
259,163 27 March 2021
269,438 28 March 2022
11 June 2023
274,104
– 31 March 2020
3 April 2021
1 April 2022
136,768 31 March 2023

110,736
81,555

–

8 June 2020
592,373 27 March 2021
615,858 28 March 2022
11 June 2023
609,756
– 31 March 2020
3 April 2021
223,779
163,112
1 April 2022
266,214 31 March 2023

1  2017 PSP award: This award vested in part on 8 June 2020. Details of the Company’s performance against the performance conditions were set out in the 2019 Remuneration report. 
Philip Harrison and Leo Quinn also received 6,430 and 14,699 shares respectively in lieu of the dividends which would have been payable on the shares which vested. The closing 
middle market price of ordinary shares on the vesting date was 263.8p.

2  2018 PSP award: Further details of this award are set out on page 144.

3  2019 PSP award: This award is subject to three performance targets over a three-year performance period commencing 1 January 2019. TSR part (33.3% weighting), measured against 
a comparator group of companies ranked 51–200 by market capitalisation in the FTSE All Share Index (excluding investment trusts), no vesting below median ranking, 25% vesting of 
this part at median, rising to 100% vesting at upper quartile performance or better. No portion of the cash part (33.3%) will vest unless the 2021 year end operating cash flow (OCF) is 
greater than £120 million. 25% to 50% will vest for OCF between £120 million and £155 million, rising to full vesting for OCF of £190 million or more. For the EPS part (33.3%), no 
vesting unless 2021 EPS is 23p, 25% vesting of this part at 23p, rising to full vesting at 32p or more.

4  2020 PSP award: Details are set out on page 146.

5  The average middle market price of ordinary shares in the Company for the three dealing dates before the PSP award dates, which was used for calculating the number of shares 

granted, was 270.167p for the 2018 award, 259.8p for the 2019 award, 202.3p for the 2020 award granted on 23 March 2020 and 262.4p for the 2020 award granted on 11 June 2020. 
The closing middle market price of ordinary shares on the date of the awards was 273.0p, 257.1p, 197.3p and 259.0p respectively.

6  All PSP awards are granted for nil consideration and are in respect of 50p ordinary shares in Balfour Beatty plc. It is the Company’s current intention that awards will be satisfied by 

shares purchased in the market. 

7  A maximum of 3,972,249 conditional shares were awarded for all participants in the PSP in 2020 (3,088,389 shares awarded on 23 March 2020 and 883,860 shares on 11 June 2020), 

which are exercisable on 23 March 2023 and 11 June 2023 respectively.

8  All DBP awards are granted for nil consideration and are in respect of 50p ordinary shares in Balfour Beatty plc. It is the Company’s current intention that awards will be satisfied by 

shares purchased in the market.

9  The DBP awards made on 3 April 2018, 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 will vest on 3 April 2021, 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 respectively, providing the participant is still employed 

by the Group at the vesting date (unless specified leaver conditions are met, in which case early vesting may be permitted).

10 The DBP awards made on 31 March 2017 vested on 31 March 2020. The closing middle market price of ordinary shares in the Company on the vesting date was 216.6p.

11 The shares subject to the DBP awards made on 31 March 2017, 3 April 2018, 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 were purchased at average prices of 266.4p, 269.7p, 259.7p and 216.93p respectively.

12 On 31 March 2020, for all participants in the DBP, a maximum of 1,041,528 conditional shares were awarded which will normally be released on 31 March 2023.

13  As no dividends were paid in 2020, no further conditional shares were granted in lieu of entitlements to dividends for all participants in the DBP. 

14 The closing market price of the Company’s ordinary shares on 31 December 2020 was 270.2p. During the year, the highest and lowest closing market prices were 293.4p and 189.6p respectively.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

145

GovernanceREMUNERATION CONTINUED

PSP awards granted during the year
The proposed 2020 PSP awards to the executive Directors was held back at their request in March 2020, when other senior management 
were granted awards, due to the high level of business uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the UK lockdown had ended and the 
impact on the business was better understood, the following PSP awards were granted to the executive Directors on 11 June 2020, although 
the share price improvement between those dates created a significant reduction in the number of shares granted:

Executive

Type of award

Philip Harrison

Conditional

Leo Quinn

Conditional

Basis of award 
granted

Share price
applied at
date of grant

Number of 
shares over
which award 
was granted

% of face value 
that would vest
at threshold
performance

Face value
of award

Vesting determined
by performance 
over three 
years to

Vesting date

175% of salary of 
£411,000
200% of salary of 
£800,000

262.4p

274,104

£719,250

25% 31 December 2022

11 June 2023

262.4p

609,756 £1,600,000

25% 31 December 2022

11 June 2023

Awards will vest to executives after three years, subject to the achievement of three independently measured performance conditions as set 
out below:

Metric

Performance condition

One-third 
relative TSR

Relative TSR against a comparator group of companies ranked 
51–200 by market capitalisation in the FTSE All Share Index
(excluding investment trusts); straight-line vesting between points

One-third cash Group’s Operating Cash Flow from continuing operations; 

straight-line vesting between points

One-third EPS Group’s EPS (underlying basic earnings per share from continuing 
operations); straight-line vesting between points

Threshold

Median 
(25% vests)

£135m 
(25% vests)
22p 
(25% vests)

Target

Maximum

– Upper quartile 
(100% vests)

£169m 
(50% vests)
–

£203m  

(100% vests)
33p
(100% vests)

For these PSP awards, a post-vesting holding period will apply requiring the shares (net of tax) to be retained for two years.

Payments to past Directors
There were no payments to past executive Directors or payments for loss of office made during 2020.

Statement of Directors’ shareholdings and share interests
The interests of the Directors and connected persons (including, amongst others, members of the Director’s immediate family) in the share 
capital of Balfour Beatty plc and its subsidiary undertakings during the year are set out below:

Directors

Philip Harrison
Leo Quinn
Philip Aiken
Stephen Billingham6
Stuart Doughty
Anne Drinkwater
Michael Lucki
Barbara Moorhouse

Outstanding PSP 
awards

802,705
1,817,987

Outstanding 
DBP awards

329,059
653,105

Beneficially 
owned at 
1 January 

2020 1,2

Beneficially 
owned at 
31 December

2020 2,3,4

 271,300
1,916,721
15,000
23,808
4,550
–
–
4,000

379,927
2,385,558
15,000
44,106
4,550
4,500
–
4,000

1  Or date of appointment, if later.

2   Includes any shares held in the Company’s all-employee Share Incentive Plan.

3   Or date of stepping down from the Board, if earlier.

4   As at 9 March 2021, there been no changes to the above other than an increase in respect of ordinary shares held in the Share Incentive Plan for Leo Quinn by 107 shares.

5   The closing market price of the Company’s ordinary shares as at 31 December 2020, 270.2p, was used to calculate the value of shares beneficially owned.

6  Stephen Billingham was also interested in 36,070 convertible redeemable preference shares of 1p each in Balfour Beatty plc at 1 January 2020.

146

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Executive Directors’ shareholding guidelines
The Group Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer are required 
under the Company’s shareholding guidelines to hold shares in the 
Company worth 200% and 150% of base salary respectively and 
must retain no fewer than 50% of the shares, net of taxes, vesting 
under their outstanding DBP and PSP awards until the required 
shareholding is met. 

In line with the Investors Association (IA) guidelines, the calculations 
shown in the chart include shares beneficially owned at 31 December 
2020 plus unvested shares, which are not subject to a further 
performance condition (outstanding DBP awards), on a net of tax 
basis. Both executive Directors’ share interests met the Company’s 
shareholding guidelines at 31 December 2020.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ 
SHAREHOLDING GUIDELINES

GROUP CHIEF 
EXECUTIVE

923%

200%

CHIEF FINANCIAL 
OFFICER

364%

150%

(% of base 
salary held) 

Performance graph
As in previous reports, the Remuneration Committee has chosen to compare the TSR on the Company’s ordinary shares against the FTSE 250 
Index (excluding investment trusts) principally because this is a broad index of which the Company is a constituent member. The values 
indicated in the graph show the share price growth plus reinvested dividends from a £100 hypothetical holding of ordinary shares in Balfour 
Beatty plc and in the index and have been calculated using 30-day average values.

Total shareholder return (TSR)

A
c
t
u
a
l

G
u
i
d
e
l
i
n
e

A
c
t
u
a
l

G
u
i
d
e
l
i
n
e

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

)
d
e
s
a
b
e
r
(

)
£
(
e
u
l
a
V

Source: FactSet

31/12/10

31/12/11

31/12/12

31/12/13

31/12/14

31/12/15

31/12/16

31/12/17

31/12/18

31/12/19

31/12/20

Balfour Beatty plc

FTSE 250 (excluding Investment Trusts)

Group Chief Executive’s remuneration table
The total remuneration figures for the Group Chief Executive during each of the last 10 financial years are shown in the table below. The total 
remuneration figure includes the AIP award based on that year’s performance and the PSP award based on the three-year performance period 
ending in the relevant year. The AIP payout and PSP vesting level as a percentage of the maximum opportunity are also shown for each of 
these years.

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Year ended 31 December

Total 
remuneration1,3,4
AIP2
PSP

£1,514,007 £1,189,287
40.2%
0%

65.3%
0%

£961,350
21.0%
0%

£797,568 £1,442,070 £1,445,250 £4,124,104 £2,982,121 £3,066,624 £2,148,970
59.25%
97.0%
33.33%
88.6%

69.06%
64.17%

96.25%
60.92%

47.0%
0%

47.5%
0%

0%
0%

1  The figures for 2011 to 2012 relate to Ian Tyler, who retired from the Board on 31 March 2013. The figures for 2013 and 2014 are annualised figures for Andrew McNaughton who was 

appointed on 31 March 2013 and stepped down on 3 May 2014. The figures from 2015 onwards relate to Leo Quinn.

2  Andrew McNaughton did not qualify for any 2014 AIP.

3 

 Total remuneration for 2019 has been adjusted from the total figure included in the 2019 Remuneration report to reflect the actual valuation on the 8 June 2020 vesting date of shares 
vesting under the PSP 2017.

4  The figures for 2017 and 2018 exclude the vesting of awards made under the recruitment terms for the Group Chief Executive. Full details of these were included in the 

2018 Remuneration report.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

147

Governance 
 
REMUNERATION CONTINUED

Percentage change in Directors’ remuneration compared with all UK employees 
The table below shows the percentage change in the remuneration (excluding long-term incentives) of the executive Directors undertaking the 
roles of Group Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer and the non-executive Directors between the financial years ended 31 December 
2019 and 31 December 2020, compared with the percentage change between the same years for all UK employees of the Group where UK 
employees have been selected as the most appropriate comparator.

Leo Quinn, Group Chief Executive
Philip Harrison, Chief Financial Officer
Philip Aiken, non-executive Group Chair
Stephen Billingham, non-executive Director & Senior Independent Director
Stuart Doughty, non-executive Director
Anne Drinkwater, non-executive Director
Michael Lucki, non-executive Director
Barbara Moorhouse, non-executive Director
All UK employees

Base
salary/fees
(3)%
(2)%
(3)%
(1)%
(1)%
6%
(3)%
(3)%
0%

Benefits 
(3)%
1%
–
(29)%
(52)%
(12)%
(39)%
 34%
3%

Annual
bonus
(38)%
(39)%
– 
–
–
–
–
–
(44)%

Total
 remuneration
(22)%
(22)%
(3)%
(1)%
(2)%
5%
(10)%
(2)%
0%

Pay ratio of Group Chief Executive to average employee 
The Regulations require certain companies to disclose the ratio of the Chief Executive’s pay, using the amount set out in the single total figure 
table, to that of the median, 25th and 75th percentile total remuneration of full-time equivalent UK employees.

The table below shows the relevant data for Balfour Beatty’s UK employees for 2020, together with the 2019 data, calculated using Option A 
as set out in the legislation.

25th percentile pay ratio

Median pay ratio

75th percentile pay ratio

Year

2020
2019

Method of calculation adopted

(Chief Executive: UK employees)

(Chief Executive: UK employees)

(Chief Executive: UK employees)

Option A
Option A

64:1
92:1

45:1
65:1

32:1
45:1

Pay details for the Group Chief Executive and individuals whose 2020 remuneration is at the median, 25th percentile and 75th percentile 
amongst UK-based employees are as follows:

Salary
Total pay and benefits

Group Chief Executive

25th percentile

£773,333
£2,148,970

£26,910
£33,336

Median

£36,400
£47,653

75th percentile

£51,248
£66,553

The median, 25th percentile and 75th percentile figures used to determine the above ratios were calculated by reference to the full-time equivalent 
annualised remuneration (comprising salary, benefits, pension, annual bonus and long-term incentives) of all UK-based employees of the Group 
as at 31 December 2020 (i.e. ‘Option A’ under the Regulations). The Committee selected this calculation methodology as it was felt to produce 
the most statistically accurate result.

The Committee considers that the median pay ratio for 2020 that is disclosed in the above table is consistent with the pay, reward and progression 
policies for Balfour Beatty’s UK employees taken as a whole. It reflects the fact that a greater proportion of executive Director pay is linked to 
annual performance through a higher annual bonus opportunity (a percentage of which is subject to deferral into shares).

Relative importance of spend on pay, dividends and underlying pre-tax profit
The following table shows the Group’s actual spend on pay for all Group employees relative to dividends and underlying pre-tax profit:

Staff costs (£m)1
Dividends (£m)
Underlying pre-tax profit (£m)

2019
1,150
36
200

2020
1,181
–
36

% change
3%
(100)%
(82)%

1  Staff costs include base salary, benefits and bonuses for all Group employees (excluding joint ventures and associates).

Directors’ pension allowances
No Directors were contributing members of the Balfour Beatty Pension Fund during 2020. The executive Directors were in receipt of a cash 
allowance in lieu of pension equivalent to 20% of base salary as disclosed in the Directors’ remuneration table on page 141.

The pension contribution level for executive Directors contrasts to the majority of the wider UK workforce who currently typically receive 
pension contributions of up to 7% of salary.

External appointments of executive Directors
No executive Director held external appointments in 2020.

148

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Service contracts
Executive Directors’ contracts are on a rolling 12 month basis and are subject to 12 months’ notice when terminated by the Company and six months’ 
notice when terminated by the Director. 

The non-executive Directors, including the Chairman, do not have a service contract and their appointments, whilst for a term of three years, 
may be terminated with three months’ notice (six months’ notice for the Group Chair) by either party. Non-executive Directors have letters of 
appointment and their appointment and subsequent re-appointment is subject to annual approval by shareholders. 

Name
Leo Quinn, Group Chief Executive
Phil Harrison, Chief Financial Officer
Philip Aiken, non-executive Group Chair

Stephen Billingham, non-executive Director & 
Senior Independent Director
Stuart Doughty, non-executive Director

Commencement date
1 January 2015
1 June 2015
26 March 2015

1 June 2015

8 April 2015

Anne Drinkwater, non-executive Director

1 December 2018

Michael Lucki, non-executive Director

1 July 2017

Barbara Moorhouse, non-executive Director

1 June 2017

Unexpired term remaining
Terminable on 12 months’ notice
Terminable on 12 months’ notice
Fixed term expiring on 26 March 2021 (subject to renewal) and 
terminable on six months’ notice
Fixed term expiring on 1 June 2021 (subject to renewal) and 
terminable on three months’ notice
Fixed term expiring on 8 April 2021 (subject to renewal) and 
terminable on three months’ notice
Fixed term expiring on 30 November 2021 (subject to renewal) and 
terminable on three months’ notice
Fixed term expiring on 30 June 2023 (subject to renewal) and 
terminable on three months’ notice
Fixed term expiring on 31 May 2023 (subject to renewal) and 
terminable on three months’ notice

Consideration by the Directors of matters relating to Directors’ remuneration
The members of the Remuneration Committee are independent non-executive Directors, as defined under the Corporate Governance Code. 
No member of the Committee has conflicts of interest arising from cross-directorships and no member is involved in the day-to-day executive 
management of the Group. During the year under review, the members of the Committee were as follows:

 \ Anne Drinkwater (Committee Chair);

 \ Philip Aiken;

 \ Michael Lucki; and

 \ Barbara Moorhouse.

The Committee also receives advice from several sources, namely:

 \ the Group Chief Executive and the Group HR Director, who are invited to attend meetings of the Committee but are not present when 

matters relating directly to their own remuneration are discussed; 

 \ Aon plc;

 \ PwC; and

 \ Deloitte LLP.

At regular intervals the Committee reviews the appropriateness and independence of the advice received from remuneration advisers. Following 
Aon plc ceasing the provision of remuneration advisory services to FTSE listed companies, PwC were appointed on an interim basis from 16 
June 2020, and the Committee decided to initiate a competitive tender process to appoint new independent advisers to the Committee. 
Consequently, Deloitte LLP were appointed as independent advisers to the Committee with effect from 9 November 2020 replacing PwC. 
Deloitte, PwC and Aon are members of the Remuneration Consultants Group and, as such, voluntarily operate under its Code of Conduct in 
relation to executive remuneration consulting in the UK.

During 2020, the Committee’s advisers provided a range of advice to the Committee, including:

 \ analysis of market practice and corporate governance update;

 \ assistance with the review of the remuneration policy;

 \ assistance with the drafting of the remuneration report;

 \ valuation of share-based payments for IFRS 2 purposes; and

 \ calculation of vesting levels under the TSR element of the PSP awards.

During 2020, fees charged by Aon for advice provided to the Committee for 2020 amounted to £23,175 (excluding VAT) (2019: £142,572). In 
addition, the only other services provided to the Group by Aon plc or its subsidiaries are for professional services supporting benefits administration 
including the UK healthcare trust. PwC received fees amounting to £8,500 (excluding VAT) during the year in respect of advice given to the 
Committee and in addition, the only other services related to advice for employees on global assignment. Deloitte LLP received fees amounting to 
£11,500 (excluding VAT) during the year in respect of advice given to the Committee with no other services provided to the Group during the 
year. Other than disclosed above, Aon, PwC and Deloitte have no connection with the Company or individual Directors.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

149

GovernanceREMUNERATION CONTINUED

Terms of reference
During the period, the Committee has agreed a number of changes to be made to its terms of reference, as part of the annual review. The 
Committee’s terms of reference can be found in the Investors section of the Company’s website https://www.balfourbeatty.com/investors/
governance/board-committees.

Statement of shareholder voting at the AGM
At the AGM on 25 June 2020, the resolution to approve the Directors’ Remuneration report received the following votes from shareholders:

For
Against
Total votes cast
Abstentions

Total number of votes
441,450,058
92,500,778
533,950,836
50,650

% of votes cast
82.68%
17.32%
100%

The resolution to approve the Remuneration policy was approved at the AGM on 25 June 2020 and received the following votes from shareholders:

For
Against
Total votes cast
Abstentions

By order of the Board

Anne Drinkwater
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

9 March 2021

Total number of votes
471,417,406
32,405,719
503,823,125
30,178,361

% of votes cast
93.57% 
6.43%
100%

150

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DIRECTORS’ REPORT

Directors’ Report

The Directors of Balfour Beatty plc present 
their report, together with the audited accounts 
for the year ended 31 December 2020. 
For the purpose of the Financial Reporting 
Council’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency 
Rule (DTR) 4.1.8R, the Directors’ report is 
also the Management report for the year 
ended 31 December 2020.

As permitted by Section 414 C(11) of the 
Companies Act 2006, some matters required 
to be included in the Directors’ report have 
instead been included in the Strategic report. 
These disclosures are incorporated by 
reference in the Directors’ report. The 
Strategic report can be found on pages 1 
to 103.

Corporate governance
The Governance section on pages 105 to 
153, forms part of the Directors’ report.

The Company complied with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code with the exception of 
provision 38, which the Company complied 
with in part. In compliance with provision 38 
of the Code, only the basic salary of 
Executive Directors is pensionable. As set 
out in the Directors’ Remuneration Policy, 
pension contributions (or salary supplement 
in lieu) for new executive Directors will, in 
compliance with the Code, be aligned with 
the majority of the wider UK workforce and, 
from the end of December 2022, the pension 
contributions (or salary supplement in lieu) 
paid to the incumbent executive Directors will 
be aligned with the wider workforce.

Directors and their interests
The Directors who served during the year and 
were Directors at 31 December 2020 were 
Philip Aiken, Leo Quinn, Philip Harrison, 
Stephen Billingham, Anne Drinkwater, Stuart 
Doughty, Barbara Moorhouse and Michael 
Lucki. Further details and individual biographies 
for current Directors are set out on pages 108 
and 109.

The interests of the Directors and their 
connected persons in the Company’s shares, 
(as notifiable to the Company under Article 19 
of the Market Abuse Regulation) are set out 
on page 146. In the period between 31 
December 2020 and the date of this report 
there has been no change in the interests of 
Directors, or their connected persons, save 
for the purchase of 107 ordinary shares held 
in the Share Incentive Plan for Leo Quinn.

At no time during 2020 did any of the Directors 
have a material interest in any contract with 
the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

by the Companies Act 2006 and the Articles 
of Association. The Directors are authorised 
to issue and allot shares and to buy back 
shares subject to annual shareholder approval 
at the AGM. Such authorities were granted by 
shareholders at the 2020 AGM and it will be 
proposed at the 2021 AGM that the Directors 
be granted new authorities to issue, allot and 
to buy back shares.

Under the authority provided at the 2020 
AGM the Company commenced a share buy 
back on 5 January 2021 and, as at the 8 
March 2021 (the latest practicable date prior 
to the date of this document), the Company 
had purchased 8,569,875 ordinary shares for 
a total consideration of £23,625,340.97 and 
these shares are held in treasury with no 
voting or dividend rights.

Throughout the year, the Company’s issued 
share capital was publicly listed on the 
London Stock Exchange and it remains so as 
at the date of this report. There are no specific 
restrictions on the size of a shareholding nor on 
the transfer of shares which are both governed 
by the Articles of Association and the prevailing 
law. The Directors are not aware of any 
agreements between holders of the Company’s 
shares that may result in restrictions on the 
transfer of shares or on voting rights.

No person has special rights of control over 
the Company’s share capital and all issued 
shares are fully paid. Shares held by the 
Balfour Beatty Employee Share Ownership 
Trust rank pari passu with the ordinary shares 
in issue and have no special rights. Voting 
rights and rights of acceptance of any offer 
relating to the shares held in this trust rest 
with the trustees, who may take account of 
any recommendation from the Company. 
Voting rights are not exercisable by the 
employees on whose behalf the shares are 
held in trust.

Directors’ indemnities 
and insurance
The Group maintains Directors’ and officers’ 
liability insurance which provides appropriate 
cover for legal action brought against its 
Directors.

Qualifying third-party indemnity provisions 
were in force during 2020 and as at the date of 
this report for the benefit of certain employees 
who are directors of a subsidiary company.

Qualifying pension scheme indemnity 
provisions (as defined by Section 235 of the 
Companies Act 2006) were in force during 
the year ended 31 December 2020 for the 
benefit of the trustee directors of the Balfour 
Beatty Pension Fund.

Articles of Association
The Company has not adopted any special 
rules regarding the appointment and 
replacement of Directors or the amendment 
of the Articles of Association, other than as 
provided for under UK company law.

Share capital
Details of the share capital of the Company 
as at 31 December 2020, including the rights 
attaching to the shares, are set out in Note 31 
on page 211. On 1 July 2020, the Company’s 
111,839,795 preference shares of 1p each 
were redeemed at £1 per share and cancelled. 
No ordinary shares were issued or repurchased 
for cancellation during 2020.

The powers of the Directors to issue or buy 
back the Company’s shares are determined 

Major shareholders’ interests
Notifications provided to the Company by major shareholders in accordance with the DTR 
are published via a Regulatory Information Service and on the Company’s website.

The Company has been notified of the following interests in voting rights in its shares as at 
31 December 2020 and as at the date of this report. Please note that percentages provided 
are as at the date of notification.

Janus Henderson Group plc
M&G Investment Management
Schroders plc
BlackRock Inc 
Causeway Capital Management LLC
Tameside MBC re Greater Manchester Pension Fund

Percentage of 
voting rights (%)
as at
31 December 2020

Percentage of
 voting rights (%) 
as at
9 March 2021

6.96
6.22
5.07
5.03
4.90
4.02

6.96
6.22
5.07
5.03
4.90
4.02

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

151

GovernanceDIRECTORS’ REPORT CONTINUED

Details of shares purchased by the Balfour 
Beatty Share Ownership Trust in relation to 
the Company’s share schemes can be found 
in Note 32.3 on page 214. All shares purchased 
were ordinary shares. The percentage of 
called-up share capital represented by the 
shares purchased in 2020 was 0.5%. 

Dividends
The Board decided on 1 June 2020 that no 
final dividend would be paid in 2020 given 
the uncertain economic climate due to 
COVID-19. On 12 August 2020, the Company 
announced in the results for the half-year 
ended 26 June 2020 that the Board would 
look to re-instate the dividend as soon as is 
appropriate. A final dividend of 1.5 pence 
per ordinary share has been recommended 
by the Board for shareholder approval at the 
2021 AGM, giving total dividends per ordinary 
share of 1.5 pence for 2020 (2019: 2.1 pence). 
The Directors will continue to offer the dividend 
reinvestment plan, which allows holders of 
ordinary shares to reinvest their cash dividends 
in the Company’s shares through a specially 
arranged share dealing service.

Branches
As the Group is an international business, 
there are activities operated through 
branches in certain jurisdictions.

Auditor
KPMG LLP has indicated its willingness to 
continue as auditor to the Company and a 
resolution for its reappointment will be 
proposed at the 2021 AGM.

Company Secretary
In June 2020, David Mercer resigned from 
his role as Company Secretary and the Board 
appointed Paul Waters in his place. Paul 
resigned in September 2020 and the Board 
appointed Tracey Wood as Company 
Secretary in his place. 

Innovation, future development 
and research and development
Information concerning innovation, future 
development and research and development 
is set out on pages 26 to 29, and forms part 
of the Directors’ report disclosures.

Sustainability
A full description of the Group’s approach to 
sustainability, including information on its 
community engagement programme, 
appears on pages 55 to 70.

Policies
The Group’s published policies on: health and 
safety; sustainability; sustainable procurement; 
modern slavery; social value; environment; 
business conduct; supply chain media, PR 
and marketing; quality; information security; 
and ethics, remain in place and can be 
accessed on its website https://www.
balfourbeatty.com/how-we-work.

Greenhouse gas emissions
Details of Balfour Beatty’s Scope 1 and 2 
greenhouse gas emissions and the actions 
which the Group is taking to reduce them are 
set out on pages 60 to 64 and form part of 
the Directors’ report disclosures.

Employment
The Balfour Beatty Group operates across a 
number of geographies and end markets. 
Balfour Beatty provides a Human Resources 
framework for promoting diversity, ethical 
behaviour and learning and development as 
well as continuing to fulfil its commitments in 
relation to regulation and corporate governance.

The Group provides fair and flexible 
employment policies and practices that 
respond to the different needs of its people. 
Information concerning employee diversity is 
set out on pages 73 and 74 and forms part of 
the Directors’ report disclosures. Balfour 
Beatty strives to provide employment, 
training and development opportunities for 
disabled people wherever possible and is 
committed to supporting employees who 
become disabled during employment and 
helping disabled employees make the best 
use of their skills and potential, consistent 
with all other employees. The Company 
operates an all employee share incentive plan 
(SIP) which enables UK-based employees to 
acquire the Company’s ordinary shares on a 
potentially tax-favourable basis, in order to 
encourage employee share ownership and 
provide additional alignment between the 
interests of employees and shareholders. 
Participants in the SIP are the beneficial 
owners of shares but not the registered 
owners, and the voting rights to such shares 
are exercised by the trustee of the SIP at the 
discretion of the participants.

Information concerning financial and 
economic factors affecting the performance 
of the Group and the Company’s share price 
is available to all employees via the 
Company’s intranet site.

Further information on how Directors have 
engaged with employees and how they have 
had regard to employee interests can be 
found on pages 113 and 114.

Diversity
Details on the Company’s Board diversity 
policy can be found in the Nomination 
Committee Report on page 123.

Details of the Group’s approach to diversity and 
inclusion can be found on pages 73 and 74.

Disclosures required under 
Listing Rule 9.8.4 
There are no disclosures required to be made 
under UK Listing Rule 9.8.4. Details of long-term 
incentive plans can be found in the Summary 
of policy and implementation in 2021 on 
pages 138 to 139.

Events after the reporting date 
Details of material post balance sheet events 
can be found in Note 39 on page 220.

Political donations
At the AGM held in June 2020, shareholders 
gave authority for the Company and its UK 
subsidiaries to make donations to political 
organisations up to a maximum aggregate 
amount of £25,000 in the European Union. 
This approval is a precautionary measure in 
view of the broad definition of these terms in 
the Companies Act. No such expenditure or 
donations were made during the year and 
shareholder authority will be sought again at 
the 2021 AGM.

In the US, no corporate political contributions 
were made by business units during the year 
(2019: US$5,000 (£3,900)). Any political 
contributions or donations are tightly controlled 
and must be approved in advance in accordance 
with the Company’s internal procedures and 
must also adhere strictly to the Company’s 
Code of Conduct.

Capitalised interest
Details of the Group’s capitalised interest can 
be found in Note 15 on page 188.

Financial instruments
The Group’s financial risk management 
objectives and policies (including its hedging 
policy) and its exposure to the following risks 
– liquidity, foreign currency, interest rate, 
price and credit – are detailed in Note 40 
on pages 220 to 224.

Going concern and viability
The Group’s going concern statement is 
detailed in Note 1 of the consolidated 
financial statements on page 170.

The long-term Viability Statement is set out 
on pages 102 and 103.

152

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Under applicable law and regulations, the 
Directors are also responsible for preparing a 
Strategic report, Directors’ report, Directors’ 
Remuneration report and Corporate governance 
statement that complies with that law and 
those regulations. 

The Directors are responsible for the 
maintenance and integrity of the corporate 
and financial information included on the 
company’s website. Legislation in the UK 
governing the preparation and dissemination 
of financial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions. 

Statements of Directors as to 
disclosure of information to the 
Company’s auditor
We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

 \ the financial statements, prepared in 
accordance with the applicable set of 
accounting standards, give a true and fair 
view of the assets, liabilities, financial 
position and profit or loss of the Company 
and the undertakings included in the 
consolidation taken as a whole; and 

 \ the Strategic report includes a fair review 
of the development and performance of 
the business and the position of the issuer 
and the undertakings included in the 
consolidation taken as a whole, together 
with a description of the principal risks and 
uncertainties that they face. 

We consider the annual report and accounts, 
taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and 
understandable and provides the information 
necessary for shareholders to assess the 
Group’s position and performance, business 
model and strategy. 

This confirmation is given and should be 
interpreted in accordance with the provisions 
of Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006.

By order of the Board

Tracey Wood
Group General Counsel and Company 
Secretary

9 March 2021 

Registered Office: 5 Churchill Place, Canary 
Wharf, London E14 5HU Registered in England 
and Wales, registered number 395826 

Change of control provisions
The Group’s bank facility and surety agreements 
contain provisions that, where the parties are 
unable to agree the implications of any change 
of control, on notice being given to the Group 
the lenders and sureties may exercise their 
discretion to require prepayment of any loans or 
outstanding bonds and cancel all commitments 
under the agreement concerned. 

A number of significant joint venture and contract 
bond agreements include provisions which 
become exercisable by a counterparty on a 
change of control of the Company. These include 
the right of a counterparty to request additional 
security and to terminate an agreement. 

The Group’s US private placement 
arrangements require the Company, promptly 
upon becoming aware that a change of 
control of the Company has occurred (and in 
any event within 10 business days), to give 
written notice of such fact to all noteholders 
and make an offer to prepay the entire unpaid 
principal amount of the notes, together with 
accrued interest. 

Some other commercial agreements, entered 
into in the normal course of business, include 
change of control provisions. The Group’s 
share and incentive plans include usual 
provisions relating to change of control. There 
are no agreements providing for compensation 
for the Directors or employees on a change 
of control.

Annual General Meeting
All resolutions continue to be put to a poll rather 
than a show of hands. Each substantially 
separate issue is proposed via a separate 
resolution and proxy forms provide for 
shareholders to vote for, vote against or 
withhold their vote on each resolution.

All Board members typically attend the AGM 
and are available to answer questions during 
the formal part of the meeting as well as 
being present for informal discussion over 
refreshments after the AGM.

The 2021 AGM will be held at The Curve, Axis 
Business Park, Hurricane Way, Langley, SL3 8AG, 
United Kingdom on Thursday 13 May 2021 
commencing at 10am. The AGM will be a 
closed meeting and shareholders will not be 
permitted to attend.

Statement of Directors’ 
responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for preparing 
the Annual Report and the Group and parent 
Company financial statements in accordance 
with applicable law and regulations. 

Company law requires the Directors to 
prepare Group and parent Company financial 
statements for each financial year. Under that 
law they are required to prepare the Group 
financial statements in accordance with 
international accounting standards in 

conformity with the requirements of the 
Companies Act 2006 and applicable law and 
have elected to prepare the parent Company 
financial statements in accordance with UK 
accounting standards and applicable law, 
including FRS 101 Reduced 
Disclosure Framework. 

Under company law the Directors must not 
approve the financial statements unless they 
are satisfied that they give a true and fair 
view of the state of affairs of the Group and 
parent Company and of the Group’s profit or 
loss for that period. In preparing each of the 
Group and parent Company financial 
statements, the Directors are required to: 

 \ select suitable accounting policies and 

then apply them consistently; 

 \ make judgements and estimates that are 
reasonable, relevant, reliable and prudent; 

 \ for the Group financial statements, state 
whether they have been prepared in 
accordance with international accounting 
standards in conformity with the 
requirements of the Companies Act 2006 
and, as regards the Group financial 
statements, International Financial 
Reporting Standards adopted pursuant to 
Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 as it applies 
in the European Union (IFRSs as adopted 
by the EU); 

 \ for the parent Company financial statements, 
state whether applicable UK accounting 
standards have been followed, subject to 
any material departures disclosed and 
explained in the parent Company 
financial statements; 

 \ assess the Group and parent Company’s 
ability to continue as a going concern, 
disclosing, as applicable, matters related 
to going concern; and 

 \ use the going concern basis of accounting 
unless they either intend to liquidate the 
Group or the parent Company or to cease 
operations or have no realistic alternative 
but to do so. 

The Directors are responsible for keeping 
adequate accounting records that are 
sufficient to show and explain the parent 
Company’s transactions and disclose with 
reasonable accuracy at any time the financial 
position of the parent Company and enable 
them to ensure that its financial statements 
comply with the Companies Act 2006. They 
are responsible for such internal control as 
they determine is necessary to enable the 
preparation of financial statements that are 
free from material misstatement, whether 
due to fraud or error, and have general 
responsibility for taking such steps as are 
reasonably open to them to safeguard the 
assets of the Group and to prevent and 
detect fraud and other irregularities. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

153

GovernanceINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF BALFOUR BEATTY PLC

1 Our opinion is unmodified 
We have audited the financial statements of Balfour Beatty plc (“the Company”) for the year ended 31 December 2020 which comprise the 
Group Income Statement, Group Statement of Comprehensive Income, Group Statement of Changes in Equity, Company Statement of 
Changes in Equity, Group and Company Balance Sheets, Group Statement of Cash Flows, and the related notes, including the accounting 
policies in Note 2.

In our opinion: 

 \ the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and of the parent Company’s affairs as at 31 December 2020 

and of the Group’s profit for the year then ended; 

 \ the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with international accounting standards in conformity with the 

requirements of the Companies Act 2006; 

 \ the parent Company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with UK accounting standards, including FRS 101 

Reduced Disclosure Framework; and 

 \  the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the Group 

financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation to the extent applicable. 

Basis for opinion 
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law. Our responsibilities are 
described below. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is a sufficient and appropriate basis for our opinion. Our audit opinion is 
consistent with our report to the Audit and Risk Committee. 

We were first appointed as auditor by the Company’s shareholders on 19 May 2016. The period of total uninterrupted engagement is for the 
five financial years ended 31 December 2020. We have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities under, and we remain independent of the Group in 
accordance with, UK ethical requirements including the FRC Ethical Standard as applied to listed public interest entities. No non-audit services 
prohibited by that standard were provided.

2 Key audit matters: our assessment of risks of material misstatement
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit of the financial statements and 
include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) identified by us, including those which had 
the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. We 
summarise below the key audit matters, in decreasing order of audit significance, in arriving at our audit opinion above, together with our key 
audit procedures to address those matters and, as required for public interest entities, our results from those procedures. These matters were 
addressed, and our results are based on procedures undertaken, in the context of, and solely for the purpose of, our audit of the financial 
statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and consequently are incidental to that opinion, and we do not provide a separate 
opinion on these matters.

Our identification of key audit matters remains unchanged from 2019 with the following exceptions: (i) In the prior year we reported a key audit 
matter in respect of the impact of uncertainties due to the UK exiting the European Union. Following the trade agreement between the UK and 
the EU, and the end of the EU-exit implementation period, the nature of these uncertainties has changed. We continue to perform procedures 
over material assumptions in forward looking assessments such as going concern however we no longer consider the effect of the UK’s departure 
from the EU to be a separate key audit matter; and (ii) we have removed the key audit matter related to goodwill impairment – Gas and Water 
cash-generating unit (CGU) following the full impairment of the goodwill balance in the CGU in 2019. 

154

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

The risk

Our response

Contract accounting Group revenue £7,003 million (2019: £6,941 million), contract assets £288 million (2019: £377 million), contract liabilities 
Risk vs 2019: 
£526 million (2019: £471 million), contract provisions £279 million (2019: £224 million)  

Refer to pages 126-133 (Audit and Risk Committee report), Note 2.4 (Principal accounting policies – Revenue recognition), Note 2.27(a) 
(Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty – Revenue and margin recognition), Note 4 (Revenue) and Note 26 (Provisions) 

Subjective estimates
For the majority of its contracts, the Group recognises revenue over 
time and measures the progress based on the input method by 
considering the proportion of contract costs incurred for the work 
performed to the balance sheet date, relative to the estimated total 
forecast costs of the contract at completion.

The recognition of revenue and profit therefore rely on estimates in 
relation to the forecast total costs of each contract. Cost 
contingencies may also be included in these estimates to take 
account of specific uncertain risks, or disputed claims against the 
Group, arising within each contract. These contingencies are 
reviewed by the Group on a regular basis throughout the contract 
life and amounts are re-estimated, until the outcome of the contract 
is known. 

The revenue on contracts may also include variations and claims, 
which fall under either the variable consideration or contract 
modification requirements of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with 
Customers. These are recognised on a contract-by-contract basis 
when evidence supports that the contract modification is enforceable 
or when variable consideration is highly probable that a significant 
reversal in the amount of revenue recognised will not occur. 

The effect of these matters is that, as part of our risk assessment, 
we determined that contract revenue and other related contract 
balances have a high degree of estimation uncertainty, with a 
potential range of reasonable outcomes greater than our materiality 
for the Group financial statements as a whole, and possibly many 
times that amount. Therefore, auditor judgement is required to 
assess whether the Directors’ estimates for forecast costs and 
variable consideration falls within an acceptable range. The financial 
statements (Note 2.27(a)) disclose the nature and extent of the 
estimates and judgements made by the Group.

We performed the tests below rather than seeking to rely on the Group’s 
controls because the nature of the balances is such that we would expect to 
obtain audit evidence primarily through the detailed procedures described. 

Using a variety of quantitative and qualitative criteria we selected a 
sample of contracts to assess and challenge the most significant and 
complex contract estimates. We obtained the detailed project review 
papers from the Group to support the estimates made and challenged 
the judgements underlying those papers with senior operational, legal, 
commercial and financial management. Our procedures included:

 \ Historical comparisons: evaluating the financial performance of 

contracts against budget and historical trends;

 \ Benchmarking assumptions: challenging the Group’s judgement in 
respect of forecast contract out-turn, contingencies, settlements and 
the recoverability of contract balances via agreement to post year end 
third-party certifications and confirmations and with reference to our 
own assessments, historical outcomes and industry norms;

 \ Customer correspondence scrutiny: analysing correspondence 
with customers around variations and claims to challenge the 
estimates of claims and variations made by the Group;

 \ Legal correspondence scrutiny: analysing correspondence with 

lawyers, and other legal opinions including arbitration results or other 
legal advice obtained by the Group, around variations and claims; 

 \ Test of detail: analysing the end of job forecasts on contracts 
selected and challenging the estimates within the forecasts by 
considering the amounts already procured, the amounts still to be 
procured, the site and time related cost forecasts against programme 
and run rates, and any contingency held;

 \ Test of detail: inspecting selected contracts for key clauses; 

identifying relevant contractual mechanisms such as pain/gain shares, 
design bonuses, liquidated damages and success fees and assessing 
whether these key clauses have been appropriately reflected in the 
amounts recognised in the financial statements;

 \ Virtual site visits: holding video conferencing calls with sites related 
to certain higher risk or larger value contracts, with the involvement of 
our industry specialists for a sample of these, inspecting the physical 
progress on site for individual projects and identifying areas of 
complexity through observation and discussion with site personnel;

 \ KPMG specialists: Utilising KPMG Major Project specialists for a 

sample of contracts to review the risks and opportunities associated 
with the contract and develop a range of possible contract out-turns 
and challenge the appropriateness of revenue recognised and 
provisions held in relation to these contracts; and

 \ Assessing transparency: considering the adequacy of the Group’s 

disclosures including those included in Note 2.27(a) around the nature 
of estimates and judgements.

Our findings: 
We consider the amount of revenue, contract assets, contract liabilities, 
contract provisions and associated profits recognised to be acceptable. 
(2019: acceptable).

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

155

Financial statementsINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF BALFOUR BEATTY PLC CONTINUED

The risk

Our response

Accounting for the US Military Housing investigation 
Refer to pages 126-133 (Audit and Risk Committee report), Note 37 (Contingent liabilities) 

Risk vs 2019: 

Assessing transparency
The Group engaged external legal counsel to conduct an investigation 
into potential fraudulent falsification of maintenance records at certain 
military housing bases in the United States (US) leading to an increase 
in incentive fees recognised over the period from 2014 to 2018. In 
addition, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has initiated a review 
into this matter. 

The Group’s investigation is substantially complete and findings have 
been shared with the DOJ. The investigation by the DOJ is still ongoing. 

A provision has been recognised for the estimate of the portion of 
historic incentive fees that its investigation was unable to verify. No 
provision for any fine or penalty has been recognised and the Group 
continue to disclose this risk as a contingent liability as the quantum 
of obligation cannot be measured with sufficient reliability. 

The effect of these matters is that, as part of our risk assessment, 
we determined that the estimation of liabilities arising out of the 
military housing investigation and related contingent liability disclosures 
has a high degree of estimation uncertainty, with a potential range of 
reasonable outcomes greater than our materiality for the financial 
statements as a whole, and possibly many times that amount. The 
financial statements (Note 37) discloses the nature and extent of the 
judgements made by the Group.

Our procedures included:

 \ Enquiry of lawyers: speaking to the external lawyers conducting 

the investigation, as well as the forensic accountants supporting the 
lawyers, to obtain their views on the results of their investigation;

 \ Legal correspondence scrutiny: Reviewing correspondence and 

presentations made to the DOJ; 

 \ Enquiry of finance and management: making inquiries of the 
Board and the Audit and Risk Committee to understand their 
assessment of the Group’s compliance with relevant laws and 
regulations in respect of military housing contracts. We also met with 
management including the Group Risk and Audit Director, General 
Counsel and legal function to assess the status of the ongoing 
investigation, and the possibility of fines or penalties;

 \ KPMG Specialists: utilising KPMG forensic specialists to review the 

output of the Group’s investigation and challenge the external 
lawyers on the range of possible outcomes; and

 \ Assessing transparency: considering the adequacy of the 

disclosures in respect of the contingent liabilities.

Our findings:
We consider the provision recognised and disclosure of contingent 
liabilities arising out of the Military Housing investigation to be 
acceptable (2019: acceptable).

Going concern assessment  
Refer to pages 126-133 (Audit and Risk Committee report) and Note 1 (Basis of accounting) 

Risk vs 2019: 

Disclosure quality
The financial statements explain how the Board has formed a 
judgement that it is appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of 
preparation for the Group and Company.

That judgement is based on an evaluation of the inherent risks to the 
Group’s and Company’s business model including adverse changes in 
the economic environment, including the impact of COVID-19, and 
deteriorations in commercial or operational conditions, and how those 
risks might affect the Group’s and Company’s financial resources or 
ability to continue operations over a period of at least a year from the 
date of approval of the financial statements. 

The risks most likely to adversely affect the Group’s and Company’s 
available financial resources over this period are: 

 \ A reduction in forecasted revenues due to further restrictions for 

working on construction sites mandated either by national or local 
government authorities and delays or cancellation of projects not 
yet contracted;

 \ Significant cost inflation due to a reduction in productivity and 

disruptions to the Group’s supply chain; and 

 \ A deterioration of contract judgements.

There are also less predictable but realistic second order impacts, 
such as delays in cash receipts received from non-government 
customers, a reduction or delay in disposal of PPP financial assets, a 
reduction or delay in the distributions received from joint ventures, 
and the possible impact of Brexit, which could result in further cost 
inflation and delays to projects not yet contracted.

The risk for our audit was whether or not the financial impact of those 
risks were such that they amounted to a material uncertainty that 
may have cast significant doubt about the ability to continue as a 
going concern. Had they been such, then that fact would have been 
required to have been disclosed. 

We considered whether these risks could plausibly affect the liquidity 
or covenant compliance in the going concern period by assessing the 
Directors’ sensitivities over the level of available financial resources and 
covenant thresholds indicated by the Group’s financial forecasts taking 
account of severe, but plausible, adverse effects that could arise from 
these risks individually and collectively. 

We performed the tests below rather than seeking to rely on any of the 
Group’s controls because the nature of the risk is such that we would 
expect to obtain audit evidence primarily through the detailed 
procedures described. Our procedures included: 

 \ Benchmarking assumptions: Testing the integrity of the cash flow 
projections and considered the appropriateness of key assumptions 
used in preparing those projections, with a specific focus on forecasted 
revenue, operating margins and operating cash flows. We evaluated 
these via enquiries with Group and Divisional management. We also 
assessed the projections and assumptions by reference to our knowledge 
of the business, historical performance, historical forecasting accuracy, 
current order book, and general market conditions, including the impact 
of COVID-19 on operating under national or local government restrictions. 

 \ Funding assessment: Reviewing the agreements for the Revolving 
Credit facility and US Private Placement loan, to understand key 
terms including relevant covenants and to understand any restrictions 
in the use of funds. We considered whether these key terms were 
appropriately reflected in the financial models used for the purpose of 
assessing the future forecasts and assessing covenant compliance. 

 \ Sensitivity analysis: Considering the downside sensitivities and if 
they represent severe but plausible scenarios based on our knowledge 
of the business, the principal risks of the Group, and recent trading 
results. We assessed the future revenue and operating margin 
assumptions in the downside scenarios by comparing to the actual 
revenue and operating margins achieved in 2020 whilst operating 
through COVID-19 restrictions. 

 \ Assessing transparency: considering whether the going concern 
disclosure in Note 1 to the financial statements gives a full and 
accurate description of the Directors’ assessment of going concern, 
including the identified risks, dependencies, and related sensitivities.

Our findings:
We found the going concern disclosures included in Note 1 without any 
material uncertainty to be acceptable (2019: acceptable).

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Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

The risk

Our response

Recoverability of the parent Company’s investment in subsidiaries
Investment in subsidiaries £1,720 million (2019: £1,714 million)  

Risk vs 2019: 

Refer to Note 20.2 (Investments)

Low risk, high value
The carrying amount of the parent Company’s investment in 
subsidiaries represents 48% of the parent Company’s total assets. 
Their recoverability is not at a high risk of significant misstatement 
or subject to significant judgement. However, due to their materiality 
in the context of the parent Company financial statements, this is 
considered to be the area that had the greatest effect on our overall 
parent Company audit.

Our risk principally relates to the parent Company’s investment in 
Balfour Beatty Investment Holdings Limited (BBIHL), where a value 
in use model has been used to support the investment’s carrying amount.

We performed the tests below rather than seeking to rely on any of the 
Company’s controls because the nature of the balance is such that we 
would expect to obtain audit evidence primarily through the detailed 
procedures described. 

Our procedures included:

 \ Our sector experience: considering the underlying assumptions in 
determining the cash flows and growth assumptions applied with 
reference to historical forecasting accuracy, current order book, and 
wider macro environment conditions of BBIHL;

 \ Benchmarking assumptions: challenging the assumptions used by 
the Company in the calculation of BBIHL’s discount rates, including 
comparisons with external data sources;

 \ Sensitivity analysis: performing our own sensitivity analysis over 
BBIHL’s value in use, including a reasonably possible reduction in 
assumed growth rates and operating margins to identify areas on 
which to focus our procedures, including the consideration of the 
possible impacts of COVID-19; and 

 \ Tests of detail: Comparing the carrying amount of 100% of 

investments (2019: 100%) of the total investment balance with the 
relevant subsidiaries’ draft balance sheets to identify whether their net 
assets, being an approximation of their minimum recoverable amount, 
were in excess of their carrying amount.

Our results:
We found the Company’s conclusion that there is no impairment of its 
investment to be acceptable (2019: acceptable).

3 Our application of materiality and an overview of the scope of our audit 
Materiality for the Group financial statements as a whole was set at £10.0 million (2019: £10.0 million), determined with reference to a 
benchmark of Group profit before tax, normalised by averaging the last three years of Group profit before tax excluding non-underlying items in 
the year, with the exception of the amortisation of acquired intangible assets, of £133 million, of which it represents 7.5% (2019: benchmark of 
Group profit before tax, normalised to exclude non-underlying items in the year as disclosed in Note 10, with the exception of the charge 
relating to the amortisation of acquired intangible assets, of £194m, of which it represented 5.2%). 

The underlying profit before tax of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2020 declined by 82%. In these situations, auditing standards 
allow for normalisation of the benchmark to be used in determining materiality that is most likely to influence the decision making of the users 
of the financial statements. As such we determined that Group profit before tax, normalised by averaging the last three years of Group profit 
before tax exclude non-underlying items in the year, with the exception of the amortisation of acquired intangible assets was the most 
appropriate alternative benchmark in these circumstances to determine materiality.

Materiality for the parent Company financial statements as a whole was set at £9.0 million (2019: £9.0 million), determined with reference to a 
benchmark of company total assets, of which it represents 0.3% (2019: 0.2%).

In line with our audit methodology, our procedures on individual account balances and disclosures were performed to a lower threshold, 
performance materiality, so as to reduce to an acceptable level the risk that individually immaterial misstatements in individual account 
balances add up to a material amount across the financial statements as a whole.

Performance materiality for the Group and parent Company was set at 75% (2019: 75%) of materiality for the financial statements as a whole, 
which equates to £7.5 million (2019: £7.5 million) for the Group and £6.75 million (2019: £6.75 Million) for the parent Company. We applied this 
percentage in our determination of performance materiality because we did not identify any factors indicating an elevated level of risk.

We agreed to report to the Audit and Risk Committee any corrected or uncorrected identified misstatements exceeding £0.5 million (2019: 
£0.5 million), in addition to other identified misstatements that warranted reporting on qualitative grounds.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

157

Financial statementsINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF BALFOUR BEATTY PLC CONTINUED

3 Our application of materiality and an overview of the scope of our audit continued
Scoping and coverage  
Of the Group’s 12 (2019: 14) reporting components, we subjected 6 (2019: 9) to full scope audits for Group reporting purposes and 5 (2019: 5) 
to specified risk-focused audit procedures. The components for which we performed specified risk-focused procedures were not individually 
financially significant enough to require a full scope audit for Group reporting purposes but did present specific individual risks that needed to 
be addressed. For three components, the specified audit procedures were performed over revenue and other contract accounting related 
balances, including, contracts asset and liabilities and any contract provisions. For one component procedures were performed over inventory. 

The components within the scope of our work accounted for 99% (2019: 98%) of Group revenue, 99% (2019: 98%) of Group profit before tax 
and 98% (2019: 98%) of Group total assets as illustrated below. 

The Group audit team instructed components, as to the significant areas to be covered, including the relevant risks detailed above and the information 
to be reported back. The Group audit team set the component materiality’s, which ranged from £0.2 million to £8.0 million (2019: £0.5 million 
to £9.0 million), having regard to the mix of size and profile of the Group across the components. The work on 11 of the Group’s 12 components 
was performed by the component auditors. Specified risk-focused procedures on 1 component, audit of the parent Company, Group consolidation 
work and procedures on the items excluded from normalised Group profit before tax were performed by the Group audit team. 

The Group audit team had planned to visit component locations in the United Kingdom, United States and Hong Kong; however, these visits 
were prevented by movement restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, senior members of the group audit team used video 
conferencing to oversee the component auditor work and had video discussions with management of the 3 component locations in scope of 
the Group audit we had planned to visit (United Kingdom, United States and Hong Kong). In addition, in all locations, the group audit team 
conducted remote file reviews by senior members of the audit team to evaluate whether work performed over key areas of the audit was 
sufficient. At these meetings, the findings reported to the Group team were discussed in more detail, and any further work required by the 
Group team was then performed by the component auditor. The Group audit team also attended local final audit closing meetings via 
conference call. 

GROUP REVENUE

GROUP PROFIT BEFORE TAX

GROUP TOTAL ASSETS

99%

89+

   Full scope audit 89% (2019: 88%)
   Specified risk-focused procedures 10% (2019: 10%)
   Out of scope 1% (2019: 2%)

99%

70+

   Full scope audit 70% (2019: 79%)
   Specified risk-focused procedures 29% (2019: 19%)
   Out of scope 1% (2019: 2%)

98%

71+

   Full scope audit 71% (2019: 83%)
   Specified risk-focused procedures 27% (2019: 15%)
   Out of scope 1% (2019: 2%)

4 Going concern 
The Directors have prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis as they do not intend to liquidate the Group or Company or to 
cease their operations, and as they have concluded that the Group’s and the Company’s financial position means that this is realistic. They have 
also concluded that there are no material uncertainties that could have cast significant doubt over their ability to continue as a going concern for 
at least a year from the date of approval of the financial statements (“the going concern period”). 

An explanation of how we evaluated the Directors’ assessment of going concern is set out in the related key audit matter in section 2 of this report.

Our conclusions based on this work:

 \ we consider that the Directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate;

 \ we have not identified, and concur with the Directors’ assessment that there is not, a material uncertainty related to events or conditions 

that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Group’s or Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the going 
concern period;

 \  we have nothing material to add or draw attention to in relation to the Directors’ statement in Note 1 to the financial statements on the use 

of the going concern basis of accounting with no material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt over the Group and Company’s use of 
that basis for the going concern period ,and we found the going concern disclosure in Note 1 to be acceptable; and

 \  the related statement under the Listing Rules set out on page 87 is materially consistent with the financial statements and our audit knowledge.

However, as we cannot predict all future events or conditions and as subsequent events may result in outcomes that are inconsistent with 
judgements that were reasonable at the time they were made, the above conclusions are not a guarantee that the Group or the Company will 
continue in operation. 

158

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

  
 
10
+
1
+
+
N
29
+
1
+
+
N
27
+
2
+
+
N
5 Fraud and breaches of laws and regulations – ability to detect
Identifying and responding to risks of material misstatement due to fraud
To identify risks of material misstatement due to fraud (“fraud risks”) we assessed events or conditions that could indicate an incentive or 
pressure to commit fraud or provide an opportunity to commit fraud. Our risk assessment procedures included:

 \ Enquiring of Directors, the Audit and Risk Committee, internal audit, compliance officers and inspection of policy documentation as to the 
Group’s high-level policies and procedures to prevent and detect fraud, including the internal audit function, and the Group’s channel for 
“whistleblowing”, as well as whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud.

 \ Reading Board and all relevant Committee minutes.

 \ Considering remuneration incentive schemes (primarily the annual incentive plan) and performance targets for management and Directors, 

including underlying profit from operations targets for management remuneration.

 \ Using analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships.

 \ Using our own forensic specialists to assist us in identifying fraud risks based on discussions of the circumstances of the Group and Company.

We communicated identified fraud risk factors throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of fraud throughout the audit. 
This included communication from the Group component audit teams of relevant fraud risks identified at the Group level and request to 
component audit teams to report to the Group audit team any instances of fraud that could give rise to a material misstatement at the Group.

As required by auditing standards, and taking into account possible pressures to meet profit targets and our overall knowledge of the control 
environment, we performed procedures to address the risk of management override of controls and the risk of fraudulent revenue recognition, 
in particular the risk that revenue earned from construction and support services is recorded in the wrong period and the risk that Group and 
component management may be in a position to make inappropriate accounting entries, and the risk of bias in accounting estimates and 
judgements such as the estimation of forecast costs and the recognition of variable consideration.

Further detail in respect of revenue recognition including the estimation of forecast costs and variable consideration is set out in the Contract 
Accounting key audit matter disclosures in section 2 of this report.

However, on this audit we do not believe there is a fraud risk related to revenue recognition in the Infrastructure Investments segment based 
on the contractual nature of the segment’s revenue with no significant judgement or estimation required in recognising revenue. 

We also performed procedures including: 

 \ Identifying journal entries and other adjustments to test for all full scope components based on specific risk-based criteria and comparing the 
identified entries to supporting documentation. These included those posted to unusual accounts, those posted by users who post journals 
infrequently and those with missing user identification; and

 \ Assessing significant accounting estimates for bias.

We assessed the disclosures in Note 37 related to the US Military Housing investigation compared to our knowledge based on discussion with 
the Group’s internal and external legal advisers. 

We discussed with the Audit and Risk Committee matters related to actual or suspected fraud, for which disclosure is not necessary, and 
considered any implications for our audit.

Identifying and responding to risks of material misstatement due to non-compliance with laws and regulations
We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our 
general commercial and sector experience, through discussion with the Directors and other management (as required by auditing standards), 
and from inspection of the Group’s regulatory and legal correspondence and discussed with the Directors and other management the policies 
and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations. The execution of these procedures was supported by forensic specialists.

As the Group is regulated, our assessment of risks involved gaining an understanding of the control environment including the entity’s 
procedures for complying with regulatory requirements.

We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the 
audit. This included communication from the Group to component audit teams of relevant laws and regulations identified at the Group level, 
and a request for component auditors to report to the group audit team any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations that could 
give rise to a material misstatement at the Group. 

The potential effect of these laws and regulations on the financial statements varies considerably.

Firstly, the Group is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including financial reporting legislation 
(including related company legislation), distributable profits legislation, and taxation legislation. We assessed the extent of compliance with 
these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items. 

Secondly, the Group is subject to many other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on 
amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation or the loss of the Group’s license to 
operate. We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect: health and safety, anti-bribery, employment law and 
environmental law. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to 
enquiry of the Directors and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Therefore, if a breach of 
operational regulations is not disclosed to us or evident from relevant correspondence, an audit will not detect that breach. 

Further detail in respect of the US Military Housing investigation is set out in the key audit matter disclosures in section 2 of this report.

We discussed with the Audit and Risk Committee matters related to actual or suspected breaches of laws or regulations, for which disclosure 
is not necessary, and considered any implications for our audit. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

159

Financial statementsINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF BALFOUR BEATTY PLC CONTINUED

5 Fraud and breaches of laws and regulations – ability to detect continued
Context of the ability of the audit to detect fraud or breaches of law or regulation
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the 
financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the 
further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less 
likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. 

In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of fraud, as this may involve collusion, forgery, intentional 
omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. Our audit procedures are designed to detect material misstatement. We are 
not responsible for preventing non-compliance or fraud and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

6 We have nothing to report on the other information in the Annual Report 
The Directors are responsible for the other information presented in the Annual Report together with the financial statements. Our opinion on 
the financial statements does not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except as explicitly 
stated below, any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether, based on our financial statements audit work, the 
information therein is materially misstated or inconsistent with the financial statements or our audit knowledge. Based solely on that work we 
have not identified material misstatements in the other information. 

Strategic Report and Directors’ Report 
Based solely on our work on the other information: 

 \ we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report and the Directors’ report; 

 \ in our opinion the information given in those reports for the financial year is consistent with the financial statements; and 

 \ in our opinion those reports have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. 

Directors’ Remuneration Report 
In our opinion the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. 

Disclosures of emerging and principal risks and longer-term viability 
We are required to perform procedures to identify whether there is a material inconsistency between the Directors’ disclosures in respect of 
emerging and principal risks and the viability statement, and the financial statements and our audit knowledge. 

Based on those procedures, we have nothing material to add or draw attention to in relation to: 

 \ the Directors’ confirmation within the viability statement on pages 102 and 103 that they have carried out a robust assessment of the emerging 

and principal risks facing the Group, including those that would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency and liquidity; 

 \ the emerging and principal risks disclosures describing these risks and how emerging risks are identified, and explaining how they are being 

managed and mitigated; and 

 \ the Directors’ explanation in the viability statement of how they have assessed the prospects of the Group, over what period they have done 
so and why they considered that period to be appropriate, and their statement as to whether they have a reasonable expectation that the 
Group will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period of their assessment, including any related 
disclosures drawing attention to any necessary qualifications or assumptions. 

We are also required to review the viability statement, set out on pages 102 and 103 under the Listing Rules. Based on the above procedures, 
we have concluded that the above disclosures are materially consistent with the financial statements and our audit knowledge.

Our work is limited to assessing these matters in the context of only the knowledge acquired during our financial statements audit. As we 
cannot predict all future events or conditions and as subsequent events may result in outcomes that are inconsistent with judgements that 
were reasonable at the time they were made, the absence of anything to report on these statements is not a guarantee as to the Group’s and 
Company’s longer-term viability.

Corporate governance disclosures 
We are required to perform procedures to identify whether there is a material inconsistency between the Directors’ corporate governance 
disclosures and the financial statements and our audit knowledge.

Based on those procedures, we have concluded that each of the following is materially consistent with the financial statements and our audit knowledge: 

 \ the Directors’ statement that they consider that the annual report and financial statements taken as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable, 
and provides the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Group’s position and performance, business model and strategy; 

 \ the section of the annual report describing the work of the Audit and Risk Committee, including the significant issues that they considered in 

relation to the financial statements, and how these issues were addressed; and

 \ the section of the annual report that describes the review of the effectiveness of the Group’s risk management and internal control systems.

We are required to review the part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating to the Group’s compliance with the provisions of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code specified by the Listing Rules for our review. We have nothing to report in this respect. 

160

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

7 We have nothing to report on the other matters on which we are required to report by exception 
Under the Companies Act 2006, we are required to report to you if, in our opinion: 

 \ adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from 

branches not visited by us; or 

 \ the parent Company financial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited are not in agreement with the 

accounting records and returns; or 

 \ certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or 

 \ we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. 

We have nothing to report in these respects. 

8 Respective responsibilities 
Directors’ responsibilities 
As explained more fully in their statement set out on pages 151 to 153, the Directors are responsible for: the preparation of the financial 
statements including being satisfied that they give a true and fair view; such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the 
preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; assessing the Group and parent 
Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern; and using the going concern 
basis of accounting unless they either intend to liquidate the Group or the parent Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic 
alternative but to do so. 

Auditor’s responsibilities 
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, 
whether due to fraud or error, and to issue our opinion in an auditor’s report. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but does not 
guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can 
arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the 
economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements. 

A fuller description of our responsibilities is provided on the FRC’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. 

9 The purpose of our audit work and to whom we owe our responsibilities 
This report is made solely to the Company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our 
audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an 
auditor’s report, and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other 
than the Company and the Company’s members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 

Paul Sawdon (Senior Statutory Auditor) 

for and on behalf of KPMG LLP, Statutory Auditor 
Chartered Accountants  
15 Canada Square 
London 
E14 5GL 

9 March 2021

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

161

Financial statementsGROUP INCOME STATEMENT

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Notes

19.2
4

34.2/34.3
15

34.2/34.3
19.2
6
8
9

11

Revenue including share of joint ventures  
and associates
Share of revenue of joint ventures and associates
Group revenue
Cost of sales
Gross profit
Gain on disposals of interests in investments
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets
Other net operating expenses
Group operating profit/(loss)
Share of results of joint ventures and associates 
excluding gain on disposals of interests in 
investments
Gain on disposals of interests in investments
Share of results of joint ventures and associates
Profit/(loss) from operations
Investment income
Finance costs
Profit/(loss) before taxation
Taxation
Profit/(loss) for the year
Attributable to
Equity holders
Non-controlling interests
Profit/(loss) for the year

1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).

Earnings per ordinary share
– basic
– diluted

Dividends per ordinary share proposed for the year

2020

Non-
underlying
items 
(Note 10) 
£m

6
(4)
2
(2)
–
–
(6)
18
12

–
–
–
12
–
–
12
(7)
5

5
–
5

Underlying
 items 1
£m

8,587
(1,269)
7,318
(7,079)
239
–
–
(226)
13

38
–
38
51
38
(53)
36
(11)
25

25
–
25

Total 
£m

8,593
(1,273)
7,320
(7,081)
239
–
(6)
(208)
25

38
–
38
63
38
(53)
48
(18)
30

30
–
30

2019

Non-
underlying
items 
(Note 10) 
£m

6
(5)
1
(1)
–
–
(6)
(56)
(62)

–
–
–
(62)
–
–
(62)
9
(53)

(53)
–
(53)

2020
Pence

4.4
4.4

1.5

Underlying
 items 1
£m

8,405
(1,093)
7,312
(6,930)
382
40
–
(267)
155

37
29
66
221
34
(55)
200
(14)
186

183
3
186

Notes

12
12

13

Total 
£m

8,411
(1,098)
7,313
(6,931)
382
40
(6)
(323)
93

37
29
66
159
34
(55)
138
(5)
133

130
3
133

2019
Pence

19.0
18.8

2.1

162

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Commentary on the Group Income Statement*
Total profit before taxation for 2020 was £48m (2019: £138m), 
which is inclusive of a non-underlying profit of £12m (2019: £62m 
loss). The total profit after tax was £30m (2019: £133m).

Background
The Group Income Statement includes the majority of the Group’s 
income and expenses for the year with the remainder being recorded 
within the statement of comprehensive income. The Group’s 
income statement is presented showing the Group’s underlying and 
non-underlying results separately on the face of the income 
statement to assist in understanding the underlying financial 
performance achieved by the Group.

The income statement shows the revenue and results of continuing 
operations. There were no discontinued operations in either year. 

Revenue
Revenue from operations including non-underlying items and the 
Group’s share of joint ventures and associates increased by 2% to 
£8,593m from £8,411m in 2019. This is predominantly driven by 
strong order book growth in prior years which more than offset 
reduced volumes as a result of site closures caused by COVID-19. 
Construction Services underlying revenue was up 2% at £6,964m as 
a result of higher volumes at Gammon. Support Services revenue 
increased by 4% to £1,067m following higher volumes in the Group’s 
power and transportation operations. 

Share of results of joint ventures and associates
Joint ventures and associates are those entities over which the Group 
exercises joint control or has significant influence and whose results 
are generally incorporated using the equity method whereby the 
Group’s share of the post-tax results of joint ventures and associates 
is included in the Group’s operating profit.

The Group’s underlying profit generated from its share of joint ventures 
and associates decreased from the prior year primarily due to the 
Group’s decision to defer disposals of Infrastructure Investments 
assets due to the uncertainty in the secondary market for these 
assets caused by COVID-19. The Group expects to recommence 
disposals in 2021. 

Underlying profit from operations 
Underlying profit from operations decreased to £51m from £221m in 
2019. Throughout the year, the Group worked hard to minimise the 
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations as the majority of its 
projects remained operational in line with government guidance and 
where it was safe to do so. However, site closures, particularly in the 
second quarter, combined with a reduction in productivity and the 
cost of implementing new operating procedures, led to a material 
reduction in profit from operations. In addition, COVID-19 has led to 
lengthened site programmes triggering a reassessment of the 
Group’s contract end forecast positions which has also contributed to 
the decrease in profits.

The decrease in profits is also driven by the Group’s decision to defer 
disposals of Infrastructure Investments assets due to the uncertainty 
in the secondary market for these assets caused by COVID-19. The 
Group expects to recommence disposals in 2021. 

Non-underlying items profit from operations 
During the year, the Group recognised grant income of £19m in respect 
of the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme (JRS) (2019: £nil). This 
was a one-off temporary scheme which the Group has decided to 
voluntarily refund after the balance sheet date. This income has been 
presented within non-underlying items to avoid distorting the underlying 
performance of the Group. Refer to Note 10.2.1. 

Other non-underlying items include the amortisation of acquired 
intangible assets of £6m (2019: £6m); a loss on GMP equalisation of 
£3m and a release of a provision amounting to £2m previously held 
for blacklisting claims. 

Net finance costs
Net finance costs of £15m in the year represents a decrease from 
£21m in 2019. The decrease is primarily driven by a saving of £8m of 
preference shares costs as the Group fully redeemed them on 1 July 
2020 and an increase of £5m in interest receivable on subordinated 
debt. These decreases were partially offset by a £11m impairment of 
loans to joint ventures and associates. Refer to Note 9. 

Taxation
The Group’s underlying loss before tax from subsidiaries of £2m 
(2019: £134m profit) resulted in an underlying tax charge of £11m (2019: 
£14m). This arose principally from the derecognition of UK tax losses. 

Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share were 4.4p (2019: 19.0p). Underlying basic 
earnings per share were 3.7p (2019: 26.7p).

* The commentary is unaudited and forms part of the Chief Financial Officer’s review on pages 84 to 87. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

163

Financial statementsGROUP STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Profit/(loss) for the year
Other comprehensive (loss)/income for the 
year
Items which will not subsequently be reclassified 
to the income statement

 Actuarial (losses)/gains on retirement 
benefit liabilities
Tax on above

Items which will subsequently be reclassified 
to the income statement

Currency translation differences
Fair value revaluations – PPP financial assets

– cash flow hedges
–  investments in
mutual funds
measured at fair
value through OCI

 Recycling of revaluation reserves to the 
income statement on disposal^
Tax on above

Total other comprehensive (loss)/income 
for the year
Total comprehensive (loss)/income 
for the year
Attributable to
Equity holders
Non-controlling interests
Total comprehensive (loss)/income 
for the year

Notes

32.1
32.1

32.1
32.1
32.1

32.1

34.3
32.1

32.1

32.1

2020

Share of joint 
ventures and
 associates 
£m
38

Group
£m
(8)

Total 
£m
30

Group
£m
67

2019

Share of joint 
ventures and
 associates 
£m
66

(62)
5
(57)

(11)
5
(4)

2

–
–
(8)

(65)

(73)

–
–
–

(4)
8
1

–

–
(2)
3

3

41

(62)
5
(57)

(15)
13
(3)

2

–
(2)
(5)

(62)

(32)

(32)
–

(32)

43
(8)
35

(12)
3
(4)

2

(2)
–
(13)

22

89

2
(1)
1

(7)
24
2

–

(2)
(5)
12

13

79

Total 
£m
133

45
(9)
36

(19) 
27
(2)

2

(4)
(5)
(1)

35

168

165
3

168

^  Recycling of revaluation reserves to the income statement on disposal has no associated tax effect.

Commentary on Group Statement 
of Comprehensive Income*
Total comprehensive loss for 2020 was £32m comprising a total 
profit after tax of £30m and other comprehensive loss after tax 
of £62m.

Background
The Group Statement of Comprehensive Income is presented on a 
total Group basis. Other comprehensive income (OCI) is categorised 
into items which will affect the profit and loss of the Group in subsequent 
periods when the gain or loss is realised and those which will not be 
recycled into the income statement.

Items which will not subsequently be reclassified to the 
income statement 
Actuarial movements on retirement benefit liabilities are increases or 
decreases in the present value of the pension liability because of:

» differences between the previous actuarial assumptions and what

has actually occurred; or

» changes in actuarial assumptions used to value the obligations.

Actuarial losses for the Group including joint ventures and associates 
totalled £62m in 2020 compared to gains of £45m in 2019. Refer to 
Note 30.

Items which will subsequently be reclassified to the 
income statement 
Currency translation differences
The Group operates in a number of countries with different local 
currencies. Currency translation differences arise on translation of the 
balance sheet and results from the local functional currency into the 
Group’s presentational currency, sterling.

Fair value revaluations – PPP financial assets
Assets constructed by PPP concession companies are classified principally 
as financial assets measured at fair value through OCI. In the operational 
phase fair value is determined by discounting the future cash flows 
allocated to the financial asset using discount rates based on long-term 
gilt rates adjusted for the risk levels associated with the assets, with 
market-related fair value movements recognised in OCI. During the year, 
gilt rates have decreased resulting in fair value gains including joint 
ventures and associates of £13m being taken through OCI (2019: £27m).

Fair value revaluations – cash flow hedges
Cash flow hedges are principally interest rate swaps, to manage the 
interest rate and inflation rate risks in Infrastructure Investments’ 
subsidiary, joint venture and associate companies which are exposed 
by their long-term contractual agreements. The fair value of derivatives 
changes in response to prevailing market conditions. During the year, 
LIBOR decreased resulting in fair value losses on the interest rate 
swaps including joint ventures and associates of £3m being 
recognised in OCI (2019: £2m).

Recycling of revaluation reserves to the income statement on 
disposal
Fair value gains and losses and currency translation differences 
recognised in OCI are transferred to the income statement upon 
disposal of the asset. On disposal of infrastructure concession assets 
in 2019, £4m of profit (including joint ventures and associates) was 
recycled to the income statement from OCI and included in the gain 
on disposal. There were no disposals in 2020. 

There is no associated tax on the amounts recycled to the 
income statement.

* The commentary is unaudited and forms part of the Chief Financial Officer’s review on pages 84 to 87. 

164

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

GROUP STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the year ended 31 December 2020

At 1 January 2019
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for 
the year
Ordinary dividends 
Non-controlling interest’s dividends
Joint ventures’ and associates’ dividends
Movements relating to share-based 
payments
Reserve transfers relating to joint 
venture and associate disposals
At 31 December 2019
Total comprehensive (loss)/income for 
the year
Joint ventures’ and associates’ dividends
Reserve transfers relating to joint 
ventures and associates
Redemption of preference shares
At 31 December 2020

Notes

32.1
13

19.1

19.6

32.1
19.1

19.6
31.2

Called-up
share capital
£m

345

Share 
premium
account
£m

65

Special
reserve
£m

22

–
–
–
–

–

–
345

–
–

–
–
345

–
–
–
–

–

–
65

–
–

–
111
176

–
–
–
–

–

–
22

–
–

–
–
22

Share of 
joint ventures’
and 
associates’ 
reserves
(Note 19.6)
£m

63

79
–
–
(95)

–

(1)
46

41
(50)

28
–
65

Other 
reserves
(Note 32.1)
£m

162

Retained
profits
£m

575

Non-
controlling
interests
£m

Total 
£m

10

1,242

(13)
–
–
–

(7)

–
142

(9)
–

–
(17)
116

99
(36)
–
95

14

1
748

(64)
50

(28)
(94)
612

3
–
(4)
–

–

–
9

–
–

–
–
9

168
(36)
(4)
–

7

–
1,377

(32)
–

–
–
1,345

Commentary on Group Statement of Changes 
in Equity*
Total equity of £1,345m at 31 December 2020 decreased primarily 
due to movements in the Group Statement of Comprehensive Income.

Joint ventures’ and associates’ dividends 
Dividends of £50m (2019: £95m) were received in the year from joint 
ventures and associates (JVA), resulting in a transfer of this amount 
between JVA reserves and Group retained profits.

Background
The Group Statement of Changes in Equity includes the total comprehensive 
(loss)/income attributable to equity holders of the Company and 
non-controlling interests and also discloses transactions which have been 
recognised directly in equity and not through the income statement.

Dividends
The Board is recommending a final dividend of 1.5p. There was no 
interim dividend, therefore the total dividend for the year is also 1.5p 
per share (2019: 2.1p).

Reserves
Other reserves comprise: hedging reserves £(32)m (2019: £(29)m); 
PPP financial assets revaluation reserve £30m (2019: £27m); currency 
translation reserve £98m (2019: £109m); and other reserves £20m 
(2019: £17m).

COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the year ended 31 December 2020

At 1 January 2019
Total comprehensive loss for the year
Ordinary dividends
Movements relating to share-based payments
At 31 December 2019
Total comprehensive income for the year
Redemption of preference shares
Movements relating to share-based payments
At 31 December 2020

Notes

32.2
13

32.2

Called-up
share capital 
£m

Share 
premium
account 
£m

Special 
reserve 
£m

Other 
reserves 
(Note 32.2) 
£m

Retained 
profits 
£m

345
–
–
–
345
–
–
–
345

65
–
–
–
65
–
111
–
176

22
–
–
–
22
–
–
–
22

105
–
–
8
113
–
(17)
6
102

873
(27)
(36)
(1)
809
62
(94)
(6)
771

Total 
£m

1,410
(27)
(36)
7
1,354
62
–
–
1,416

* The commentary is unaudited and forms part of the Chief Financial Officer’s review on pages 84 to 87.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

165

Financial statementsGroup

2020
£m

Notes

14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
24
30
29

22
23
24
27
27

23
25
26
27
27
31
28

40

23
25
26
27
27
28
30
29
40

31
32
32
32
32
32

32

811
312
93
121
30
554
26
155
250
215
80
2,647

114
288
838
22
770
6
2,038
4,685

(524)
(1,403)
(200)
(6)
–
–
(47)
(14)
(4)
(2,198)

(2)
(128)
(150)
(333)
(189)
(78)
(126)
(104)
(32)
(1,142)
(3,340)
1,345

345
176
22
65
116
612
1,336
9
1,345

2019
£m

828
300
91
113
32
550
27
155
207
249
92
2,644

101
377
939
35
743
2
2,197
4,841

(469)
(1,520)
(153)
(4)
(35)
(110)
(42)
(16)
(4)
(2,353)

(2)
(108)
(142)
(333)
(196)
(78)
(116)
(108)
(28)
(1,111)
(3,464)
1,377

345
65
22
46
142
748
1,368
9
1,377

Company

2020
£m

–
–
–
–
–
–
1,720
–
3
–
–
1,723

–
–
1,601
–
258
2
1,861
3,584

–
(1,976)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(1,976)

–
(3)
–
–
(189)
–
–
–
–
(192)
(2,168)
1,416

345
176
22
–
102
771
1,416
–
1,416

2019
£m

–
–
–
–
–
–
1,714
–
3
–
–
1,717

–
–
1,548
–
288
3
1,839
3,556

–
(1,858)
–
–
(35)
(110)
–
–
–
(2,003)

–
(3)
–
–
(196)
–
–
–
–
(199)
(2,202)
1,354

345
65
22
–
113
809
1,354
–
1,354

BALANCE SHEETS 

At 31 December 2020

Non-current assets
Intangible assets – goodwill

– other

Property, plant and equipment
Right-of-use assets 
Investment properties
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Investments
PPP financial assets
Trade and other receivables
Retirement benefit assets
Deferred tax assets

Current assets
Inventories
Contract assets
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents – infrastructure investments

Current tax receivable

– other

Total assets
Current liabilities
Contract liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Borrowings  – non-recourse loans
– other

Liability component of preference shares
Lease liabilities
Current tax payable
Derivative financial instruments

Non-current liabilities
Contract liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Borrowings  – non-recourse loans
– other

Lease liabilities
Retirement benefit liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities
Derivative financial instruments

Total liabilities
Net assets
Equity
Called-up share capital
Share premium account
Special reserve
Share of joint ventures’ and associates’ reserves
Other reserves
Retained profits
Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
Non-controlling interests
Total equity

On behalf of the Board

Leo Quinn 

Director

9 March 2021

Philip Harrison

Director

166

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Retirement benefit assets and liabilities
The Group’s balance sheet includes net retirement benefit assets of 
£89m (2019: £133m) representing net surpluses in the Group’s 
pension schemes, as measured on an IAS 19 basis. The decrease in 
pension surplus in the year is due to actuarial movements accounted 
for in the year primarily driven by changes to discount rates and 
demographic assumptions. 

Any surplus of deficit contributions would be recoverable by way of a 
refund as, according to the relevant trust deed and rules documents, 
the Group has the unconditional right to the surplus and controls the 
run-off of the benefit obligations once all other obligations of the 
schemes have been settled.

Other
In addition to the liabilities on the balance sheet, in the normal course 
of its business, the Group arranges for financial institutions to provide 
customers with guarantees in connection with its contracting activities, 
commonly referred to as bonds. These bonds provide a customer 
with a level of financial protection in the event that a contractor fails to 
meet its commitments under the terms of a contract. They are customary 
or mandatory in many of the markets in which the Group operates. In 
return for issuing the bonds, the financial institutions receive a fee 
and a counter-indemnity from the Company. As at 31 December 2020, 
contract bonds in issue by financial institutions covered £4.0bn (2019: 
£4.4bn) of the contract commitments of the Group.

Equity commitments 
During 2020, the Group invested £46m (2019: £64m) in a combination 
of equity and shareholder loans to Infrastructure Investments’ project 
companies and at the end of the year had committed to provide a 
further £31m from 2021 onwards, inclusive of £7m expected for 
projects at preferred bidder stage. £10m of this is expected to be 
invested in 2021, as disclosed in Note 41(f).

Commentary on the Group Balance Sheet*
Total assets of £4.7bn were 3% lower than last year and total 
liabilities of £3.3bn decreased by 4%. Net assets decreased by 
2% to £1.3bn primarily driven by a reduction in profits in the year 
and losses in other comprehensive income of £62m. 

Background
The Group’s Balance Sheet shows the Group’s assets and liabilities 
as at 31 December 2020. In accordance with IAS 1 Presentation of 
Financial Statements and IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale 
and Discontinued Operations. 

Goodwill
The goodwill on the Group’s balance sheet at 31 December 2020 decreased 
to £811m (2019: £828m), solely due to foreign currency movements. 

Investments in joint ventures and associates
Investments in joint ventures and associates have remained in line 
with 2019 at £554m. Profits for the year of £38m with additional equity 
contributions of £29m were largely offset by dividends received from 
the Group’s joint ventures and associates of £50m. 

Working capital
Net movements in working capital are discussed in the statement of 
cash flows commentary on page 169.

Borrowings
Borrowings excluding non-recourse loans
The Group has a committed bank facility of £375m provided by a set 
of relationship banks. The purpose of the facility is to provide liquidity 
to support Balfour Beatty in its activities.

In October 2020, the Group agreed a one-year extension to the 
facility, which will now expire in October 2023. A further one-year 
extension option through to October 2024 remains available to the 
Group, subject to lenders’ approval. This facility was undrawn at 
31 December 2020.

Non-recourse loans
In addition, the Group has non-recourse facilities in companies 
engaged in certain infrastructure concession projects.

At 31 December 2020, the Group’s share of these non-recourse net 
borrowings amounted to £1,762m (2019: £1,792m), comprising 
£1,445m (2019: £1,490m) in relation to joint ventures and associates 
as disclosed in Note 19.2 and £317m (2019: £302m) on the Group 
balance sheet in relation to subsidiaries as disclosed in Note 27.

*  The commentary is unaudited and forms part of the Chief Financial Officer’s review on pages 84 to 87. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

167

Financial statementsGROUP STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Cash flows from operating activities
Cash from operations
Income taxes paid
Net cash from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Dividends received from:
– joint ventures and associates – infrastructure investments
– joint ventures and associates – other
Interest received – infrastructure investments – joint ventures
Interest received – infrastructure investments – subsidiaries
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash and cash equivalents acquired
Purchases of:
– intangible assets – infrastructure investments
– intangible assets – other
– property, plant and equipment 
Return of equity from joint ventures and associates
Investments in and long-term loans to joint ventures and associates
PPP financial assets cash expenditure
PPP financial assets cash receipts
Disposals of:
– investments in joint ventures – infrastructure investments
– investments in joint ventures – other
– subsidiaries net of cash disposed, separation and transaction costs – infrastructure investments
– property, plant and equipment – infrastructure investments 
– property, plant and equipment – other 
– investment property
– net assets held for sale – infrastructure investments
– other investments
Net cash from investing activities
Cash flows used in financing activities
Purchase of ordinary shares
Proceeds from new loans relating to infrastructure investments assets
Repayments of:
– loans – infrastructure investments
– loans – other
Redemption of preference shares
Repayment of lease liabilities
Ordinary dividends paid
Other dividends paid – non-controlling interest
Interest paid – infrastructure investments
Interest paid – other
Preference dividends paid
Net cash used in financing activities
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Effects of exchange rate changes
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

Notes

33.1

19.5
19.5
19.5

34.1

15
15
16
19.5
19.5
21
21

19.5
19.5
34.3.12/34.3.6
34.3.10

34.3.1
20

32.3
33.3

33.3
33.3
31.2
28
13

33.2

2020
£m

276
(2)
274

20
30
15
3
(3)

(32)
(1)
(33)
–
(25)
(2)
15

1
1
–
–
12
3
–
3
7

(8)
6

(4)
(36)
(112)
(58)
–
–
(12)
(23)
(6)
(253)
28
(14)
778
792

2019
£m

212
(1)
211

59
36
5
3
(3)

(58)
(4)
(20)
14
(58)
(3)
16

24
1
59
22
7
–
8
5
113

(2)
6

(48)
(15)
–
(45)
(36)
(4)
(13)
(23)
(12)
(192)
132
(15)
661
778

168

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Commentary on the Group Statement of Cash Flows*
Cash and cash equivalents increased during the year to £792m. 
The Group generated cash from operating activities in the year 
of £274m compared to £211m in the prior year. 

Background
The Group Statement of Cash Flows shows the cash flows from 
operating, investing and financing activities during the year.

Working capital
Working capital includes: inventories; contract assets and liabilities; 
trade and other receivables; trade and other payables; and provisions. 
Where the net working capital balance is in an asset position, i.e. the 
inventories and receivables balances are greater than the payables 
and provisions, this is referred to as unfavourable/positive working 
capital. Where this is not the case, this is referred to as favourable/
negative working capital.

Cash used in operations 
Cash inflow from operations of £276m (2019: £212m) comprised a profit 
from operations of £63m (2019: £159m) and a working capital inflow 
of £167m (2019: £32m) and includes the following significant 
adjustment items: share of results of joint ventures and associates 
£38m (2019: £66m); depreciation charges £82m (2019: £74m); and 
pension payments including deficit funding £18m (2019: £33m).

Working capital movements
The movement of the individual working capital balances on the 
balance sheet will not be reflective of the underlying movement of 
working capital due to the balance sheet being affected by foreign 
currency movements and disposals. 

Working capital movements are disclosed in Note 33.1.

In 2020, the Group’s working capital position resulted in an inflow of 
£167m (2019: £32m). The strong performance was underpinned by 
movements in net contract assets which benefited from a number of 
settlements during the year, both in the US and UK (including the 
Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) contract) and the 
mobilisation of a number of highways projects in the US. The working 
capital outflow from trade and other payables, partly offset by an 
inflow from trade and other receivables, was a result of the timing of 
payments at year end.

Cash flows from investing activities
The Group received dividends of £50m (2019: £95m) from joint 
ventures and associates during the year.

During the year, the Group incurred additional spend on intangible 
assets of £33m (2019: £62m) which related principally to the construction 
spend on the University of Sussex student accommodation. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group suspended its programme 
for the disposal of infrastructure investment assets. As such, the 
Group did not receive any proceeds from disposals made in the year 
(2019: £169m). 

The Group continued to invest in its joint ventures and associates, 
contributing £25m in the year to assets within these investments 
(2019: £58m). 

Cash flows from financing activities 
On 1 July 2020, the Group redeemed in full its preference shares 
resulting in a cash outflow of £112m. Preference dividends of £6m 
(2019: £12m) were paid in the year.

On 5 March 2020, the Group also repaid the second tranche of its US 
private placement loan notes which amounted to US$46m (£36m). 

In October 2020, the Group agreed a one-year extension to its 
committed bank facility, which will now expire in October 2023. A 
further one-year extension option through to October 2024 remains 
available to the Group, subject to lenders’ approval. This facility was 
undrawn at 31 December 2020.

Interest payments amounted to £35m (2019: £36m) during the year, 
of which £12m (2019: £13m) related to infrastructure investments, 
£11m (2019: £12m) related to the US private placement, £6m (2019: £6m) 
related to the interest paid on lease liabilities and £6m (2019: £5m) 
related to other finance charges. 

*  The commentary is unaudited and forms part of the Chief Financial Officer’s review on pages 84 to 87. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

169

Financial statements » a deterioration of contract judgements;

 » a reduction in productivity in the UK in 2021 resulting in cost 
increases for subcontract work and procurement of materials;

 » delay in payments received from a portion of 

non-government customers; 

 » removal of dividends from Gammon; and

 » delay in the disposal of Investments assets by 12 months. 

A downside scenario to reflect lagging effects from the end of the 
transition period following the UK’s exit from the European Union was 
also overlaid in addition to the downsides modelled above. 

In assessing the impact of these sensitivities, the Group has not 
assumed any potential assistance from the UK Government such as 
the Job Retention Scheme and tax deferrals.

In the severe but plausible downside scenarios modelled by the 
Directors, the Group continues to retain sufficient headroom on 
liquidity. Through these downside scenarios, the Group is still 
expected to be in a net cash position and to remain within its banking 
covenants through the going concern assessment period. 

Based on the above and having made appropriate enquiries, the 
Directors consider it reasonable to assume that the Group and the 
Company have adequate resources to continue for the foreseeable 
future and, for this reason, have continued to adopt the going concern 
basis in preparing the financial statements.

Basis of preparation 
The annual financial statements have been prepared in accordance 
with International Accounting Standards in conformity with the 
requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act) and in accordance 
with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted 
pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 as it applies in the 
European Union. The Group has adopted these standards for 
accounting periods beginning on 1 January 2020.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost 
convention, except as described under Note 2.26. The functional and 
presentational currency of the Company and the presentational 
currency of the Group is sterling.

The separate financial statements of the Company are presented as 
required by the Act. The Company meets the definition of a qualifying 
entity under Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 100 issued by 
the Financial Reporting Council. Accordingly, in the year ended 
31 December 2020 the Company reported under FRS 101 as 
issued by the Financial Reporting Council.

Except as noted below, the Company’s accounting policies are 
consistent with those described in the Group’s consolidated financial 
statements. As permitted by FRS 101, the Company has taken 
advantage of the disclosure exemptions available under that standard 
in relation to share-based payments, financial instruments, capital 
management, presentation of a cash flow statement, related party 
transactions and comparative information. Where required, equivalent 
disclosures are given in the consolidated financial statements.

In addition to the application of FRS 101, the Company has taken 
advantage of Section 408 of the Act and consequently its statement 
of comprehensive income (including the profit and loss account) is not 
presented as part of these financial statements.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1 Basis of accounting
Going concern 
The Directors have acknowledged the guidance Going Concern and 
Liquidity Risk: Guidance for Directors of UK Companies 2009 
published by the Financial Reporting Council in October 2009 and 
consider it reasonable to assume that the Group has adequate 
resources to continue for the foreseeable future and, for this reason, 
have continued to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the 
financial statements.

Other than the uncertainty of the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 
outbreak on the Group’s financial performance and cash flows, the 
key financial risk factors for the Group remain largely unchanged. The 
Group’s principal risks and the consequent impact these might have 
on the Group as well as mitigations that are in place are detailed on 
pages 94 to 101. 

The Group’s US private placement and committed bank facility 
contain certain financial covenants, such as the ratio of the Group’s 
EBITDA to its net debt which needs to be less than 3.0 and the ratio 
of its EBITA to net borrowing costs which needs to be in excess of 
3.0. These covenants are tested on a rolling 12-month basis as at the 
June and December reporting dates. At 31 December 2020, both 
these covenants were passed as the Group had net cash and net 
interest income from a covenant test perspective. 

The Directors have carried out an assessment on the Group’s ability 
to continue as a going concern for the period of at least 12 months 
from the date of approval of the financial statements. This assessment 
has involved the review of medium-term cash forecasts based on the 
Group’s Three Year Plan which reflects the estimated impact of 
COVID-19 on each of the Group’s operations. The Directors have also 
considered the strength of the Group’s order book which amounted to 
£16.4bn at 31 December 2020 and will provide a pipeline of secured 
work over the going concern assessment period. These base case 
projections indicate that the headroom provided by the Group’s strong 
cash position and the debt facilities currently in place is adequate to 
support the Group over the going concern assessment period. 

Having repaid US$46m of its US private placement notes on maturity 
in March 2020 and redeemed its preference shares in full for £112m 
in July 2020, the Group does not have any debt repayment obligations 
in the going concern assessment period. US$259m of its US private 
placement notes remain outstanding, with the next tranche of 
US$209m being due in March 2023 and the final tranche of US$50m 
being due in March 2025. The Group does not have any other debt 
apart from these US private placement notes and non-recourse 
borrowings ringfenced within certain infrastructure investment 
companies. The Group’s £375m committed bank facility, which was 
undrawn throughout the year ended 31 December 2020, remains fully 
available to the Group until October 2023, with a one-year extension 
option through to October 2024 available to the Group subject to 
lenders’ consent. 

The Directors have stress-tested the Group’s base case projections of 
both cash and profit against key sensitivities which could materialise 
as a result of adverse changes in the economic environment including 
COVID-19 and a deterioration in commercial or operational conditions. 
The Group has sensitised its projections against severe but plausible 
downside scenarios which include: 

 » further restrictions for two months on a portion of the Group’s 

activities in the UK and the US, mandated either by federal or local 
government authorities or by the Group’s customers; 

 » elimination of a portion of unsecured work assumed within the 

Group’s base case projections and a delay of three months for any 
awarded but not yet contracted work; 

170

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

2 Principal accounting policies
2.1 Accounting standards
Adoption of new and revised standards
The following accounting standards, interpretations and amendments 
have been adopted by the Group in the year ended 31 December 2020:

 » Amendments to the following standards:

 » IAS 1 and IAS 8 Definition of Material

 » IFRS 3 Business Combinations

 » IFRS 9, IAS 39 and IFRS 7 Interest Rate Benchmark Reform

 » IFRS 16 Leases Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions

 » Amendments to References to the Conceptual Framework in 

IFRS Standards

These amended standards did not have a material effect on the Group.

Accounting standards not yet adopted by the Group
The following accounting standards, interpretations and amendments 
have been issued by the IASB but had either not been adopted by the 
European Union or were not yet effective in the European Union at 
31 December 2020:

 » IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts

 » Amendments to the following standards:

 » IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements: Classification of 

Liabilities as Current or Non-current 

 » IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment

 » IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets

 » IFRS 3 Business Combinations

 » IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts – Deferral of IFRS 9

 » IFRS 9, IAS 39, IFRS 7, IFRS 4 and IFRS 16 Interest Rate 

Benchmark Reform – Phase 2

 » Amendments to Annual Improvements 2018–2020 

The Directors do not expect the standards above to have a material 
effect. The Group has chosen not to adopt any of the above standards 
and interpretations earlier than required.

2.2 Basis of consolidation
The Group financial statements include the results of the Company and 
its subsidiaries, together with the Group’s share of the results of joint 
ventures and associates, drawn up to 31 December each year.

a) Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Group. The Group controls 
an entity when it is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from 
its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those 
returns through its power over the entity.

The results of subsidiaries are consolidated from the date that control 
commences until the date that control ceases.

The acquisition method of accounting is used to account for the 
acquisition of subsidiaries by the Group. On acquisition, the assets, 
liabilities and contingent liabilities of a subsidiary are measured at 
their fair values at the date of acquisition. Any excess of the fair value 
of the cost of acquisition over the fair values of the identifiable net 
assets acquired is recognised as goodwill. Any deficiency of the cost 
of acquisition below the fair values of the identifiable net assets 
acquired (discount on acquisition) is credited to the income statement 
in the period of acquisition. The interest of non-controlling equity 
holders is stated at the non-controlling equity holders’ proportion of 
the fair value of the assets and liabilities recognised.

When the Group loses control of a subsidiary, the profit or loss on 
disposal is calculated as the difference between: (i) the aggregate of 
the fair value of the consideration received and the fair value of any 
retained interest less direct costs of the transaction; and (ii) the 
previous carrying amount of the assets (including goodwill) less 
liabilities of the subsidiary. The fair value of any investment retained 
in the former subsidiary at the date when control is lost is regarded as 
the fair value on initial recognition for subsequent accounting under 

IFRS 9 Financial Instruments or, when applicable, the cost on initial 
recognition of an investment in an associate or jointly controlled 
entity. Amounts previously recognised in other comprehensive 
income in relation to the subsidiary are accounted for in the same 
manner as would be required if the relevant assets or liabilities were 
disposed of (i.e. reclassified to profit or loss or transferred directly to 
retained earnings).

Any acquisition or disposal which does not result in a change in 
control is accounted for as a transaction between equity holders. The 
carrying amounts of the controlling and non-controlling interests are 
adjusted to reflect the changes in their relative interests in the 
subsidiary. Any difference between the fair value of the consideration 
paid or received and the amount by which the non-controlling interests 
are adjusted is recognised directly in equity and attributed to the 
owners of the parent.

Accounting policies of subsidiaries are adjusted where necessary to 
ensure consistency with those used by the Group. All intra-Group 
transactions, balances, income and expenses are eliminated on 
consolidation.

b) Joint ventures and associates
Joint ventures are those entities over whose activities the Group has 
joint control, whereby the Group has rights to the net assets of the 
entity, rather than rights to its individual assets and obligations for its 
individual liabilities.

Associates are those entities over whose financial and operating policies 
the Group has significant influence, but not control or joint control. 

The results, assets and liabilities of joint ventures and associates are 
incorporated in the financial statements using the equity method of 
accounting except when classified as held for sale. The equity return 
from the military housing joint ventures of the Group is contractually 
limited to a maximum level of return, beyond which the Group does 
not share in any further return. Therefore the Group’s investment in 
these projects is recognised at initial equity investment plus the value 
of the Group’s accrued preferred return from the underlying projects.

Any excess of the fair value of the cost of acquisition over the Group’s 
share of the fair values of the identifiable net assets of the joint venture 
or associate entity at the date of acquisition is recognised as goodwill. 
Any deficiency of the fair value of the cost of acquisition below the Group’s 
share of the fair values of the identifiable net assets of the joint 
venture or associate at the date of acquisition (discount on acquisition) 
is credited to the income statement in the period of acquisition.

Investments in joint ventures and associates are initially carried in the 
balance sheet at cost (including goodwill arising on acquisition) and 
adjusted by post-acquisition changes in the Group’s share of net 
assets of the joint venture or associate, less any impairment in the 
value of individual investments. Losses of joint ventures and associates 
in excess of the Group’s interest in those joint ventures and associates 
are only recognised to the extent that the Group is contractually liable 
for, or has a constructive obligation to meet, the obligations of the 
joint ventures and associates.

Unrealised gains and losses on transactions with joint ventures and 
associates are eliminated to the extent of the Group’s interest in the 
relevant joint venture or associate.

c) Joint operations
The Group’s share of the results, assets and liabilities of contracts 
carried out in conjunction with another party are included under each 
relevant heading in the income statement and balance sheet.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

171

Financial statementsend of the project. The estimated final out-turns on contracts are 
continuously reviewed, and in certain limited cases, recoveries from 
insurers are assessed, and adjustments made where necessary. 

No margin is recognised until the outcome of the contract can be estimated 
with reasonable certainty. Provision is made for all known or expected 
losses on individual contracts once such losses are foreseen. 

Revenue in respect of variations to contracts and incentive payments 
is recognised when there is an enforceable right to payment and it is 
highly probable it will be agreed by the customer. Variable consideration 
is assessed on a contract by contract basis according to the facts, 
circumstances and terms of each project and only recognised to the 
extent that it is highly probable not to significantly reverse in the 
future. Revenue in respect of claims is recognised only if it is highly 
probable not to reverse in future periods. Profit for the year includes 
the benefit of claims settled in the year to the extent not previously 
recognised on contracts completed in previous years.

2.6 Segmental reporting
The Group considers its Board of Directors to be the chief operating 
decision maker and therefore the segmental disclosures provided in 
Note 5 are aligned with the monthly reports provided to the Board of 
Directors. The Group’s reporting segments are based on the types of 
services provided. Operating segments with similar economic 
characteristics have been aggregated into three reportable segments 
which reflect the nature of the services provided by the Group. A 
description of each reportable segment is provided in Note 5. Further 
information on the business activities of each reportable segment is 
set out on pages 32 to 43.

Operating segments are aggregated on the basis of the nature of the 
services provided and the manner in which returns are earned by the 
Group. Further information on the nature of services provided within 
each segment is included in Note 4. 

Working capital is the balance sheet measure reported to the chief 
operating decision maker. The profitability measure used to assess 
the performance of the Group is underlying profit from operations.

Segment results represent the contribution of the different segments 
after the allocation of attributable corporate overheads. Transactions 
between segments are conducted at arm’s length market prices. 
Segment assets and liabilities comprise those assets and liabilities 
directly attributable to the segments. Corporate assets and liabilities 
include cash balances, bank borrowings, tax balances and dividends 
payable. Non-recourse net borrowings are directly attributable to 
Infrastructure Investments and therefore not included within 
Corporate activities.

Major customers are defined as customers contributing more than 
10% of the Group’s external revenue.

2.7 Pre-contract bid costs and recoveries 
Pre-contract costs are expensed as incurred until preferred bidder 
status is awarded at which point further costs are capitalised as there 
is a high probability that the Group would be able to recover these 
costs. Amounts subsequently recovered in respect of pre-contract 
costs that have been written off before preferred bidder status was 
awarded are recognised in full in the income statement when they are 
received in cash.

2.8 Profit from operations
Profit from operations is stated after the Group’s share of the post-tax 
results of equity accounted joint venture entities and associates, but 
before investment income and finance costs.

2 Principal accounting policies continued
2.3 Foreign currencies
Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate of exchange 
at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated 
in foreign currencies are translated at the rates of exchange at the 
reporting date. Significant exchange rates used in the preparation of 
these financial statements are shown in Note 3.

For the purpose of presenting consolidated financial statements, the 
results of foreign subsidiaries, associates and joint venture entities 
are translated at average rates of exchange for the year, unless the 
exchange rates fluctuate significantly during that period, in which 
case the exchange rates at the date of transactions are used. Assets 
and liabilities are translated at the rates of exchange prevailing at the 
reporting date. Goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the 
acquisition of a foreign entity are treated as assets and liabilities of 
the foreign entity and translated at the rates of exchange at the 
reporting date. Currency translation differences arising are transferred 
to the Group’s foreign currency translation reserve and are recognised 
in the income statement on disposal of the underlying investment.

In order to hedge its exposure to certain foreign exchange risks, the 
Group may enter into forward foreign exchange contracts. Refer to 
Note 2.26(c) for details of the Group’s accounting policies in respect 
of such derivative financial instruments.

2.4 Revenue recognition 
The Group recognises revenue when it transfers control over a product 
or service to its customer. Revenue is measured based on the 
consideration specified in a contract with a customer and excludes 
amounts collected on behalf of third parties. Where consideration is 
not specified within the contract and is therefore subject to variability, 
the Group estimates the amount of consideration to be received from 
its customer. The consideration recognised is the amount which is 
highly probable not to result in a significant reversal in future periods. 

Where a modification to an existing contract occurs, the Group 
assesses the nature of the modification and whether it represents a 
separate performance obligation required to be satisfied by the Group 
or whether it is a modification to the existing performance obligation. 

The Group does not expect to have any contracts where the period 
between the transfer of the promised goods or services to the customer 
and payment by the customer exceeds one year. As a consequence, 
the Group does not adjust its transaction price for the time value 
of money.

The Group’s activities are wide ranging, and as such, depending on 
the nature of the product or service delivered and the timing of when 
control is passed onto the customer, the Group will account for revenue 
over time and at a point in time. Where revenue is measured over time, 
the Group uses the input method to measure progress of delivery. 

Revenue is recognised as follows: 

 » revenue from construction and services activities is recognised over 
time and the Group uses the input method to measure progress 
of delivery; 

 » revenue from manufacturing activities is recognised at a point in time 

when title has passed to the customer; and

 » dividend income in the parent company is recognised when the 

equity holder’s right to receive payment is established.

2.5 Construction and services contracts 
When the outcome of individual contracts can be estimated reliably, 
contract revenue is recognised by reference to the measure of progress 
at the reporting date using the input method. Costs are recognised as 
incurred and revenue is recognised on the basis of the proportion of total 
costs at the reporting date to the estimated total costs of the contract. 

Estimates of the final out-turn on each contract may include cost 
contingencies to take account of the specific risks within each contract 
that have been identified during the early stages of the contract. The 
cost contingencies are reviewed on a regular basis throughout the 
contract life and are adjusted where appropriate. However, the nature 
of the risks on contracts are such that they often cannot be resolved 
until the end of the project and therefore may not reverse until the 

172

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED2 Principal accounting policies continued
2.9 Investment income and finance costs
Interest income is accrued on a time basis using the effective interest 
method by reference to the principal outstanding and the effective 
interest rate, which is the rate that exactly discounts estimated future 
cash receipts through the expected life of the financial asset to that 
asset’s net carrying amount.

Finance costs of debt, including premiums payable on settlement and 
direct issue costs, are charged to the income statement on an 
accruals basis over the term of the instrument, using the effective 
interest method. Finance costs also include interest cost on the 
discount unwind of lease liabilities and impairment of loans to joint 
ventures and associates. 

2.10 Non-underlying items
Non-underlying items are items of financial performance which the 
Group believes should be presented separately on the face of the 
income statement to assist in understanding the underlying financial 
performance achieved by the Group. Such items will not affect the 
absolute amount of the results for the period and the trend of results. 
The Group’s underlying results exclude non-underlying items.

Non-underlying items include:

 » gains and losses on the disposal of businesses and investments, 

unless this is part of a programme of releasing value from the disposal 
of similar businesses or investments such as infrastructure concessions;

 » costs of major restructuring and reorganisation of existing businesses;

 » costs of integrating newly acquired businesses;

 » acquisition and similar costs related to business combinations such 

as transaction costs;

 » impairment and amortisation charges on intangible assets arising on 
business combinations (amortisation of acquired intangible assets); and

 » impairment of goodwill.

The results of Rail Germany have been treated as non-underlying as 
the Group is committed to exiting this part of the business. 

These are examples, however, from time to time it may be appropriate 
to disclose further items as non-underlying items in order to highlight 
the underlying performance of the Group. Refer to Note 10. 

2.11 Taxation
The tax charge comprises current tax and deferred tax, calculated 
using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by 
the reporting date. Current tax and deferred tax are charged or credited 
to the income statement, except when they relate to items charged 
or credited directly to equity, in which case the relevant tax is also 
accounted for within equity. Current tax is based on the profit for 
the year.

Deferred tax is provided, using the liability method, on temporary 
differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and 
their carrying amounts in the financial statements. Deferred tax on 
such assets and liabilities is not recognised if the temporary difference 
arises from the initial recognition of goodwill or from the initial recognition 
(other than in a business combination) of other assets and liabilities in 
a transaction that affects neither the taxable profit nor the 
accounting profit.

Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable 
that future taxable profit will be available against which the temporary 
differences can be utilised. The carrying amount of deferred tax 
assets is reviewed at each reporting date.

Deferred tax is provided on temporary differences arising on 
investments in subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, except 
where the timing of the reversal of the temporary difference can be 
controlled by the Group and it is probable that the temporary 
difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when they relate to 
income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the Group 
intends to settle its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis. 

2.12 Intangible assets
a) Goodwill
Goodwill arises on the acquisition of subsidiaries and other businesses, 
joint ventures and associates and represents the excess of the fair 
value of consideration over the fair value of the identifiable assets and 
liabilities acquired. Goodwill on acquisitions of subsidiaries and other 
businesses is included in non-current assets. Goodwill on acquisitions 
of joint ventures and associates is included in investments in joint 
ventures and associates.

Goodwill is reviewed annually for impairment and is carried at cost 
less accumulated impairment losses. Goodwill is included when 
determining the profit or loss on subsequent disposal of the business 
to which it relates.

Goodwill arising on acquisitions before the date of transition to IFRS 
(1 January 2004) has been retained at the previous UK GAAP amounts 
subject to being tested for impairment. Goodwill written off or discount 
arising on acquisition credited to reserves under UK GAAP prior to 
1998 has not been reinstated and is not included in determining any 
subsequent profit or loss on disposal.

b) Other intangible assets
Other intangible assets are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation 
and impairment losses. Amortisation charges in respect of software and 
Infrastructure Investments intangibles are included in underlying items.

c)  Research and development
Internally generated intangible assets developed by the Group are 
recognised only if all the following conditions are met: an asset is 
created that can be identified; it is probable that the asset created will 
generate future economic benefits; and the development cost of the 
asset can be measured reliably.

Other research expenditure is written off in the period in which it 
is incurred.

2.13 Property, plant and equipment 
Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated 
depreciation and impairment losses. Cost includes expenditure 
associated with bringing the asset to its operating location and condition.

2.14 Investment properties
The Group classifies land and buildings which it holds to generate 
capital appreciation and/or to earn rental income as investment 
properties. The Group has chosen to state its investment properties 
at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. The 
Group depreciates its investment properties over 25 years. Land is 
not depreciated. 

2.15 Leasing
As a lessee, the Group assesses whether a contract is, or contains, a 
lease at the inception of a contract. A lease exists if the contract 
conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period 
of time in exchange for consideration. To assess if a lease exists, the 
Group assesses whether: (i) the contract involves the use of an 
identified asset; (ii) the Group has the right to obtain substantially all 
of the economic benefits from the use of the asset throughout the 
lease term; and (iii) the Group has the right to direct the use of the 
asset. In order to determine if the contract involves the use of an 
identified asset, the Group exercises judgement to assess if the 
supplier has a substantive substitution right over the asset. An asset 
is not identified if it has been determined that the supplier has 
substantive substitution rights.

The Group recognises a right-of-use asset and a lease liability at the 
lease commencement date. The right-of-use asset is initially measured 
at cost and subsequently depreciated over the lease term. The lease 
liability is measured at the present value of the lease payments that 
are not paid at the commencement date, discounted using the interest 
rate implicit in the lease, or if that rate cannot be readily determined, 
the Group’s incremental borrowing rate. The Group has elected to 
apply the practical expedient which allows the Group to use a single 
discount rate for a portfolio of leases with similar characteristics. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

173

Financial statements2 Principal accounting policies continued
2.15 Leasing continued
The Group has elected not to recognise right-of-use assets and lease 
liabilities for short-term leases of less than 12 months and leases of 
low value assets. Instead, the Group recognises the lease payments 
associated with these leases as an expense on a straight-line basis 
over the lease term. 

2.16 Impairment of assets
Assets that have an indefinite useful life (such as goodwill arising on 
acquisitions) are reviewed at least annually for impairment. Other 
intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and right-of-use 
assets are reviewed for impairment whenever there is any indication 
that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable.

If the recoverable amount of an asset is less than its carrying amount, 
an impairment loss is recognised.

Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and 
value in use. Value in use is assessed by discounting the estimated 
future cash flows that the asset is expected to generate. For this purpose 
assets, including goodwill, are grouped into cash-generating units 
representing the level at which they are monitored by the Board of 
Directors for internal management purposes. Goodwill impairment 
losses are not reversed in subsequent periods. Reversals of other 
impairment losses are recognised in income when they arise.

2.17 Investments
Investments are recognised and derecognised on the trade date where 
a purchase or sale of an investment is under a contract whose terms 
require delivery of the investment within the timeframe established 
by the market concerned, and are initially measured at cost, including 
transaction costs.

Investments in mutual funds are measured at fair value. Gains and 
losses arising from changes in the fair value of these investments are 
recognised in equity, until the investment is disposed or is determined 
to be impaired, at which time the cumulative gain or loss is included 
in the net profit or loss for the period. Investments that are held until 
they reach maturity are measured at amortised cost.

Investments in subsidiaries are recognised and held at cost and 
subsequently tested for impairment on an annual basis. Where an 
impairment is identified, a provision for impairment is recorded 
against the carrying value of the investment.

2.18 Government grants
Government grants are recognised when there is a reasonable 
assurance that the Group will be able to comply with the conditions 
attached to the grant and that the grant will be received. Grants are 
recognised in the income statement on a systematic basis as a 
deduction from the related category of cost in the periods in which 
the expenses are recognised.

2.19 Inventories
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Cost includes an appropriate proportion of manufacturing overheads 
incurred in bringing inventories to their present location and condition 
and is determined using the first-in first-out method. Net realisable value 
represents the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of 
completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.

2.20 Trade receivables
Trade receivables are initially recorded at fair value and subsequently 
measured at amortised cost as reduced by allowances for estimated 
irrecoverable amounts and expected credit losses.

2.21 Trade payables
Trade payables are not interest bearing and are stated at cost.

2.22 Provisions
Provisions for insurance liabilities retained in the Group’s captive 
insurance arrangements, legal claims, defects and warranties, 
environmental restoration, onerous leases, and other onerous 
commitments are recognised at the best estimate of the expenditure 
required to settle the Group’s liability.

Provisions are recognised when: (i) the Group has a present legal or 
constructive obligation as a result of a past event; (ii) it is probable 
that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation; 
and (iii) the amount of the obligation can be estimated reliably.

2.23 Borrowings
Interest-bearing bank loans and overdrafts are recorded at the 
proceeds received, net of direct issue costs. Premiums payable on 
settlement or redemption and direct issue costs are included in the 
carrying amount of the instrument and are charged to the income 
statement on an accruals basis using the effective interest method 
together with the interest payable.

2.24 Retirement benefit costs
The Group, through trustees, operates a number of defined benefit 
and defined contribution retirement and other long-term employee 
benefit schemes, the largest of which are of the defined benefit type 
and are funded. Defined benefit contributions are determined in 
consultation with the trustees, after taking actuarial advice.

For defined benefit pension schemes, the cost of providing benefits 
recognised in the income statement and the defined benefit 
obligations are determined at the reporting date by independent 
actuaries, using the projected unit credit method. The liability recognised 
in the balance sheet comprises the present value of the defined 
benefit pension obligations, determined by discounting the estimated 
future cash flows using the market yield on a high-quality corporate 
bond, less the fair value of the scheme assets. Actuarial gains and 
losses are recognised in the period in which they occur in the 
statement of comprehensive income.

Contributions to defined contribution pension schemes are charged to 
the income statement as they fall due.

Any surplus of deficit contributions to the Balfour Beatty Pension 
Fund (BBPF) and the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) would be 
recoverable by way of a refund as, according to the relevant trust 
deed and rules documents, the Group has the unconditional right to 
the surplus and controls the run-off of the benefit obligations once all 
other obligations of the BBPF and RPS have been settled. 

2.25 Share-based payments 
Employee services received in exchange for the grant of equity-settled 
and cash-settled awards are charged to the income statement on a 
straight-line basis over the vesting period, based on the fair values of 
the awards at the date of grant. 

The credits in respect of the amounts charged are included within 
separate reserves in equity until such time as the awards are exercised, 
when the shares are transferred or cash payments made to employees. 

2.26 Financial instruments 
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the Group’s 
balance sheet when the Group becomes a party to the contractual 
provisions of the instrument.

a) Classification of financial liabilities and equity instruments
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to 
the substance of the contractual arrangements. An equity instrument 
is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the 
Group after deducting all of its liabilities. Equity instruments issued by 
the Company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of direct 
issue costs.

174

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED2 Principal accounting policies continued
b) Cumulative convertible redeemable preference shares 
The Company’s cumulative convertible redeemable preference shares 
are compound instruments, comprising a liability component and an 
equity component. The fair value of the liability components was estimated 
using the prevailing market interest rates at the dates of issue for 
similar non-convertible instruments. The difference between the 
proceeds of issue of the preference shares and the fair value assigned 
to the liability component, representing the embedded option to 
convert the liability component into the Company’s ordinary shares, is 
included in equity.

The interest expense on the liability component is calculated by 
applying applicable market interest rates for similar non-convertible 
debt prevailing at the dates of issue to the liability component of the 
preference shares. The difference between this amount and the 
dividend payable is included in the carrying amount of the liability 
component and is charged to the income statement on an accrual 
basis together with the dividend payable.

c) Derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting
The Group uses derivative financial instruments to manage interest 
rate risk and to hedge exposures to fluctuations in foreign currencies 
in accordance with its risk management policy. The Group does not 
use derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes. A description 
of the Group’s objectives, policies and strategies with regard to 
derivatives and other financial instruments is set out in Note 40.

Derivatives are initially recognised in the balance sheet at fair value on 
the date the derivative transaction is entered into and are subsequently 
re-measured at their fair values.

Changes in the fair value of derivatives that are designated and qualify 
as fair value hedges are recognised in the income statement together 
with any changes in the fair value of the hedged item that are attributable 
to the hedged risk.

Changes in the fair value of the effective portion of derivatives that 
are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges are recognised in 
other comprehensive income (OCI). Changes in the fair value of the 
ineffective portion of cash flow hedges are recognised in the income 
statement. Amounts originally recognised in OCI are transferred to 
the income statement when the underlying transaction occurs or, if 
the transaction results in a non-financial asset or liability, are included 
in the initial cost of that asset or liability.

Changes in the fair value of derivative financial instruments that do 
not qualify for hedge accounting are recognised in the income 
statement as they arise.

Hedge accounting is discontinued when the hedging instrument 
expires or is sold, terminated, or exercised, or no longer qualifies for 
hedge accounting. At that time, any cumulative gain or loss on the 
hedging instrument recognised in OCI is retained in equity until the 
hedged transaction occurs. If a hedged transaction is no longer 
expected to occur, the net cumulative gain or loss recognised in OCI 
is transferred to the income statement for the period.

Derivatives embedded in other financial instruments or other host 
contracts are treated as separate derivatives and recorded in the 
balance sheet at fair value when their risks and characteristics are not 
closely related to those of the host contract. Changes in the fair value 
of those embedded derivatives recognised in the balance sheet are 
recognised in the income statement as they arise.

d) PPP concession companies
Assets constructed by PPP concession companies are classified 
principally as financial assets measured at fair value through OCI.

In the construction phase, income is recognised by applying an 
attributable profit margin to the construction costs representing the 
fair value of construction services performed. In the operational 
phase, income is recognised by allocating a proportion of total cash 
receivable over the life of the project to service costs by means of a 
deemed rate of return on those costs. The residual element of 
projected cash is allocated to the financial asset using the effective 
interest rate method, giving rise to interest income.

Due to the nature of the contractual arrangements, the projected cash 
flows can be estimated with a high degree of certainty.

In the construction phase, the fair value of the Group’s PPP financial 
assets is determined by applying an attributable profit margin to the 
construction costs representing the fair value of construction services 
performed. In the operational phase, fair value is determined by 
discounting the future cash flows allocated to the financial asset using 
discount rates based on long-term gilt rates adjusted for the risk 
levels associated with the assets, with market-related movements in 
fair value recognised in OCI. Amounts originally recognised in OCI are 
transferred to the income statement upon disposal of the asset.

2.27 Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
The preparation of consolidated financial statements under IFRS 
requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions 
that affect amounts recognised for assets and liabilities at the reporting 
date and the amounts of revenue and expenses incurred during the 
reporting period. Actual outcomes may differ from these judgements, 
estimates and assumptions.

The judgements, estimates and assumptions that have the most 
significant effect on the carrying value of assets and liabilities of the 
Group as at 31 December 2020 are discussed below.

a) Revenue and margin recognition (judgement and estimate)
The Group’s revenue recognition and margin recognition policies, which 
are set out in Notes 2.4 and 2.5, are central to how the Group values 
the work it has carried out in each financial year.

These policies require forecasts to be made of the outcomes of 
long-term construction services and support services contracts, 
which require both estimates and judgements to be made of both 
cost and income recognition on each contract. On the cost side, 
estimates of forecasts are made on the final out-turn of each contract 
in addition to potential costs to be incurred for any maintenance and 
defects liabilities. On the income side, estimates and judgements are 
made on variations to consideration which typically include variations 
due to changes in scope of work, recoveries of claim income from 
customers, and potential liquidated damages that may be levied by 
customers. Judgements and estimates are reviewed regularly 
throughout the contract life based on latest available information and 
adjustments are made where necessary. In the current year, the 
Group has also considered the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on 
judgements and estimates applied in this area. The Group continues 
to regularly assess these judgements and estimates including 
considerations of the ongoing impact of the pandemic. 

As at 31 December 2020, the Group’s contract assets, contract 
liabilities and contract provisions amounted to £288m, £526m and 
£279m respectively as set out in Notes 23 and 26. The Group has 
considered the nature of the estimates involved in deriving these 
balances and concluded that it is possible, on the basis of existing 
knowledge, that outcomes within the next financial year may be 
different from the Group’s assumptions applied as at 31 December 2020 
and could require a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of 
these assets and liabilities in the next financial year. However, due to 
the level of uncertainty, combination of cost and income variables and 
timing across a large portfolio of contracts (in excess of 1,000) at 
different stages of their contract life, it is impracticable to provide a 
quantitative analysis of the aggregated judgements that are applied at 
a portfolio level.

Within this portfolio, there are a limited number of long-term contracts 
where the Group has incorporated significant judgements over 
contractual entitlements relating to recoveries of claim income from 
customers and liquidated damages levied by the customer. These 
recoveries have been recognised at the amount that is considered 
highly probable not to significantly reverse. However, there are a host 
of factors affecting potential outcomes in respect of these entitlements 
which could result in a range of reasonably possible outcomes on 
these contracts in the following financial year, ranging from a gain of 
£35m to a loss of £20m. The Directors have assessed the range of 
reasonably possible outcomes on these limited number of contracts 
based on facts and circumstances that were present and known at 
the balance sheet date. As with any contract applying long-term 
contract accounting, these contracts are also affected by a variety of 
uncertainties that depend on future events, and so often need to be 
revised as contracts progress.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

175

Financial statements2 Principal accounting policies continued
2.27 Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty 
continued
b) Taxation (estimate)
Deferred tax liabilities are generally provided for in full and deferred 
tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that future 
taxable profit will arise against which the temporary differences will 
be utilised. Determining the extent to which tax losses are recognised 
requires an estimation of the likely timing and level of future taxable profits.

At 31 December 2020, a £100m increase/decrease in forecast future 
taxable profits would lead to a £10m increase/£10m decrease in deferred 
tax assets and an equivalent credit/debit in the income statement.

c) Non-underlying items (judgement)
Non-underlying items are items of financial performance which the 
Group believes should be presented separately on the face of the 
income statement to assist in understanding the underlying financial 
performance achieved by the Group. Determining whether an item is 
part of underlying items or non-underlying items requires judgement. 
A total non-underlying profit after tax of £5m was credited (2019: 
£53m charged) to the income statement for the year ended 31 
December 2020. Refer to Note 10.

d) Financial assets measured at fair value through OCI 
(judgement and estimate)
At 31 December 2020, £1,718m (2019: £1,741m) of PPP financial 
assets constructed by the Group’s subsidiary, joint venture and 
associate companies were classified as financial assets measured at 
fair value through OCI. Judgement is required in determining the 
appropriate classification of these assets and hence the accounting 
treatment required. In the operational phase the fair value of these 
financial assets is measured at each reporting date by discounting the 
future value of the cash flows allocated to the financial asset. A range 
of discount rates is used from 1.2% to 7.9% (2019: 1.7% to 9.4%), 
which reflects the prevailing risk-free interest rates and the different 
risk profiles of the various concessions. These represent key sources 
of estimation uncertainty. Refer to Note 40.

A £13m gain was taken to other comprehensive income in 2020 
(2019: £27m gain) and a cumulative fair value gain of £314m had 
arisen on these financial assets as a result of market-related movements 
in the fair value of these financial assets at 31 December 2020 (2019: 
£301m gain).

e) Provisions (judgement and estimate)
Provisions are liabilities of uncertain timing or amount and therefore in 
making a reliable estimate of the quantum and timing of liabilities 
judgement is applied and re-evaluated at each reporting date. The 
range of potential outcomes on contract provisions as a result of 
uncertain future events could result in a materially positive or negative 
swing to profitability and cash flow.

The Group has considered the nature of these estimates and 
concluded that it is possible, on the basis of existing knowledge, that 
outcomes within the next financial year may be different from the 
Group’s assumptions and judgements applied as at 31 December 
2020 and could require a material adjustment to the carrying amounts 
of assets and liabilities in the next financial year. However, due to the 
level of uncertainty, combination of variables and timing across a large 
portfolio of complex contracts at different stages of their contract life, 
it is impracticable to provide a quantitative analysis of the aggregated 
judgements that are applied at a portfolio level.

To the extent that the sensitivities disclosed in Note 2.27(a) affects a 
loss-making contract, this will have an impact on the Group’s 
provisions in the next financial year.

f) Retirement benefit obligations (judgement and estimate)
Details of the Group’s defined benefit pension schemes are set out in 
Note 30, including tables showing the sensitivity of the pension 
scheme obligations and assets to different actuarial assumptions.

At 31 December 2020, the net retirement benefit assets recognised 
on the Group’s balance sheet were £89m (2019: £133m). The effects 
of changes in the actuarial assumptions underlying the schemes’ 
obligations and discount rates and the differences between expected 
and actual returns on the schemes’ assets are classified as actuarial 
gains and losses. During 2020, the Group recognised net actuarial 
losses of £62m (2019: £45m gains) in OCI, including its share of the 
actuarial gains and losses arising in joint ventures and associates.

Any surplus of deficit contributions to the Balfour Beatty Pension 
Fund (BBPF) and the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS) would be 
recoverable by way of a refund as, according to the relevant trust 
deed and rules documents, the Group has the unconditional right to 
the surplus and controls the run-off of the benefit obligations once all 
other obligations of the BBPF and RPS have been settled. 

3 Exchange rates
The following key exchange rates were applied in these financial statements:

Average rates

£1 buys

US$
HK$
Euro

Closing rates

£1 buys

US$
HK$
Euro

2020

1.29
10.02
1.13

2020

1.37
10.58
1.11

2019

1.28
10.03
1.14

2019

1.32
10.28
1.17

Change

0.8%
(0.1)%
(0.9)%

Change

3.8%
2.9%
(5.1)%

176

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED4 Revenue
4.1 Nature of services provided 
4.1.1 Construction Services 
The Group’s Construction Services segment encompasses activities in relation to the physical construction of assets provided to public and 
private customers. Revenue generated in this segment is measured over time as control passes to the customer as the asset is constructed. 
Progress is measured by reference to the cost incurred on the contract to date compared to the contract’s end of job forecast (the input method). 
Payment terms are based on a schedule of value that is set out in the contract and fairly reflect the timing and performance of service delivery. 
Contracts with customers are typically accounted for as one performance obligation (PO).

Types of assets

Typical contract length

Nature, timing of satisfaction of performance obligations and significant payment terms

Buildings 

12 to 36 months

Infrastructure

1 to 3 months for 
small-scale infrastructure 
works 

24 to 60 months for 
large-scale complex 
construction

The Group constructs buildings which include commercial, healthcare, education, retail and 
residential assets. As part of its construction services, the Group provides a range of services 
including design and/or build, mechanical and electrical engineering, shell and core and/or fit-out 
and interior refurbishment. The Group’s customers in this area are a mix of private and public entities. 

The contract length depends on the complexity and scale of the building and contracts entered 
into for these services are typically fixed price.

In most instances, the contract with the customer is assessed to only contain one PO as the 
services provided by the Group, including those where the Group is also providing design 
services, are highly interrelated. However for certain types of contracts, services relating to 
fit-out and interior refurbishment may sometimes be assessed as a separate PO.
The Group provides construction services to three main types of infrastructure assets: highways, 
railways and other large-scale infrastructure assets such as waste, water and energy plants.

Highways represent the Group’s activities in constructing motorways in the UK, US and Hong 
Kong. This includes activities such as design and construction of roads, widening of existing 
motorways or converting existing motorways. The main customers are government bodies.

Railway construction services primarily in the UK, US and Hong Kong include design and managing 
the construction of railway systems delivering major multi-disciplinary projects, track work, 
electrification and power supply. The Group serves both public and private railways including 
high-speed passenger railways, freight and mixed traffic routes, dense commuter networks, 
metros and light rail.

Other infrastructure assets include construction, design and build services on large-scale 
complex assets predominantly servicing the waste, water and energy sectors.

Contracts entered into relating to these infrastructure assets can take the form of fixed price, 
cost-plus or target-cost contracts with shared pain/gain mechanisms. Contract lengths vary 
according to the size and complexity of the asset build and can range from a few months for 
small-scale infrastructure works to four to five years for large-scale complex construction works.

In most cases, the contract itself represents a single PO where only the design and construction 
elements are contracted. In some instances, the contract with the customer will include maintenance 
of the constructed asset. The Group assesses the maintenance element as a separate PO and 
revenue from this PO is recognised in the Support Services segment. Refer to Note 4.1.2.

4.1.2 Support Services
The Group’s work in this segment supports existing assets through maintaining, upgrading and managing services across utilities and 
infrastructure assets. Revenue generated in this segment is measured over time as control passes to the customer as and when services are 
provided. Progress is measured by reference to the cost incurred on the contract to date compared to the contract’s end of job forecast (the 
input method). Payments are structured as milestone payments set out in the respective contracts.

Types of assets

Nature, timing of satisfaction of performance obligations and significant payment terms

Utilities 

Within the Group’s services contracts, the Group provides support services to various types of utility assets. 

For contracts servicing utility assets, the Group provides services such as renewal, upgrade and expansion of underground 
main pipelines for assets within the gas network. Within the water network, services include clean and waste water mains 
renewal and repair, metering and treatment facilities. Contracts are typically delivered through framework agreements which 
are normally granted on a regulatory cycle period of five years for water contracts and eight years for gas contracts. Individual 
instructions delivered under the framework agreements can vary in size and duration but usually last between one to six 
weeks for smaller projects or up to one to two years for major projects. Each instruction is accounted for as a separate PO. 
Payments are normally set according to a schedule of rates or are cost reimbursable and may include a pain/gain element. 

For contracts servicing power transmission and distribution assets, the Group constructs and maintains electricity networks, 
including replacement or new build of overhead lines, underground cabling, cable tunnels and offshore windfarm maintenance. 
Contracts entered into are normally fixed-price and contract lengths can vary from 12 to 36 months, and up to 20 years for 
offshore windfarm maintenance contracts. Each contract is normally assessed to contain one PO. However, where a 
contract contains both a construction phase and a maintenance phase, these are assessed to contain two separate POs.
Infrastructure  The Group provides maintenance, asset and network management and design services in respect of highways, railways  

and other publicly available assets. The customer in this area of the Group is mainly government bodies. Types of contract 
include a fixed schedule of rates, fixed price, target cost arrangements and cost-plus. 

Contract terms range from 1 to 25 years. Where contracts include a lifecycle element, this is accounted for as a separate  
PO and recognised when the work is delivered.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

177

Financial statements4 Revenue continued
4.1 Nature of services provided continued 
4.1.3 Infrastructure Investments
The Group invests directly in a variety of assets, predominantly consisting of infrastructure assets where there are opportunities to manage the 
asset upon completion of construction. The Group also invests in real estate type assets, in particular private residential and student accommodation 
assets. Revenue generated in this segment is from the provision of construction, maintenance and management services and also from the 
recognition of rental income. The Group’s strategy is to hold these assets until optimal values are achieved through disposal of mature assets.

Types of services 

Nature, timing of satisfaction of performance obligations and significant payment terms 

Service 
concessions 

The Group operates a UK and North America portfolio of service concession assets comprising of assets in the roads, healthcare, 
student accommodation, biomass and waste and offshore transmission sectors. The Group accounts for these assets under 
IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements. 

Where the Group constructs and maintains these assets, the two services are deemed to be separate performance obligations 
and accounted for separately. If the maintenance phase includes a lifecycle element, this is considered to be a separate PO. 

Contract terms can be up to 40 years. The Group recognises revenue over time using the input method. Consideration is paid 
through a fixed unitary payment charge spread over the life of the contract. 

Management 
services 

Housing 
development 

Revenue from this service is presented across Buildings, Infrastructure or Utilities in Note 4.2. 
The Group provides real estate management services such as property development and asset management services. Contract 
terms can be up to 50 years. The Group recognises revenue over time as and when service is delivered to the customer.

Revenue from this service is presented within Buildings in Note 4.2.
The Group also develops housing units on land that is owned by the Group. Revenue is recognised on the sale of individual 
units at the point in time when control of the asset is transferred to the purchaser. This is deemed to be when an 
unconditional sale is achieved.

Revenue from this service is presented within Buildings in Note 4.2.

4.2 Disaggregation of revenue
The Group presents a disaggregation of its underlying revenue according to the primary geographical markets in which the Group operates as 
well as the types of assets serviced by the Group. The nature of the various services provided by the Group is explained in Note 4.1. This 
disaggregation of underlying revenue is also presented according to the Group’s reportable segments as described in Note 5. 

For the year ended 31 December 2020

Revenue by primary geographical markets

Construction Services

Support Services

Infrastructure 
Investments

Total revenue

Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates 
Group revenue

United
Kingdom
£m

2,165
2,165
1,034
1,034
178
76
3,377
3,275

United
States
£m

3,789
3,776
–
–
366
236
4,155
4,012

Revenue by types of assets serviced

Construction Services

Support Services

Infrastructure 
Investments

Total revenue

Revenue including share of joint ventures and 
associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and 
associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and 
associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and 
associates 
Group revenue

Buildings
£m

Infrastructure
£m

Utilities
£m

4,138
3,603

2,190
1,733

–
–

367 +
311 +

492
492

172
2

613
607

565
535

14
–

4,505
3,914

2,854
2,227

1,192
1,142

Rest of 
world
£m

1,010
25
33
3
12
3
1,055
31

Other
£m

23
23

10
10

3
2

36
35

Timing of revenue recognition

Over time 
At a point in time 
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates

Over time 
At a point in time 
Group revenue

Construction
Services
£m

Support
Services
£m

Infrastructure
Investments
£m

6,958
6
6,964

5,960
6
5,966

1,065
2
1,067

1,035
2
1,037

535
21
556

294
21
315

+  Includes rental income of £28m including share of joint ventures and associates or £9m excluding share of joint ventures and associates.

Total
£m

6,964
5,966
1,067
1,037
556
315
8,587
7,318

Total
£m

6,964
5,966

1,067
1,037

556
315

8,587
7,318

Total
£m

8,558
29
8,587

7,289
29
7,318

178

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED4 Revenue continued
4.2 Disaggregation of revenue continued
For the year ended 31 December 2019

Revenue by primary geographical markets

Construction Services

Support Services

Infrastructure 
Investments

Total revenue

Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates 
Group revenue

United
Kingdom
£m

2,189
2,189
971
971
193
116
3,353
3,276

Revenue by types of assets serviced

Construction Services

Support Services

Infrastructure 
Investments

Total revenue

Revenue including share of joint ventures and 
associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and 
associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and 
associates 
Group revenue
Revenue including share of joint ventures and 
associates 
Group revenue

Timing of revenue recognition

Over time 
At a point in time 
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates

Over time 
At a point in time 
Group revenue

Buildings
£m

Infrastructure
£m

4,427
3,781

1,886
1,626

–
–

409 +
368 +

463
463

89
2

4,836
4,149

2,438
2,091

Construction
Services
£m

6,848
10
6,858

5,940
10
5,950

United
States
£m

3,753
3,738
–
–
314
252
4,067
3,990

Utilities
£m

541
539

551
519

23
–

1,115
1,058

Support
Services
£m

1,020
3
1,023

988
3
991

Rest of 
world
£m

916
23
52
20
17
3
985
46

Other
£m

4
4

9
9

3
1

16
14

Infrastructure
Investments
£m

503
21
524

350
21
371

Total
£m

6,858
5,950
1,023
991
524
371
8,405
7,312

Total
£m

6,858
5,950

1,023
991

524
371

8,405
7,312

Total
£m

8,371
34
8,405

7,278
34
7,312

+  Includes rental income of £27m including share of joint ventures and associates or £13m excluding share of joint ventures and associates. 

4.3 Transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations (excluding joint ventures and associates)

Construction Services
Support Services 
Infrastructure Investments 
Total transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations

2021
£m

4,670
766
135
5,571

2022
£m

2,384
457
32
2,873

2023
onwards
£m

3,905
1,400
1,489
6,794

Total
£m

10,959
2,623
1,656
15,238

The total transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations represents the contracted revenue to be earned by the Group for 
distinct goods and services which the Group has promised to deliver to its customers. These include promises which are partially satisfied at 
the period end or those which are unsatisfied but which the Group has committed to providing. In deriving this transaction price, any element 
of variable revenue is estimated at a value that is highly probable not to reverse in the future. 

The transaction price above does not include any estimated revenue to be earned on framework contracts for which a firm order or instruction 
has not been received from the customer.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

179

Financial statements5 Segment analysis
Reportable segments of the Group:

 » Construction Services – activities resulting in the physical construction of an asset;

 » Support Services – activities which support existing assets or functions such as asset maintenance and refurbishment; and

 » Infrastructure Investments – acquisition, operation and disposal of infrastructure assets such as roads, hospitals, student accommodation, 

military housing, offshore transmission networks, waste and biomass and other concessions. This segment also includes the Group’s housing 
development division.

Construction
Services 
2020
£m
6,964
(998)
5,966
–
29
29

Support
Services 
2020
£m
1,067
(30)
1,037
45
1
46

Infrastructure
Investments
2020
£m
556
(241)
315
–
8
8

(1)
13
12
41

–
4
4
50

(5)
–
(5)
3

Construction
Services 
2019
£m
6,858
(908)
5,950
96
29
125

(1)
2
1
126

Support
Services 
2019
£m
1,023
(32)
991
48
(1)
47

–
(58)
(58)
(11)

Infrastructure
Investments
2019
£m
524
(153)
371
44
38
82

(5)
–
(5)
77

Corporate
activities 
2020
£m
–
–
–
(32)
–
(32)

–
1
1
(31)

Corporate
activities 
2019
£m
–
–
–
(33)
–
(33)

–
–
–
(33)

Construction
Services 
2020
£m
172
(418)
51
683
(1,120)
(165)
(797)
2,107
(2,035)
72

Support
Services 
2020
£m
91
(105)
34
114
(216)
(7)
(89)
493
(405)
88

Infrastructure
Investments
2020
£m
25
(1)
29
35
(38)
(15)
35
1,169
(463)
706

Corporate
activities 
2020
£m
–
–
–
6
(29)
(13)
(36)
916
(437)
479

Total
2020
£m
8,587
(1,269)
7,318
13
38
51

(6)
18
12
63
38
(53)
48

Total
2019
£m
8,405
(1,093)
7,312
155
66
221

(6)
(56)
(62)
159
34
(55)
138

Total
2020
£m
288
(524)
114
838
(1,403)
(200)
(887)
4,685
(3,340)
1,345

5.1 Total Group

Income statement – performance by activity
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates1
Share of revenue of joint ventures and associates1
Group revenue1
Group operating profit/(loss)1
Share of results of joint ventures and associates1
Profit/(loss) from operations1
Non-underlying items:
– amortisation of acquired intangible assets
– other net operating expenses

Profit/(loss) from operations
Investment income
Finance costs
Profit before taxation

1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).

Income statement – performance by activity 
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates1
Share of revenue of joint ventures and associates1
Group revenue1
Group operating profit/(loss)1
Share of results of joint ventures and associates1
Profit/(loss) from operations1
Non-underlying items:
– amortisation of acquired intangible assets
– other non-underlying items

Profit/(loss) from operations
Investment income
Finance costs
Profit before taxation

1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).

Assets and liabilities by activity
Contract assets
Contract liabilities – current
Inventories
Trade and other receivables – current
Trade and other payables – current
Provisions – current
Working capital*
Total assets
Total liabilities
Net assets

* 

Includes non-operating items and current working capital.

180

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED5 Segment analysis continued
5.1 Total Group continued

Assets and liabilities by activity
Contract assets
Contract liabilities – current
Inventories
Trade and other receivables – current
Trade and other payables – current
Provisions – current
Working capital*
Total assets
Total liabilities
Net assets

* 

Includes non-operating items and current working capital.

Other information

Capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment (Note 16)
Capital expenditure on intangible assets (Note 15)
Depreciation (Note 16, Note 17 and Note 18)

Other information

Capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment (Note 16)
Capital expenditure on intangible assets (Note 15)
Depreciation (Note 16, Note 17 and Note 18)
Gain on disposals of interests in investments (Note 34.3)
Gain on disposals of interests in investments within joint ventures and 
associates (Note 34.3)

Performance by geographic destination

Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates1
Share of revenue of joint ventures and associates1
Group revenue1

1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).

Performance by geographic destination 

Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates1
Share of revenue of joint ventures and associates1
Group revenue1

1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).

Construction
Services 
2019
£m
264
(392)
60
800
(1,249)
(111)
(628)
2,341
(2,059)
282

Support
Services 
2019
£m
90
(74)
8
88
(190)
(5)
(83)
501
(335)
166

Infrastructure
Investments
2019
£m
23
(3)
33
43
(47)
(13)
36
1,149
(473)
676

Corporate
activities 
2019
£m
–
–
–
8
(34)
(24)
(50)
850
(597)
253

Construction
Services 
2020
£m

Support
Services 
2020
£m

Infrastructure
Investments
2020
£m

Corporate
activities 
2020
£m

15
–
36

12
–
33

–
33
1

6
–
12

Construction
Services 
2019
£m

Support
Services 
2019
£m

Infrastructure
Investments
2019
£m

Corporate
activities 
2019
£m

11
–
25
–

–

8
4
35
–

–

United
Kingdom
2020
£m

3,377
(102)
3,275

United
Kingdom
2019
£m

3,353
(77)
3,276

–
58
4
40

29

United 
States
2020
£m

4,155
(143)
4,012

United 
States
2019
£m

4,067
(77)
3,990

1
–
10
–

–

Rest of 
world
2020
£m

1,055
(1,024)
31

Rest of 
world
2019
£m

985
(939)
46

Total
2019
£m
377
(469)
101
939
(1,520)
(153)
(725)
4,841
(3,464)
1,377

Total
2020
£m

33
33
82

Total
2019
£m

20
62
74
40

29

Total
2020
£m

8,587
(1,269)
7,318

Total
2019
£m

8,405
(1,093)
7,312

Major customers
Included in Group revenue are revenues of £1,577m (2019: £1,627m) from the US Government and £1,267m (2019: £1,210m) from the UK 
Government, which are the Group’s two largest customers. These revenues are included in the results across all three reported segments.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

181

Financial statements5 Segment analysis continued
5.2 Infrastructure Investments

Underlying profit from operations1
UK^
North America
Gain on disposals of interests in investments

Bidding costs and overheads

Net assets/(liabilities)
UK^
North America

Non-recourse borrowings net of associated cash and cash 
equivalents (Note 27)
Total Infrastructure Investments net assets

Share of joint
ventures and
associates
(Note 19.2) +
2020
£m

Group
2020
£m

2
12
–
14
(14)
–

458
107
565

(317)
248

(6)
14
–
8
–
8

264
194
458

–
458

Total
2020
£m

(4)
26
–
22
(14)
8

722
301
1,023

(317)
706

Group
2019
£m

4
18
40
62
(18)
44

417
105
522

(302)
220

+  The Group’s share of the results of joint ventures and associates is disclosed net of investment income, finance costs and taxation.

^  Including Ireland. 2019 results include Singapore and Ireland. 

1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).

6 Profit/(loss) from operations
6.1 Profit/(loss) from operations is stated after charging/(crediting)

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
Depreciation of right-of-use assets
Depreciation of investment properties
Amortisation of intangible assets
Amortisation of contract fulfilment assets
Net charge/(credit) of trade receivables impairment provision
Impairment of property, plant and equipment
Impairment of intangible assets
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment
Government grant income&
Cost of inventory recognised as an expense
Auditor’s remuneration

&  Additionally, the Group recorded its share of the joint venture’s income in the year of £17m relating to the employment support scheme in Hong Kong (2019: £nil).

6.2 Analysis of auditor’s remuneration 

Services as auditor to the Company
Services as auditor to Group subsidiaries
Total audit fees
Audit-related assurance fees
Other assurance fees
Total non-audit fees
Total fees in relation to audit and other services

7 Employee costs
7.1 Group

Employee costs during the year

Wages and salaries
Redundancy costs
Social security costs
Pension costs (Note 30)
Non-underlying GMP equalisation costs (Note 10.2.2)
Share-based payments (Note 35)

182

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Share of joint
ventures and
associates
(Note 19.2) +
2019
£m

(4)
13
29
38
–
38

278
178
456

–
456

2020
£m

24
56
2
17
9
9
–
1
(7)
(27)
98
4

2020
£m

0.6
2.5
3.1
0.5
–
0.5
3.6

Total
2019
£m

–
31
69
100
(18)
82

695
283
978

(302)
676

2019 
£m

28
45
1
17
5
(1)
8
–
(6)
(3)
93
3

2019
£m

0.6
2.3
2.9
0.4
–
0.4
3.3

2020
£m

1,181
10
94
57
3
13
1,358

2019
£m

1,150
9
92
55
–
16
1,322

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED7 Employee costs continued
7.1 Group continued

Average number of Group employees

Construction Services
Support Services
Infrastructure Investments
Corporate

2020
Number

12,795
4,525
1,658
135
19,113

2019
Number

12,080
5,429
1,548
140
19,197

Detailed disclosures of items of remuneration, including those accruing under the Company’s equity-settled share-based payment 
arrangements can be found within the Remuneration report on pages 134 to 150. 

7.2 Company 
The Company did not have any employees and did not incur any employee costs in the year (2019: £nil). Balfour Beatty Group Employment Ltd, 
which was established in February 2013, remains the employing entity for the Balfour Beatty Group’s UK employees.

8 Investment income

Subordinated debt interest receivable
Interest receivable on PPP financial assets (Note 21)
Other interest receivable and similar income
Net finance income on pension scheme assets and obligations (Note 30.2)

9 Finance costs

Non-recourse borrowings
Preference shares

US private placement
Interest on lease liabilities (Note 28)
Other interest payable

– bank loans and overdrafts
– finance cost
– accretion
– finance cost

– committed facilities
– letter of credit fees
– other finance charges

Impairment of loans to joint ventures and associates

2020
£m

25
8
2
3
38

2019
£m

20
9
3
2
34

2020
£m

2019
£m

11
6
2
10
6
2
2
3
11
53

13
12
4
12
6
2
3
3
–
55

The impairment of loans to joint ventures and associates of £11m (2019: £nil) relates to expected credit loss assessments performed on the 
Group’s investments in joint ventures and associates. £10m of this impairment relates to subordinated debt receivable from joint ventures and 
associates held within the Infrastructure Investments segment. Refer to Note 19.1. 

10 Non-underlying items

Items credited to/(charged against) profit
10.1
10.2

Amortisation of acquired intangible assets
Other non-underlying items:
– grant income received in relation to UK Job Retention Scheme 
– loss arising from the recognition of GMP equalisation on the Group’s pension schemes
– release of provision held for blacklisting claims
– impairment of goodwill relating to Gas & Water 
– provision release relating to settlements of health and safety claims
Total other non-underlying items

Credited to/(charged against) profit before taxation 
10.3

Tax (charge)/credit: 
– non-underlying (derecognition)/recognition of deferred tax assets in the UK
– tax on grant income received in relation to UK Job Retention Scheme 
– tax on loss arising from the recognition of GMP equalisation on the Group’s pension schemes
– tax on other items above
Total tax (charge)/credit

Credited to/(charged against) profit for the year

2020
£m

2019
£m

(6)

19
(3)
2
–
–
18
12

(6)
(4)
1
2
(7)
5

(6)

–
–
–
(58)
2
(56)
(62)

9
–
–
–
9
(53)

10.1 The amortisation of acquired intangible assets comprises: customer contracts £5m (2019: £5m); and customer relationships £1m (2019: £1m). 

The charge was recognised in the following segments: Construction Services £1m (2019: £1m); and Infrastructure Investments £5m (2019: £5m).

10.2.1 During the year, the Group recognised grant income of £19m in respect of the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme (JRS) (2019: £nil). 
This was a one-off temporary scheme which the Group has decided to voluntarily refund after the balance sheet date. This income has been 
presented within non-underlying items to avoid distorting the underlying performance of the Group. In line with this treatment, the Group will also 
present its voluntary refund of the grant income within non-underlying items in its results in 2021. Refer to Note 39. 

The credit was recognised in the following segments: Construction Services £13m; Support Services £5m and Corporate £1m. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

183

Financial statements10 Non-underlying items continued
10.2.2 In 2020, the Group recognised additional retirement benefit liabilities of £3m in relation to Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) 
equalisation following a further ruling which was published in November 2020. The judgement indicated that members who exercised their 
statutory right to transfer their benefits will be able to have a top-up payment made from their former scheme to the scheme to which they 
transferred their benefits. This follows the judgment on the Lloyds Banking Group High Court Hearing which was published on 26 October 2018, 
following which the Group recognised £28m of additional retirement benefit obligations within non-underlying items. 

The charge was recognised in the following segments: Construction Services £2m; and Support Services £1m.

10.2.3 In 2020, the Group recognised a provision release of £2m relating to the resolution of disputes associated with blacklisting claims. 

The credit of £2m was recognised in the Construction Services segment. 

10.2.4 In 2019, following the Group’s decision not to re-bid gas contracts under the RIIO-GD2 cycle, coupled with the Group’s experience in 
managing historically underperforming contracts within this cash-generating unit (CGU), the Group reassessed the long-term outlook for its 
Gas & Water CGU. The assessment resulted in a full impairment of the goodwill attributable to this CGU, amounting to an impairment charge 
of £58m in 2019. 

This charge was treated as a non-underlying item and was recognised in the Support Services segment. 

10.2.5 In 2019, the Group recognised a provision release of £2m relating to the settlement of health and safety claims. These claims were 
previously included as part of the Group’s overall reassessment of potential liabilities relating to historical health and safety breaches following 
new sentencing guidelines which was conducted in 2016. As a result of this reassessment, a non-underlying charge of £25m was recognised 
in the first half of 2016. 

The credit of £2m was recognised in the Construction Services segment.

10.3.1 In previous periods, significant actuarial gains in the Group’s main pension scheme, Balfour Beatty Pension Fund (BBPF), led to the 
recognition of deferred tax liabilities. This in turn led to the recognition of additional UK deferred tax assets in respect of tax losses which the 
Group recognised as non-underlying due to the size and nature of the credit. In 2020, actuarial losses in the BBPF resulted in the derecognition 
of UK deferred tax assets in respect of tax losses. Applying the same methodology used in previous periods, the Group recognised the associated 
£9m tax charge as a non-underlying item along with a £1m tax charge arising from certain of the actuarial losses in the Railways Pension 
Scheme. These charges have been partially offset by a deferred tax credit of £4m to restate previous deferred tax assets recognised through 
non-underlying items due to a tax rate change enacted in the UK during 2020. In 2019, actuarial gains in the BBPF resulted in a £9m tax credit 
in non-underlying items resulting from the recognition of UK deferred tax assets in respect of tax losses.

The £9m tax charge in non-underlying items in 2020 arising from the BBPF actuarial losses has increased by £25m as a result of the 
adjustment to actuarial losses arising from the changes to the mortality assumptions disclosed in Note 30.2.

10.3.2 As explained in Note 10.2.1, non-underlying income of £19m was recognised in 2020 in relation to grant income received under the UK 
Government’s JRS. This income gave rise to a tax charge of £4m (2019: £nil).

10.3.3 As explained in Note 10.2.2, a non-underlying charge of £3m was recognised in 2020 to take into account the effect of GMP 
equalisation. This charge gave rise to a deferred tax credit of £1m (2019: £nil). 

10.3.4 The remaining non-underlying items charged against the Group’s operating profit gave rise to a tax credit of £2m (mainly on amortisation 
of acquired intangible assets) (2019: £nil after prior year adjustments). 

11 Income taxes
11.1 Income tax charge/(credit)

Total UK tax
Total non-UK tax
Total tax charge x
UK current tax
– current tax 
– adjustments in respect of previous periods

Non-UK current tax
– current tax
– adjustments in respect of previous periods

Total current tax 
UK deferred tax
– origination and reversal of temporary differences 
– UK corporation tax rate change
– adjustments in respect of previous periods

Non-UK deferred tax
– origination and reversal of temporary differences
– adjustments in respect of previous periods

Total deferred tax
Total tax charge x

x  Excluding joint ventures and associates.
1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).
184

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Underlying

items 1 
2020
£m

Non-underlying
 items 
(Note 10) 
2020
£m

9
2
11

(4)
(1)
(5)

3
(2)
1
(4)

22
(10)
2
14

4
(3)
1
15
11

9
(2)
7

4
–
4

–
–
–
4

9
(4)
–
5

(1)
(1)
(2)
3
7

Total 
2020
£m

18
–
18

–
(1)
(1)

3
(2)
1
–

31
(14)
2
19

3
(4)
(1)
18
18

Total 
2019
£m

(20)
25
5

–
–
–

6
(3)
3
3

(25)
4
1
(20)

24
(2)
22
2
5

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED11 Income taxes continued
11.1 Income tax charge/(credit) continued
The Group has recognised a £7m tax charge (2019: £9m credit) within non-underlying items in the year. Refer to Notes 10.3.1 to 10.3.4.

The Group tax charge excludes amounts for joint ventures and associates (refer to Note 19.2), except where tax is levied at the Group level.

The Group’s underlying tax charge for 2020 includes a derecognition of deferred tax assets for some of the Group’s previously recognised UK 
tax losses due to re-profiling of future UK profits. 

In addition to the Group tax charge, tax of £3m is credited (2019: £14m charged) directly to other comprehensive income, comprising: a tax 
credit of £5m for subsidiaries (2019: £8m charge); and a tax charge in respect of joint ventures and associates of £2m (2019: £6m charge). 
Refer to Note 32.1. 

11.2 Income tax reconciliation

Profit before taxation including share of results from joint ventures and associates 
Less: share of results of joint ventures and associates
Profit before taxation
(Less)/add: non-underlying items (credited)/charged excluding share of joint ventures and associates
Underlying (loss)/profit before taxation for subsidiaries1
Tax on (loss)/profit before taxation at standard UK corporation tax rate of 19% (2019: 19%)
Adjusted for the effects of: 
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes and other permanent items 
Non-taxable disposals+
Tax levied at Group level on share of joint ventures’ and associates’ profits#
Preference share dividends not deductible
Unrecognised temporary differences^
Recognition of losses not previously recognised*
Derecognition of losses previously recognised**
Effect of tax rates in non-UK jurisdictions
UK corporation tax rate change
Adjustments in respect of previous periods
Total tax charge on underlying (loss)/profit
Add: tax charge/(credit) in non-underlying items (Note 10.3)
Total tax charge on profit from operations

2020
£m

48
(38)
10
(12)
(2)
–

3
–
3
1
–
–
16
2
(10)
(4)
11
7
18

2019
£m

138
(66)
72
62
134
25

2
–
8
2
(3)
(28)
–
8
4
(4)
14
(9)
5

+  These gains / losses on disposal are not taxable due to availability of exemptions and use of capital losses.

#  These are mainly in connection with US and Canadian joint ventures and associates where tax is levied at the Group level rather than within the share of joint ventures and associates.

^  In 2019 certain unrecognised losses were utilised against current year profits.

*  Additional UK tax losses of £202m were recognised in 2019, of which £53m were recognised in non-underlying items. 

** UK tax losses of £132m have been derecognised in 2020, of which £51m are derecognised in non-underlying items. 

1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).

12 Earnings per ordinary share
Earnings

Earnings
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets – net of tax credit of £2m (2019: £nil)
Other non-underlying items – net of tax charge of £9m (2019: £9m credit)
Underlying earnings

Weighted average number of ordinary shares

Earnings per share

Earnings per ordinary share
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets net of tax
Other non-underlying items net of tax
Underlying earnings per ordinary share

Basic
2020
£m

30
4
(9)
25

Basic
2020
m

687

Basic
2020
Pence

4.4
0.5
(1.2)
3.7

Diluted
2020
£m

30
4
(9)
25

Diluted
2020
m

690

Diluted
2020
Pence

4.4
0.5
(1.2)
3.7

Basic
2019
£m

130
6
47
183

Basic
2019
m

685

Basic
2019
Pence

19.0
0.9
6.8
26.7

Diluted
2019
£m

130
6
47
183

Diluted
2019
m

689

Diluted
2019
Pence

18.8
0.9
6.8
26.5

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

185

Financial statements13 Dividends on ordinary shares

Proposed dividends for the year
Interim – current year
Final – current year

Recognised dividends for the year
Final – prior year
Interim – current year

Per share
2020
Pence

Amount
2020
£m

Per share
2019
Pence

Amount
2019
£m

–
1.5
1.5

2.1
–
2.1

–
10
10

–
–
–

14
–
14

22
14
36

As announced on 1 June 2020, the proposed final 2019 dividend was cancelled by the Board due to the COVID-19 environment. The Board has 
recommended a final dividend of 1.5pence per share for the year ended 31 December 2020. Subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting 
on 13 May 2021, the final 2020 dividend will be paid on 7 July 2021 to holders on the register on 4 June 2021 by direct credit or, where no 
mandate has been given, by cheque posted on 7 July 2021. The ordinary shares will be quoted ex-dividend on 3 June 2021.

14 Intangible assets – goodwill

At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Impairment
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
At 31 December 2020

Accumulated
impairment
losses 
£m

(168)
6
(58)
(220)
(5)
(225)

Cost 
£m

1,071
(23)
–
1,048
(12)
1,036

Carrying
amount 
£m

903
(17)
(58)
828
(17)
811

In 2019, following the Group’s decision not to re-bid for gas contracts under the RIIO-GD2 cycle, coupled with the Group’s experience in 
managing historically underperforming contracts within this cash-generating unit (CGU), the Group reassessed the long-term outlook for its 
Gas & Water CGU which resulted in a full impairment of the goodwill attributable to this CGU. This amounted to an impairment charge of £58m 
which was treated as a non-underlying item. Refer to Note 10.2.3.

Carrying amounts of goodwill by segment

Construction Services
Support Services
Infrastructure Investments
Group

Carrying amounts of goodwill by cash-generating unit

UK Regional and Engineering Services
Balfour Beatty Construction Group Inc
Rail UK
Balfour Beatty Investments US
Other
Group total

United
Kingdom
£m

260
73
–
333

2020

United
States
£m

429
–
49
478

United
Kingdom
£m

260
73
–
333

2019

United
States
£m

444
–
51
495

Total
£m

689
73
49
811

Total
£m

704
73
51
828

2020

2019

Pre-tax
discount rate
%

10.3
11.4
10.4
11.1
11.2

£m

248
408
68
49
38
811

Pre-tax
discount rate
%

10.1
11.1
10.2
11.1
10.1

£m

248
423
68
51
38
828

186

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED14 Intangible assets – goodwill continued
Carrying amounts of goodwill by cash-generating unit continued
The recoverable amount of goodwill is based on value-in-use, a key input of which is forecast cash flows. The Group’s cash flow forecasts are 
based on the expected future revenues and margins of each CGU, giving consideration to the current level of confirmed and anticipated orders. 
Cash flow forecasts for the next three years are based on the Group’s Three-Year Plan, which covers the period from 2021 to 2023. The cash 
flow forecasts for each CGU were compiled from each of its constituent business units as part of the Group’s annual financial planning process.

The other key inputs in assessing each CGU are its long-term growth rate and discount rate. The discount rates have been calculated using the 
Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) method, which takes account of the Group’s capital structure (financial risk) as well as the nature of 
each CGU’s business (operational risk). Long-term growth rates are assumed to be the estimated future GDP growth rates based on published 
independent forecasts for the country or countries in which each CGU operates, less 1.0% to reflect current economic uncertainties and their 
consequent estimated effect on public sector spending on infrastructure.

In the derivation of each CGU’s value-in-use, a terminal value is assumed based on a multiple of earnings before interest and tax. The multiple 
is applied to a terminal cash flow, which is the normalised cash flow in the last year of the forecast period. However, due to the long-term 
nature and the degree of predictability of some contracts within Balfour Beatty Investments US, the forecast period used in the derivation of 
this CGU’s value-in-use extends beyond the Group’s three-year cash flow forecast period. The EBIT multiple is calculated using the Gordon 
Growth Model and is a factor of the discount rate and growth rate for each CGU. The nominal terminal value is discounted to present value.

UK Regional and Engineering Services
Balfour Beatty Construction Group Inc
Rail UK
Balfour Beatty Investments US 
Other

2020

2019

Inflation rate
%

Real growth
rate
%

2.3
1.9
2.3
2.0
2.2

0.5
0.6
0.5
–
0.5

Nominal
long-term 
growth rate
applied
%

2.8
2.5
2.8
2.0
2.7

Inflation rate
%

Real growth
rate
%

2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0

1.1
0.9
1.1
0.1
1.1

Nominal
long-term 
growth rate
applied
%

3.1
2.9
3.1
2.1
3.1

Sensitivities
The Group’s impairment review is sensitive to changes in the key assumptions used. The major assumptions that result in significant 
sensitivities are the discount rate and the long-term growth rate, and for certain CGUs, changes to underlying cash projections. 

A reasonable possible change in key assumptions would not give rise to an impairment in any of the Group’s CGUs. Sensitivity analysis was 
carried out on the Balfour Beatty Investments US CGU to factor in potential adverse implications from the ongoing investigation into allegations 
about the handling of certain work orders on military bases managed by Balfour Beatty Communities. No impairment was triggered as a result 
of these events. 

The impact of COVID-19 has been considered as part of the forecast cash flows used within the value-in-use calculations, and no impairment 
was triggered.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

187

Financial statements15 Intangible assets – other

Cost
At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Additions
Removal of fully amortised intangible asset
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
Additions
Removal of fully amortised intangible asset
At 31 December 2020
Accumulated amortisation
At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Charge for the year 
Removal of fully amortised intangible asset 
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
Charge for the year 
Impairment charge
Removal of fully amortised intangible asset 
At 31 December 2020
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2020
At 31 December 2019

Customer
contracts
£m

Customer
relationships
£m

Brand
names
£m

Infrastructure
Investments
intangibles
£m

Software
and other
£m

231
(8)
–
–
223
(7)
–
–
216

(159)
6
(5)
–
(158)
5
(5)
–
–
(158)

58
65

48
2
–
–
50
(2)
–
–
48

(37)
(2)
(1)
–
(40)
1
(1)
–
–
(40)

8
10

3
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
3

(3)
–
–
–
(3)
–
–
–
–
(3)

–
–

146
(1)
58
–
203
–
32
–
235

(1)
–
(1)
–
(2)
–
(2)
–
–
(4)

231
201

132
1
4
(5)
132
–
1
(1)
132

(102)
(1)
(10)
5
(108)
–
(9)
(1)
1
(117)

15
24

Total
£m

560
(6)
62
(5)
611
(9)
33
(1)
634

(302)
3
(17)
5
(311)
6
(17)
(1)
1
(322)

312
300

The Group recognises certain assets held as part of service concession arrangements as Infrastructure Investments intangible assets where 
the Group bears demand risk under IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements. In 2020, the Group continued construction on its IFRIC 12 
assets, at the University of Sussex, incurring a spend of £32m (2019: £58m) in the year (including interest capitalised of £3m (2019: £4m)). 
The Infrastructure Investments intangible assets are amortised on a straight-line basis over the life of the projects, which is 50 years. 

Intangible assets are amortised on a straight-line basis over their expected useful lives, which are one to four years for customer contracts, 
three to 10 years for customer relationships, three to seven years for software, and up to five years for brand names, except for customer 
contracts and relationships relating to Balfour Beatty Investments North America which are amortised on a basis matching the returns earned 
over the life of the underlying contracts and relationships of up to 50 years. 

Other intangible assets are amortised over periods up to 10 years.

188

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED16 Property, plant and equipment

Cost or valuation
At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Transfers
Additions 
Removal of fully depreciated assets/assets scrapped
Disposals
Disposal of interest in Reno (Note 34.3.10)
Disposal of interest in BBCS-Hawkeye Housing LLC (Iowa)  
(Notes 34.3.6 and 34.3.12)
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
Transfers
Additions 
Removal of fully depreciated assets/assets scrapped
Disposals
At 31 December 2020
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Transfers
Charge for the year 
Impairment charge
Removal of fully depreciated assets/assets scrapped
Disposals 
Disposal of interest in Reno (Note 34.3.10)
Disposal of interest in BBCS-Hawkeye Housing LLC (Iowa)  
(Notes 34.3.6 and 34.3.12)
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
Charge for the year 
Removal of fully depreciated assets/assets scrapped
Disposals
At 31 December 2020
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2020
At 31 December 2019

Land and
buildings
£m

Plant and
equipment
£m

Infrastructure
leasehold
improvements
£m

Assets in
the course of
construction
£m

73
(1)
3
6
(6)
(2)
–

–
73
(1)
1
3
(1)
(10)
65

(43)
1
(3)
(7)
–
6
2
–

–
(44)
1
(8)
1
5
(45)

20
29

281
(3)
(3)
14
(5)
(21)
–

–
263
(3)
(1)
26
(6)
(18)
261

(204)
2
3
(21)
(8)
5
20
–

–
(203)
2
(16)
6
17
(194)

67
60

66
–
–
–
–
–
(17)

(49)
–
 –
 –
 –
 –
 –
 –

(7)
–
–
–
–
–
–
2

5
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–

2
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
2
 –
 –
4
–
–
6

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

6
2

Total
£m

422
(4)
–
20
(11)
(23)
(17)

(49)
338
(4)
–
33
(7)
(28)
332

(254)
3
–
(28)
(8)
11
22
2

5
(247)
3
(24)
7
22
(239)

93
91

Infrastructure leasehold improvements comprised student accommodation projects in Iowa and Reno, for which all buildings were held under 
short leaseholds and were depreciated over 40 years. On 27 September 2019 and 16 December 2019 respectively, the Group disposed of its 
interests in the Iowa and Reno projects. Refer to Notes 34.3.6 and 34.3.10. 

Except for land and assets in the course of construction, the costs of property, plant and equipment are depreciated on a straight-line basis 
over their expected useful lives. Buildings are depreciated at 2.5% per annum and plant and equipment is depreciated at 4% to 33% per annum.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

189

Financial statements17 Right-of-use assets 

Cost or valuation
At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Additions 
Removal of fully depreciated assets/assets scrapped
Disposals 
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
Additions 
Removal of fully depreciated assets/assets scrapped
Disposals 
At 31 December 2020
Accumulated depreciation
At 1 January 2019
Charge for the year 
Removal of fully depreciated assets/assets scrapped
Disposals 
At 31 December 2019
Charge for the year 
Removal of fully depreciated assets/assets scrapped
Disposals 
At 31 December 2020
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2020
At 31 December 2019

18 Investment properties

At 1 January 2019
Depreciation charge for the year 
At 31 December 2019
Depreciation charge for the year 
At 31 December 2020

Land and
buildings
£m

Plant and
equipment
£m

Motor 
vehicles 
£m

Total
£m

121
(1)
42
(2)
(6)
154
(1)
71
(12)
(15)
197

–
(45)
2
2
(41)
(56)
12
9
(76)

121
113

40
–
20
(1)
(5)
54
–
30
(4)
(2)
78

–
(20)
1
1
(18)
(22)
4
2
(34)

44
36

Accumulated 
depreciation
£m

Carrying 
amount
£m

(2)
(1)
(3)
(2)
(5)

33
(1)
32
(2)
30

66
(1)
12
(1)
(1)
75
 –
22
(7)
(11)
79

–
(18)
1
1
(16)
(20)
7
5
(24)

55
59

15
–
10
–
–
25
(1)
19
(1)
(2)
40

–
(7)
–
–
(7)
(14)
1
2
(18)

22
18

Cost
£m

35
–
35
–
35

Investment properties are held by the Group to generate rental income and capital appreciation. The Group has chosen to account for its investment 
property assets under the cost method. The Group has non-recourse project specific financing amounting to £26m (2019: £26m), which is 
secured through a floating charge over the property. No interest has been capitalised on the asset in 2020 as construction on the property was 
completed in 2017 (2019: £nil). 

Once a property is ready for use, the Group ceases capitalisation of interest cost and commences depreciation on the property, on a straight-line 
basis over 25 years. 

The fair value of the Group’s investment properties at 31 December 2020 approximates the carrying value. The Group generated £3m (2019: £3m) 
of rental income from its investment properties.

190

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED19 Investments in joint ventures and associates
19.1 Movements

At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Income recognised 
Fair value revaluation of PPP financial assets (Note 32.1)
Fair value revaluation of cash flow hedges (Note 32.1)
Actuarial movements on retirement benefit liabilities (Note 32.1)
Tax on items taken directly to equity (Note 32.1)
Dividends
Additions
Disposal of interest in North Island Hospitals (Note 34.3.5)
Disposal of interest in Townlake of Coppell (Note 34.3.9)
Return of equity
Loans advanced
Loans repaid
Reclassify negative investment to provisions (Note 26)
Reclassify negative investment to trade and other receivables
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
Income recognised 
Fair value revaluation of PPP financial assets (Note 32.1)
Fair value revaluation of cash flow hedges (Note 32.1)
Tax on items taken directly to equity (Note 32.1)
Dividends
Additions
Loans advanced
Loans repaid
Movement relating to loss of control of joint venture
Reclassification between net assets and loans
Impairment of loans to joint ventures and associates (Note 9)

At 31 December 2020

The principal joint ventures and associates are shown in Note 41. 

Net
assets
£m

Loans 
£m

350
(11)
66
24
2
2
(6)
(95)
33
(11)
(2)
(14)
–
–
2
11
351
(5)
38
8
1
(2)
(50)
29
–
–
16
10
–

396

174
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
26
(1)
–
–
199
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
(5)
(16)
(10)
(11)

158

Total
£m

524
(11)
66
24
2
2
(6)
(95)
33
(11)
(2)
(14)
26
(1)
2
11
550
(5)
38
8
1
(2)
(50)
29
1
(5)
–
–
(11)

554

The amount of the Group’s share of borrowings of joint ventures and associates which was supported by the Group and the Company was £nil 
(2019: £nil). 

The non-recourse borrowings of joint venture and associate entities relating to infrastructure concessions projects are repayable over periods 
extending up to 2048. The non-recourse borrowings arise under facilities taken out by project-specific joint venture and associate concession 
companies. The borrowings of each concession company are secured by a combination of fixed and floating charges over that concession 
company’s interests in its project’s assets and revenues and the shares in the concession company held by its immediate parent company. 
A significant part of these loans has been swapped into fixed rate debt by the use of interest rate swaps.

As disclosed in Note 41(f), the Group has committed to provide its share of further equity funding of joint ventures and associates in Infrastructure 
Investments’ projects and military housing concessions. Further, in respect of a number of these investments the Group has committed not to 
dispose of its equity interest until construction is complete. As is customary in such projects, banking covenants restrict the payment of 
dividends and other distributions.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

191

Financial statements19 Investments in joint ventures and associates continued
19.2 Share of results and net assets of joint ventures and associates

Income statement 
Revenue1
Operating profit/(loss)1
Investment income
Finance costs
Profit/(loss) before taxation1
Taxation
Profit/(loss) after taxation 
Balance sheet
Non-current assets
Intangible assets – goodwill

– Infrastructure Investments intangible
– other

Property, plant and equipment
Investment properties
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Money market funds
PPP financial assets
Military housing projects
Other non-current assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Other current assets
Total assets
Current liabilities
Borrowings – non-recourse
Other current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings – non-recourse
Other non-current liabilities
Total liabilities
Net assets
Loans to joint ventures and associates
Total investment in joint ventures and associates

^  Including Ireland. 

1  Before non-underlying items (Note 2.10).

Construction
Services
2020
£m

Support
Services
2020
£m

998
29
3
(1)
31
(2)
29

29
–
–
30
–
2
–
–
–
76

334
221
692

(60)
(464)

–
(72)
(596)
96
–
96

30
1
–
–
1
–
1

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

Infrastructure Investments

UK ^
2020 
£m

103
(6)
80
(80)
(6)
–
(6)

–
42
14
17
–
–
–
1,359
–
16

152
69
1,669

(43)
(130)

(1,122)
(268)
(1,563)
106
158
264

North
America
2020 
£m

138
18
15
(19)
14
–
14

–
–
–
–
210
–
94
204
104
3

24
36
675

–
(18)

(456)
(7)
(481)
194
–
194

Total
2020 
£m

241
12
95
(99)
8
–
8

–
42
14
17
210
–
94
1,563
104
19

176
105
2,344

(43)
(148)

(1,578)
(275)
(2,044)
300
158
458

Total
2020 
£m

1,269
42
98
(100)
40
(2)
38

29
42
14
47
210
2
94
1,563
104
95

510
326
3,036

(103)
(612)

(1,578)
(347)
(2,640)
396
158
554

The Group’s investment in military housing joint ventures’ and associates’ projects is recognised at its remaining equity investment plus the 
value of the Group’s accrued returns from the underlying projects. The military housing joint ventures and associates have total non-recourse 
net borrowings of £2,178m (2019: £2,272m). Note 41(e) details the Group’s military housing projects.

On certain Infrastructure Investments concessions where net fair value revaluations of PPP financial assets and cash flow hedges resulted in 
the Group’s carrying value of these investments being negative, the Group has not recognised losses beyond the carrying value of its 
investments. This is because the Group has not committed to provide any further funding to these investments and the borrowings within 
these concessions are non-recourse to the Group. At 31 December 2020, the unrecognised cumulative net fair value charges to other 
comprehensive income amounted to £9m (2019: £nil). 

192

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED 
 
19 Investments in joint ventures and associates continued
19.2 Share of results and net assets of joint ventures and associates continued

Infrastructure Investments

Income statement 
Revenue1
Operating profit/(loss) excluding gain on disposals of interests 
in investments1
Gain on disposals of interests in investments
Operating profit/(loss)1
Investment income
Finance costs
Profit/(loss) before taxation1
Taxation
Profit/(loss) after taxation 
Balance sheet
Non-current assets
Intangible assets – goodwill

– Infrastructure Investments intangible
– other

Property, plant and equipment
Investment properties
Investments in joint ventures and associates
Money market funds
PPP financial assets
Military housing projects
Other non-current assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Other current assets
Total assets
Current liabilities
Borrowings – non-recourse
Other current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings – non-recourse
Other non-current liabilities
Total liabilities
Net assets
Reclassify net liabilities to provisions (Note 26)
Reclassify net liabilities to trade and other receivables
Adjusted net assets
Loans to joint ventures and associates
Total investment in joint ventures and associates

Construction
Services
2019 
£m

908

Support
Services
2019 
£m

32

30
–
30
5
(1)
34
(5)
29

30
–
–
27
–
1
–
–
–
72

277
261
668

(53)
(458)

–
(64)
(575)
93
–
–
93
–
93

(1)
–
(1)
–
–
(1)
–
(1)

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–

–
(4)
(4)
(4)
–
–
(4)
4
–

UK ^
2019 
£m

82

–
9
9
88
(90)
7
(2)
5

–
49
15
33
–
–
–
1,421
–
19

144
61
1,742

(43)
(165)

(1,173)
(291)
(1,672)
70
2
11
83
195
278

North
America

2019 # 
£m

71

16
20
36
18
(21)
33
–
33

–
–
–
–
167
–
166
165
107
5

26
2
638

–
(9)

(444)
(6)
(459)
179
–
–
179
–
179

Total
2019 # 
£m

153

16
29
45
106
(111)
40
(2)
38

–
49
15
33
167
–
166
1,586
107
24

170
63
2,380

(43)
(174)

(1,617)
(297)
(2,131)
249
2
11
262
195
457

^  Including Singapore and Ireland. The Group disposed of its interest in Gammon Capital (West) Holdings Pte. Ltd on 30 September 2019. Refer to Note 34.3.7. 

1  Before non-underlying items (Note 2.10).

19.3 Aggregate information of joint ventures and associates

The Group’s share of profit from operations
Aggregate carrying amount of the Group’s interest

The Group’s share of profit from operations
Aggregate carrying amount of the Group’s interest

Joint ventures
2020
£m

Associates
2020
£m

27
449

11
105

Joint ventures
2019
£m

Associates
2019
£m

39
446

27
104

Total
2019 # 
£m

1,093

45
29
74
111
(112)
73
(7)
66

30
49
15
60
167
1
166
1,586
107
96

447
324
3,048

(96)
(632)

(1,617)
(365)
(2,710)
338
2
11
351
199
550

Total
2020 
£m

38
554

Total
2019 
£m

66
550

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

193

Financial statements 
 
19 Investments in joint ventures and associates continued
19.4 Details of material joint ventures

Proportion of the Group’s ownership interest in the joint venture

Income statement
Revenue
Underlying operating profit excluding gain on disposals of interests in investments
Gain on disposals of interests in investments
Underlying operating profit
Investment income
Finance costs
Income tax charge
Profit/(loss) 
Total other comprehensive income/(loss) 
Total comprehensive income/(loss) (100%)
Group’s share of total comprehensive income/(loss)
Dividends received by the Group during the year

Balance sheet
Non-current assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Other current assets

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Borrowings – non-recourse
Other current liabilities

Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Borrowings – non-recourse
Other non-current liabilities (including shareholder loans)

Net assets (100%)

Reconciliation of the above summarised financial information to the carrying 
amount of the interest in the above joint ventures recognised in the 
consolidated financial statements:
Net assets of joint venture (100%)
Group’s share of net assets
Add: Group’s interest in shareholder loans
Goodwill
Carrying amount of the Group’s interest in the joint venture

Gammon@

Connect Plus (M25) Ltd

2020
£m

50%

1,970
57
–
57
6
(3)
(4)
56
2
58
29
29

2019 
£m

50%

1,790
64
9
73
16
(7)
(11)
71
1
72
36
52

2020
£m

15%

144
8
–
8
140
(110)
(8)
30
(83)
(53)
(8)
4

2019 
£m

15%

166
5
–
5
141
(101)
(8)
37
7
44
7
5

217

200

2,052

2,192

640
413
1,053

(671)
(61)
(121)
(156)
(1,009)

(64)
(32)
–
(48)
(144)
117

117
59
–
29
88

529
498
1,027

(703)
(52)
(105)
(125)
(985)

(61)
(17)
–
(50)
(128)
114

114
57
–
30
87

144
43
187

(25)
–
(34)
(2)
(61)

–
–
(1,205)
(413)
(1,618)
560

560
84
28
–
112

135
86
221

(80)
–
(19)
(2)
(101)

–
–
(1,241)
(431)
(1,672)
640

640
96
28
–
124

@  Represents the combined results of Gammon China Ltd and Gammon Capital (West) Pte. Ltd as both joint ventures have common ownership and report under the same management 

structure. The Group disposed of its interest in Gammon Capital (West) Pte. Ltd on 30 September 2019. Refer to Note 34.3.7. 

194

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED19 Investments in joint ventures and associates continued
19.5 Cash flow from/(to) joint ventures and associates

Infrastructure Investments

Infrastructure Investments

Cash flows from investing activities

Dividends from joint ventures and 
associates
Subordinated debt interest received
Investments in and loans to joint 
ventures and associates
Equity
Subordinated debt invested
Subordinated debt repaid
Return of equity from joint 
ventures and associates
Disposal of investments in joint 
ventures
Net cash flow from joint 
ventures and associates

UK ^
2020
£m

North
America
2020
£m

4
15

(3)
(7)
(1)
5

–

1

17

16
–

(22)
(22)
–
–

–

–

(6)

Other
2020
£m

30
–

–
–
–
–

–

1

31

Total
2020
£m

50
15

(25)
(29)
(1)
5

–

2

42

UK ^
2019
£m

25
5

(25)
–
(26)
1

–

2

7

North
America
2019 
£m

34
–

(33)
(33)
–
–

14

22

37

Other
2019
£m

36
–

–
–
–
–

–

1

37

Total
2019
£m

95 +
5

(58)
(33)
(26)
1

14 +

25

81

^  Including Ireland. 2019 cash flows include Singapore and Ireland. 

+  In 2019, dividends and return of equity from joint ventures and associates included £41m and £14m respectively of proceeds generated from the disposal of the Group’s 50% interest in 

Gammon Capital (West) Holdings Pte Ltd and the following assets: Borden; Dallas 5 Portfolio; Mobile Alabama portfolio and Evergreen portfolio. Refer to Note 34.3.

19.6 Share of reserves of joint ventures and associates

At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Income recognised 
Fair value revaluation of PPP financial assets
Fair value revaluation of cash flow hedges
Actuarial movements on retirement benefit liabilities
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Dividends
Recycling of revaluation reserves to the income statement on disposal
Reserves disposed
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
Income recognised 
Fair value revaluation of PPP financial assets
Fair value revaluation of cash flow hedges
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Dividends
Reserve transfers relating to joint ventures and associates
At 31 December 2020

Accumulated
profit/(loss)
£m

Hedging
reserve
£m

PPP 
financial
assets
£m

Currency
translation
reserve
£m

Total 
(Note 32.1)
£m

(8)
–
66
–
–
2
(1)
(95)
–
(1)
(37)
–
38
–
–
–
(50)
28
(21)

(68)
–
–
–
2
–
–
–
8
–
(58)
–
–
–
1
2
–
–
(55)

87
–
–
24
–
–
(5)
–
(8)
–
98
–
–
8
–
(4)
–
–
102

52
(7)
–
–
–
–
–
–
(2)
–
43
(4)
–
–
–
–
–
–
39

63
(7)
66
24
2
2
(6)
(95)
(2)
(1)
46
(4)
38
8
1
(2)
(50)
28
65

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

195

Financial statements20 Investments
20.1 Group

At 1 January 2019
Fair value gains 
Maturities/disposals 
At 31 December 2019
Fair value gains
Maturities/disposals
At 31 December 2020

Corporate
bonds 
£m

Investments in
mutual funds 
£m

9
–
(4)
5
–
–
5

21
2
(1)
22
2
(3)
21

Total 
£m

30
2
(5)
27
2
(3)
26

The corporate bonds are held by the Group’s captive insurance company, Delphian Insurance Company Ltd, and comprise fixed rate bonds or 
treasury stock with an average yield to maturity of 3.62% (2019: 2.32%) and weighted average life of 2.4 years (2019: 3.9 years). The fair value 
of the bonds is £5m (2019: £5m), determined by the market price of the bonds at the reporting date. The maximum exposure to credit risk at 
31 December 2020 is the carrying amount. These bonds have been pledged as security for letters of credit issued in respect of Delphian 
Insurance Company Ltd.

The investments in mutual funds comprise holdings in a number of funds, based on employees’ investment elections, in respect of the 
deferred compensation obligations of the Group as disclosed in Note 30.2. The fair value of these investments is £21m (2019: £22m), 
determined by the market price of the funds at the reporting date.

20.2 Company

Investment in subsidiaries
Provisions

2020
£m

1,746
(26)
1,720

2019
£m

1,740
(26)
1,714

The increase of investment in subsidiaries of £6m relates to new capital injected into the Company’s existing subsidiaries. Including provisions 
recognised to date, the Directors have assessed the Company’s investment in subsidiaries to be fully recoverable.

21 PPP financial assets

At 1 January 2019
Income recognised in the income statement:
– interest income (Note 8)
Gains recognised in the statement of comprehensive income:
– fair value movements
Other movements:
– cash expenditure
– cash received
At 31 December 2019
Income recognised in the income statement:
– interest income (Note 8)
Gains recognised in the statement of comprehensive income:
– fair value movements
Other movements:
– cash expenditure
– cash received
At 31 December 2020

Economic
infrastructure
£m

Social 
infrastructure
£m

28

2

–

2
(5)
27

2

–

2
(5)
26

128

7

3

1
(11)
128

6

5

–
(10)
129

Total
£m

156

9

3

3
(16)
155

8

5

2
(15)
155

Assets constructed by PPP subsidiary concession companies are classified as financial assets measured at fair value through OCI and are 
denominated in sterling. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the fair value of the PPP financial assets.

There were no impairment provisions in 2020 or 2019.

196

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED22 Inventories

Raw materials and consumables
Development and housing land and work in progress
Finished goods and goods for resale

2020
£m

84
29
1
114

2019
£m

66
33
2
101

23 Contract balances
The timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collection results in trade receivables (billed amounts), contract assets (unbilled amounts) 
and customer advances and deposits (contract liabilities) on the Group’s balance sheet. For services in which revenue is earned over time, amounts 
are billed in accordance with contractual terms, either at periodic intervals or upon achievement of contractual milestones. The timing of 
revenue recognition is measured in accordance with the progress of delivery on a contract which could either be in advance or in arrears of 
billing, resulting in either a contract asset or a contract liability. 

Contract assets 
At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences 
Transfers from contract assets recognised at the beginning of the year to receivables 
Increase related to services provided in the year 
Reclassified from contract provisions (Note 26) 
Impairments on contract assets recognised at the beginning of the year
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences 
Transfers from contract assets recognised at the beginning of the year to receivables 
Increase related to services provided in the year 
Reclassified to contract provisions (Note 26) 
Impairments on contract assets recognised at the beginning of the year
At 31 December 2020

Contract liabilities 
At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences 
Revenue recognised against contract liabilities at the beginning of the year
Increase due to cash received, excluding amounts recognised as revenue during the year 
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences 
Revenue recognised against contract liabilities at the beginning of the year
Increase due to cash received, excluding amounts recognised as revenue during the year 
At 31 December 2020

£m

363
(5)
(319)
375
(7)
(30)
377
(2)
(370)
274
16
(7)
288

£m

(491)
8
424
(412)
(471)
11
419
(485)
(526)

The amount of revenue recognised in 2020 from performance obligations satisfied (or partially satisfied) in previous periods amounted to £4m 
(2019: £27m).

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

197

Financial statements24 Trade and other receivables

Current 
Trade receivables
Less: provision for impairment of trade receivables 

Due from subsidiaries 
Due from joint ventures and associates 
Due from joint operation partners
Contract fulfilment assets
Contract retentions receivable
Accrued income
Prepayments 
Due on disposals 
Other receivables

Non-current
Due from joint ventures and associates
Contract fulfilment assets
Contract retentions receivable
Due on disposals
Other receivables

Total trade and other receivables 
Comprising
Financial assets (Note 40) 
Non-financial assets – prepayments 

Group 
2020  
£m

Group 
2019 
£m

Company 
2020 
£m

Company 
2019 
£m

526
(12)
514
–
16
17
15
202
9
41
2
22
838

67
13
165
1
4
250
1,088

1,047
41
1,088

575
(5)
570
–
25
22
12
221
13
37
5
34
939

52
10
140
2
3
207
1,146

1,109
37
1,146

–
–
–
1,600
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
1,601

1
–
–
–
2
3
1,604

1,604
–
1,604

–
–
–
1,547
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1
1,548

1
–
–
–
2
3
1,551

1,551
–
1,551

Based on prior experience, an assessment of the current economic environment and a review of the financial circumstances of individual 
customers, the Directors believe no further credit risk provision is required in respect of trade receivables.

The Directors consider that the carrying values of current and non-current trade and other receivables approximate their fair values. 

Maturity profile of impaired trade receivables and trade receivables past due but not impaired

Up to three months 
Three to six months 
Six to nine months 
Nine to 12 months 
More than 12 months 

Impaired 

Past due but not impaired

Group 
2020 
£m

Group 
2019 
£m

Group 
2020 
£m

Group 
2019 
£m

–
–
–
–
12
12

–
–
2
–
3
5

36
14
4
7
29
90

23
12
8
8
38
89

At 31 December 2020, trade receivables of £90m (2019: £89m) were past due but not impaired. These relate to a number of individual 
customers where there is no reason to believe that the receivable is not recoverable.

The Company had no provision for impairment of trade receivables and no trade receivables that were past due but not impaired in either year.

198

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED25 Trade and other payables

Current
Trade and other payables
Accruals
VAT, payroll taxes and social security
Due to subsidiaries 
Dividends on preference shares
Due on acquisitions

Non-current
Trade and other payables
Accruals
Due to joint ventures and associates
Due on acquisitions

Total trade and other payables
Comprising
Financial liabilities (Note 40)
Non-financial liabilities:
– accruals not at amortised cost
– VAT, payroll taxes and social security

Group 
2020 
£m

Group 
2019 
£m

Company 
2020 
£m

Company 
2019 
£m

763
576
61
–
–
3
1,403

104
11
10
3
128
1,531

837
629
45
–
6
3
1,520

82
10
10
6
108
1,628

–
7
–
1,969
–
–
1,976

–
–
3
–
3
1,979

–
6
–
1,846
6
–
1,858

–
–
3
–
3
1,861

1,456

1,570

1,979

1,861

14
61
1,531

13
45
1,628

–
–
1,979

–
–
1,861

Maturity profile of the Group’s non-current financial liabilities at 31 December

Due within one to two years 
Due within two to five years 
Due after more than five years 

Due within one to two years 
Due within two to five years 
Due after more than five years 

Trade 
and other 
payables 
2020 
£m

63
41
–
104

Trade 
and other 
payables 
2019 
£m

47
32
3
82

Due to 
joint 
ventures and 
associates
 2020
£m

Due on 
acquisitions 
2020 
£m

–
3
7
10

3
–
–
3

Due to 
joint 
ventures and 
associates
 2019
£m

Due on 
acquisitions 
2019 
£m

–
2
8
10

3
3
–
6

Accruals 
2020 
£m

4
7
–
11

Accruals 
2019 
£m

4
6
–
10

Total 
2020 
£m

70
51
7
128

Total 
2019 
£m

54
43
11
108

The Directors consider that the carrying values of current and non-current trade and other payables approximate their fair values. The fair value 
of non-current trade and other payables has been determined by discounting future cash flows using yield curves and exchange rates prevailing 
at the reporting date.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

199

Financial statements26 Provisions

At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences 
Reclassified from accruals 
Charged/(credited) to the income statement:
– additional provisions 
– unused amounts reversed 
Utilised during the year
Reclassified to contract assets (Note 23)
Reclassified to trade and other receivables
Reclassify negative investment in the Group’s investments in joint ventures and 
associates to provisions (Note 19.1)
At 31 December 2019
Reclassified from/(to) accruals 
Charged/(credited) to the income statement:
– additional provisions 
– unused amounts reversed 
Utilised during the year
Reclassified from contract assets (Note 23)
At 31 December 2020

Contract
provisions 
£m

Employee
provisions 
£m

Other
provisions 
£m

236
(4)
1

97
(31)
(61)
(7)
(7)

–
224
(1)

140
(40)
(60)
16
279

55
–
–

10
(6)
(11)
–
–

–
48
–

14
(7)
(9)
–
46

25
–
–

7
(5)
(6)
–
–

2
23
1

7
(3)
(3)
–
25

Due within one year 
Due within one to two years 
Due within two to five years 
Due after more than five years 

Contract
provisions
2020 
£m

Employee 
provisions 
2020 
£m

Other 
provisions 
2020 
£m

178
52
38
11
279

12
8
10
16
46

10
6
4
5
25

 Total 
2020 
£m

200
66
52
32
350

Contract 
provisions
2019 
£m

Employee
provisions
2019 
£m

Other 
provisions 
2019 
£m

132
44
41
7
224

11
8
14
15
48

10
4
6
3
23

Total 
£m

316
(4)
1

114
(42)
(78)
(7)
(7)

2
295
–

161
(50)
(72)
16
350

Total 
2019 
£m

153
56
61
25
295

Contract provisions include construction insurance liabilities, principally in the Group’s self-insurance arrangements, loss provisions, and defect 
and warranty provisions on contracts, primarily construction contracts, that have reached practical completion. There is a latent defect period 
for which the provision is held, but where there are known identified issues then the provision may be required to cover rectification work over 
a more extended period.

Employee provisions are principally liabilities relating to employers’ liability insurance retained in the Group’s self-insurance arrangements.

Other provisions principally comprise: motor and other insurance liabilities in the Group’s self-insurance arrangements; legal claims and costs, where 
provision is made for the Directors’ best estimate of known legal claims, investigations and legal actions in progress; and environmental provisions.

The Group takes actuarial advice when establishing the level of provisions in the Group’s self-insurance arrangements and certain other 
categories of provision.

Insurance-related provisions within these categories were £59m (2019: £60m) as follows: Contract provisions £33m (2019: £32m); Employee 
provisions £22m (2019: £24m); and Other, mainly motor, provisions £4m (2019: £4m).

Restructuring provisions within these categories were £1m (2019: £4m) as follows: Employee provisions £nil (2019: £3m); and Other, mainly 
property-related, provisions £1m (2019: £1m).

200

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED27 Cash and cash equivalents and borrowings
27.1 Group

Unsecured borrowings at amortised cost
– US private placement (Note 27.2) 

Cash and deposits at amortised cost 
Term deposits at amortised cost 
Cash and cash equivalents (excluding infrastructure 
concessions) 

Non-recourse infrastructure concessions project finance loans 
at amortised cost with final maturity between 2021 and 2072
Infrastructure concessions cash and cash equivalents 

Net cash/(borrowings) 

Current 
2020
£m

Non-current
2020 
£m

–
–
591
179

770
770

(6)
22
16
786

(189)
(189)
–
–

–
(189)

(333)
–
(333)
(522)

Total 
2020 
£m

(189)
(189)
591
179

770
581

(339)
22
(317)
264

Current 
2019 
£m

Non-current
2019
£m

(35)
(35)
589
154

743
708

(4)
35
31
739

(196)
(196)
–
–

–
(196)

(333)
–
(333)
(529)

Total 
2019 
£m

(231)
(231)
589
154

743
512

(337)
35
(302)
210

The loans relating to project finance arise under non-recourse facilities taken out by project-specific subsidiary companies. The loans of each 
company are secured by a combination of fixed and floating charges over that company’s interests in its project’s assets and revenues and the 
shares in the company held by its immediate parent company. A significant part of these loans has been swapped into fixed rate debt by the 
use of interest rate swaps. 

Included in cash and cash equivalents is restricted cash of: £7m (2019: £18m) held by the Group’s self-insurance company, Delphian Insurance 
Company Ltd, which is subject to Isle of Man insurance solvency regulations; £152m (2019: £72m) held within construction project bank 
accounts; and £22m (2019: £35m) relating to the maintenance and other reserve accounts in the Infrastructure Investments subsidiaries.

Cash, deposits and term deposits include the Group’s share of amounts held by joint operations of £315m (2019: £297m).

Maturity profile of the Group’s borrowings at 31 December

Due on demand or within one year 
Due within one to two years 
Due within two to five years 
Due after more than five years 

Non-recourse
project
 finance 
2020
£m

Other 
borrowings 
2020 
£m

(6)
(9)
(56)
(268)
(339)

–
–
(189)
–
(189)

Non-recourse
project
 finance 
2019
£m

Other 
borrowings 
2019 
£m

(4)
(8)
(54)
(271)
(337)

(35)
–
(158)
(38)
(231)

Total 
2020 
£m

(6)
(9)
(245)
(268)
(528)

Total 
2019 
£m

(39)
(8)
(212)
(309)
(568)

The carrying values of the Group’s borrowings are equal to the fair values at the reporting date. The fair values are determined by discounting 
future cash flows using yield curves and exchange rates prevailing at the reporting date.

On 5 March 2020, the Group repaid the second tranche of its US private placement notes amounting to US$46m (£36m). US$259m remain 
outstanding, with the next tranche of US$209m being due in March 2023 and the final tranche of US$50m being due in March 2025.

Undrawn Group committed borrowing facilities at 31 December in respect of which all conditions precedent were satisfied

Expiring in one year or less
Expiring in more than one year but not more than two years
Expiring in more than two years

Non-recourse 
project 
finance 
2020 
£m

Other 
borrowings 
2020
£m

–
–
–
–

–
–
375
375

Non-recourse 
project 
finance 
2019 
£m

Other 
borrowings 
2019 
£m

–
–
–
–

–
–
375
375

Total 
2020
£m

–
–
375
375

Total 
2019
£m

–
–
375
375

The Group has a committed bank facility of £375m provided by a set of relationship banks. The purpose of the facility is to provide liquidity as 
required to support Balfour Beatty in its activities.

In October 2020, the Group agreed a one-year extension to the facility, which will now expire in October 2023. A further one-year extension 
option through to October 2024 remains available to the Group, subject to lenders’ approval. This facility was undrawn at 31 December 2020.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

201

Financial statements27 Cash and cash equivalents and borrowings continued
27.2 US private placement
In March 2013, the Group raised US$350m (£231m) of borrowings through a US private placement of a series of notes with an average coupon 
of 4.94% per annum and an average maturity of 9.3 years. On 7 March 2018, the Group repaid the first tranche of these notes amounting to 
US$45m (£32.5m). On 5 March 2020, the Group repaid the second tranche of these notes amounting to US$46m (£36m). At 31 December 2020, 
US$259m (£189m) remain with an average coupon of 5.2% and a remaining average maturity of 2.6 years. 

Current 
2020 
£m

Non-current 
2020 
£m

80
178
–
258

–
–
(189)
(189)

Total 
2020 
£m

80
178
(189)
69

Current 
2019
£m

Non-current 
2019 
£m

137
151
(35)
253

–
–
(196)
(196)

Total 
2019 
£m

137
151
(231)
57

Total
£m

129
(1)
42
(51)
(5)
6
120
71
(64)
(8)
6
125

Total
2019
£m

43
30
41
22
136

2019
£m

6
59

Land and
buildings
£m

Plant and
equipment
£m

Motor 
vehicles 
£m

75
(1)
11
(22)
(1)
3
65
21
(24)
(7)
3
58

14
–
10
(7)
–
1
18
20
(17)
–
1
22

40
–
21
(22)
(4)
2
37
30
(23)
(1)
2
45

Land and
buildings
2019
£m

Plant and
equipment
2019
£m

Motor 
vehicles 
2019
£m

19
14
24
20
77

17
11
11
–
39

7
5
6
2
20

2020
£m

6
73

27.3 Company

Cash 
Term deposits
US private placement (Note 27.2) 
Net cash/(borrowings) 

28 Lease liabilities 
28.1 Movements

At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Additions 
Payments made for lease liabilities+ 
Disposals
Interest on lease liabilities 
At 31 December 2019
Additions 
Payments made for lease liabilities+ 
Disposals
Interest on lease liabilities 
At 31 December 2020

+  Payments made for lease liabilities include an interest element of £6m (2019: £6m).

28.2 Maturity analysis – contractual undiscounted cash flows

Due within one year
Due within one to two years
Due within two to five years
Due after more than five years
Total undiscounted cash flows 

Land and
buildings
2020
£m

Plant and
equipment
2020
£m

Motor 
vehicles 
2020
£m

17
10
22
21
70

19
14
14
–
47

11
5
5
2
23

Total
2020
£m

47
29
41
23
140

28.3 Amounts recognised in the income statement 

Interest on lease liabilities
Expenses relating to short-term leases 

202

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED29 Deferred tax
29.1 Group
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when they relate to income taxes levied by the same tax authority and the Group intends to settle 
its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis.

Net deferred tax position at 31 December

Deferred tax assets
Deferred tax liabilities

Movement for the year in the net deferred tax position

At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Charged to income statement
Charged to equity
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
(Charged)/credited to income statement
Credited to equity
Research and development tax credits
At 31 December 2020

Group
 2020 
£m

80
(104)
(24)

Group 
2019 
£m

92
(108)
(16)

Company
 2020 
£m

Company
2019
£m

–
–
–

–
–
–

Group 
£m

Company 
£m

(10)
4
(2)
(8)
(16)
3
(18)
5
2
(24)

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

The table below shows the deferred tax assets and liabilities before being offset where they relate to income taxes levied by the same tax authority.

Net deferred tax position

Depreciation
in excess 
of capital
allowances
£m

Retirement
benefits
£m

Unrelieved
trading
losses
£m

Share-based
payments
£m

Provisions
£m

Preference
shares
£m

Fair value
adjustments
£m

Derivatives
£m

Other GAAP
differences
£m

Research
and
development
credit
£m

At 1 January 2019
Currency translation 
differences
Transfers
Credited/(charged) to 
income statement
Credited/(charged) 
to equity
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation 
differences
Credited/(charged) to 
income statement
Credited/(charged) 
to equity
Research and 
development tax credits
At 31 December 2020

18

(21)

109

–
–

(1)

–
17

–

2

–

–
19

–
–

(5)

(8)
(34)

–

(4)

5

–
(33)

(1)
3

13

–
124

–

(28)

–

–
96

4

–
(1)

–

–
3

–

–

1

–
4

27

(1)

(67)

–
(1)

1

–
27

(2)

15

–

–
40

–
–

1

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

2
–

(10)

–
(75)

3

(7)

(2)

–
(81)

5

–
1

–

–
6

–

–

1

–
7

(86)

3
(2)

(1)

–
(86)

2

4

–

–
(80)

2

–
–

–

–
2

–

–

–

2
4

Total
£m

(10)

4
–

(2)

(8)
(16)

3

(18)

5

2
(24)

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

203

Financial statements29 Deferred tax continued
29.1 Group continued
Net deferred tax position continued
At the reporting date the Group had unrecognised tax losses from operations (excluding capital losses) that arose over a numbers of years of 
approximately £782m (2019: £540m) which are available for offset against future profits. £3m (2019: £8m) will expire within 20 years after the 
year in which they arose, using losses incurred in earlier years before those incurred in later years, with the first expiry in 2021. The remaining 
losses may be carried forward indefinitely. 

The Group has recognised deferred tax assets for UK corporation tax trading losses of £422m (2019: £578m) after derecognition of £28m in 
relation to prior years. The Group has UK corporation tax trading losses of £423m (2019: £252m) which are not recognised as deferred tax 
assets. As set out in Note 11, the Group has derecognised £132m of UK tax losses in 2020 due to the re-profiling of future UK profits, whilst 
£4m of current year losses have been recognised and carried forward. The Group also had temporary differences relating to retirement 
benefits on which a deferred tax asset has not been recognised of £63m (2019: £49m).

Deferred tax liabilities on fair value adjustments of £81m relate to temporary differences arising on goodwill and intangibles. Deferred tax 
liabilities on other GAAP differences of £80m relate to temporary differences arising on joint ventures.

At the reporting date the undistributed reserves of non-UK subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates for which deferred tax liabilities have not 
been recognised were £557m (2019: £605m) in respect of subsidiaries and £49m (2019: £42m) in respect of joint ventures and associates. No 
liability has been recognised in respect of these differences because either no temporary difference arises or the timing of any distribution is 
under the Group’s control and no distribution which gives rise to taxation is contemplated.

29.2 Company
The table below shows the deferred tax assets and liabilities before being offset where they relate to income taxes levied by the same tax authority.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities

At 1 January 2019
Credited/(charged) to income statement 
At 31 December 2019
Credited/(charged) to income statement 
At 31 December 2020

Deferred tax
liabilities

Deferred tax
assets

Preference
shares
£m

Share-based 
payments
£m

Net deferred
tax assets/
(liabilities)
£m

(1)
1
–
 – 
–

1
(1)
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

204

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED30 Retirement benefit assets and liabilities
30.1 Introduction
The Group, through trustees, operates a number of defined contribution and defined benefit pension schemes.

Defined contribution schemes are those where the Group’s obligation is limited to the amount that it contributes to the scheme and the 
scheme members bear the investment and actuarial risks.

Defined benefit schemes are schemes other than defined contribution schemes where the Group’s obligation is to provide specified benefits 
on retirement.

IAS 19 Employee Benefits (IAS 19) prescribes the accounting for defined benefit schemes in the Group’s financial statements. Obligations are 
calculated using the projected unit credit method and discounted to a net present value using the market yield on high-quality corporate bonds. 
The pension expense relating to current service cost is charged to contracts or overheads based on the function of scheme members and is 
included in cost of sales and net operating expenses. The net finance income arising from the expected interest income on plan assets and 
interest cost on scheme obligations is included in investment income. Actuarial gains and losses are reported in the statement of comprehensive 
income. The IAS 19 accounting valuations are set out in Note 30.2.

A different calculation is used for the formal triennial funding valuations undertaken by the scheme trustees to determine the future company 
contribution level necessary so that over time the scheme assets will meet the scheme obligations. The principal difference between the two 
methods is that under the funding basis the obligations are discounted using a rate of return reflecting the composition of the assets in the 
scheme, rather than the rate of return on high-quality corporate bonds as required by IAS 19 for the financial statements. Details of the latest 
formal triennial funding valuations are set out in Note 30.3.

The assets of the schemes do not include any direct holdings of the Group’s financial instruments, nor any property occupied by, or other 
assets of, the Group.

Principal schemes
The Group’s principal schemes are the Balfour Beatty Pension Fund (BBPF), which includes defined contribution and defined benefit sections, 
and the Balfour Beatty Shared Cost Section of the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS). The defined benefit sections of both schemes are funded 
and closed to new members with the exception of employees where employment has transferred to the Group under certain agreed arrangements. 
Pension benefits are based on employees’ pensionable service and their pensionable salary.

The schemes operate under trust law and are managed and administered by trustees on behalf of the members in accordance with the terms 
of the trust deed and rules and relevant legislation. Defined benefit contributions are determined in consultation with the trustees, after taking 
actuarial advice. The trustees are responsible for establishing the investment strategy and ensuring that there are sufficient assets to meet the 
cost of current and future benefits.

These schemes expose the Group to investment and actuarial risks where additional contributions may be required if assets are not sufficient 
to pay future pension benefits:

 » investment risk: equity returns are a key determinant of investment return but the investment portfolio is also subject to a range of other risks 

typical of the investments held, for example, credit risk on corporate bond holdings; and

 » actuarial risk: the ultimate cost of providing pension benefits is affected by inflation rates and members’ life expectancy. The net present value 

of the obligations is affected by the market yield on high-quality corporate bonds used to discount the obligations.

Changes in the principal actuarial assumptions based on market data, such as inflation and the discount rate, and experience, such as life 
expectancy, expose the Group to fluctuations in the net IAS 19 liability and the net finance cost.

Balfour Beatty Pension Fund
The investment strategy of the BBPF is to hold assets of appropriate liquidity and marketability to generate income and capital growth. The 
BBPF invests partly in a diversified range of assets including equities and hedge funds in anticipation that, over the longer term, they will grow 
in value faster than the obligations. The equities are in the form of pooled funds and are a combination of UK, other developed market and 
emerging market equities. The remaining BBPF assets are principally fixed and index-linked bonds and derivatives, providing protection against 
movements in inflation and interest rates and hence enhancing the resilience of the funding level of the scheme. The performance of the 
assets is measured against market indices.

The Group operates a Scottish Limited Partnership (SLP) structure which holds the Group’s 40% interest in the Birmingham Hospital PFI 
investment and the Group’s 15% share of the Connect Plus (M25) asset. The BBPF is a partner in the SLP and is entitled to a share of the 
income of the SLP. In accordance with IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, the SLP is deemed to be controlled by the Group, which 
retains the ability to substitute the investment in the Birmingham Hospital PFI investment and the Connect Plus (M25) asset for other 
investments from time to time. 

Under IAS 19, the investment held by the BBPF in the SLP does not constitute a plan asset and therefore the pension surplus presented in 
these financial statements does not reflect the BBPF’s interest in the SLP. Distributions from the SLP to the BBPF will be reflected in the Group’s 
financial statements as pension contributions on a cash basis. In 2020, the BBPF received distributions of £3m from the SLP (2019: £2m). 

A formal triennial funding valuation of the BBPF was carried out as at 31 March 2019. As a result, the Group is expected to make deficit 
contributions of £17m in 2021, £22m in 2022 and £25m in 2023.

If the earnings cover for shareholder returns falls below an agreed trigger level then the contributions set out above may need to be accelerated.

This agreement constitutes a minimum funding requirement (MFR) under IFRIC 14 IAS 19: The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum 
Funding Requirements and their Interaction. The Group has not recognised any liabilities in relation to this MFR as any surplus of deficit 
contributions to the BBPF would be recoverable by way of a refund and the Group has the unconditional right to the surplus and controls the 
run-off of the benefit obligations once all other obligations of the BBPF have been settled. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

205

Financial statements30 Retirement benefit assets and liabilities continued
30.1 Introduction continued
Railways Pension Scheme
The RPS is a shared cost scheme. The legal responsibility of the Group in the RPS is approximately 60% of the scheme’s assets and liabilities 
based on the relevant provisions of the trust deed and rules and trustee guidelines regarding future surplus apportionments and deficit financing.

The assumed cost of providing future service benefits is split between the Group and the members in the ratio 60:40. 

Because of a declining population of active members, it has become less likely that the Group’s costs of meeting any deficits would be capped 
in line with its strict legal obligation of 60% as members might only be able to afford to fund a small proportion of the scheme deficit. It has 
therefore been assumed that the Group will be responsible for 100% of any deficit and the balance sheet assets and obligations disclosed, 
therefore, are equal to 100% of the total scheme assets and obligations. 

The RPS invests in a range of pooled investment funds intended to generate a combination of capital growth and income and, as determined 
by the trustee, taking account of the characteristics of the obligations and the trustee’s attitude to risk. The majority of the RPS’s assets that 
are intended to generate additional returns, over the rate at which the obligations are expected to grow, are invested in a single pooled growth 
fund. This fund is invested in a wide range of asset classes and the fund manager RPMI has the discretion to vary the asset allocation to reflect 
its views on the relative attractiveness of different asset classes at any time. The remaining assets in the RPS are principally fixed and 
index-linked bonds.

Following the formal triennial funding valuation carried out as at 31 December 2016, the Group agreed to make ongoing fixed deficit contributions 
of £6m per annum which should reduce the deficit to zero by 2027. This agreement constitutes a MFR under IFRIC 14 IAS 19: The Limit on a 
Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction. The Group has not recognised any liabilities in relation to this 
MFR as any surplus of deficit contributions to the RPS would be recoverable by way of a refund and the Group has the unconditional right to 
the surplus and controls the run-off of the benefit obligations once all other obligations of the RPS have been settled. 

A formal triennial valuation of the RPS as at 31 December 2019 is currently underway.

Other schemes
Other schemes comprise unfunded post-retirement benefit obligations in Europe, the majority of which are closed to new entrants, and deferred 
compensation schemes in North America, where an element of employees’ compensation is deferred and invested in investments in mutual 
funds (as disclosed in Note 20.1) in a trust, the assets of which are for the ultimate benefit of the employees but are available to the Group’s 
creditors in the event of insolvency.

The Group also participates in The Plumbing & Mechanical Services Industry Pension Scheme (Plumbers Scheme), which is an industry-wide 
non-associated multi-employer defined benefit scheme. As the Plumbers Scheme does not segregate assets and liabilities between the 
different participating employers, the Group’s only obligation to the Plumbers Scheme is to pay the contributions requested by the scheme 
trustees as they fall due. In accordance with IAS 19, this obligation has been accounted for on a defined contribution basis and the relevant 
employer contributions have been charged to the income statement.

Membership of the principal schemes

Balfour Beatty Pension Fund 2020

Railways Pension Scheme 2020

Balfour Beatty Pension Fund 2019

Railways Pension Scheme 2019

Number
of
members

Defined
benefit
obligations
£m

Average
duration
Years

Number
of 
members

Defined 
benefit 
obligations 
£m

Average 
duration 
Years

Number 
of 
members

Defined 
benefit 
obligations 
£m

Average 
duration 
Years

Number 
of 
members

Defined 
benefit 
obligations 
£m

Average 
duration 
Years

Defined benefit
– active members
–  deferred 

pensioners
–  pensioners, 

widow(er)s and 
dependants

Defined contribution
Total

1

2

10,130

1,841

17,473
14,383
41,987

1,985
–
3,828

16

22

11
–
16

116

50

21

2

2

1,118

146

20

10,638

1,607

1,856
–
3,090

247
–
443

13
–
16

17,707
13,845
42,192

1,894
–
3,503

17

23

11
–
16

128

52

1,159

162

1,849
–
3,136

192
–
406

21

21

13
–
17

30.2 IAS 19 accounting valuations
Principal actuarial assumptions for the IAS 19 accounting valuations of the Group’s principal schemes

Discount rate
Inflation rate – RPI
– CPI

Future increases in pensionable salary
Rate of increase in pensions in payment (or such other rate as is guaranteed)

Balfour Beatty
Pension
Fund
2020
%

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2020
%

Balfour Beatty
Pension
Fund
2019
%

1.45
2.90
2.25
2.25
2.75

1.45
2.90
2.45
2.45
2.55

1.95
2.95
2.10
2.10
2.80

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2019
%

1.95
2.95
2.20
2.20
2.30

On 20 November 2020, the High Court ruled that pension schemes will need to revisit individual transfer payments made since 17 May 1990 
to check if an additional top up is due as a result of GMP equalisation; this has resulted in an additional obligation of £3m being recognised as a 
past service cost for the BBPF in 2020. 

206

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED30 Retirement benefit assets and liabilities continued
30.2 IAS 19 accounting valuations continued
For the RPS, further calculations have been carried out by the trustees in relation to the cost of GMP equalisation. As a result the Group has 
revised its best estimate cost of equalisation from a loading on the liabilities of 0.5% in 2019 to 0.8% in 2020 (with the additional cost being 
recognised in the statement of comprehensive income).

The BBPF actuary undertakes regular mortality investigations based on the experience exhibited by pensioners of the BBPF and due to the size 
of the membership of the BBPF is able to make comparisons of this experience with the mortality rates set out in the various published mortality 
tables. The actuary is also able to monitor changes in the exhibited mortality over time. This research is taken into account in the Group’s 
mortality assumptions across its various defined benefit schemes. The mortality assumptions as at 31 December 2020 have been updated to 
reflect the experience of BBPF pensioners for the period to 31 March 2020. The mortality tables adopted for the 2020 IAS 19 valuation for the 
BBPF are the Self-Administered Pension Scheme (SAPS) S3 tables ‘middle’ for males and ‘heavy’ for females (2019: SAPS S3 tables) with a 
multiplier of 97% for males and 93% for females (2019: 110% for males and 102% for females); all with future improvements in line with the 
CMI 2019 core projection model, with default smoothing and initial addition parameter of nil (2019: CMI 2018 core projection model), with 
long-term improvement rates of 1.25% per annum and 1.00% per annum for males and females respectively (2019: 1.25% per annum and 
1.00% per annum). The mortality assumption adopted for the RPS for 2020 is unchanged from 2019, with the exception of setting future 
improvements in line with the CMI 2019 core projection model (2019: CMI 2018 core projection model).

During the period, following independent advice from its actuaries, the Group made some technical changes to its sourcing of data from which 
to set the discount rate. In particular, as a result of changes in bond classification system at Bloomberg (the source for data on the bond universes), 
the Group has amended its approach to establishing the corporate bond universe underlying the corporate bond yield curve. This change has 
resulted in an increase to the discount rate of 0.15% which led to an actuarial gain of £100m being recognised within the statement of 
comprehensive income.

During 2020 the Group identified certain inconsistencies with the membership data used by the BBPF’s actuary in calculating the mortality 
experience/assumptions and resulting mortality multiplier in previous years which led to a cumulative increase of £129m in the recognised pension 
asset as at 31 December 2019 (£50m cumulative impact as at 31 December 2018). This has been adjusted in the year ended 31 December 2020 
through actuarial movements from changes in demographic assumptions included in the actuarial losses recognised in the Group’s statement 
of comprehensive income. The Group considered it appropriate that the impact is recognised in 2020 due to the size of movements typically 
experienced relating to actuarial gains and losses, which is inherent with a scheme of this size and complexity, and the nature of the financial 
statement captions affected. This adjustment led to a corresponding deferred tax credit which is also recognised in the Group’s statement of 
comprehensive income and a deferred tax charge recognised in non-underlying items in the Group’s income statement due to the de-recognition 
of UK derferred tax assets in respect of tax losses as disclosed in Note 10.3.1.

BBPF life expectancies

Members in receipt of a pension
Members not yet in receipt of a pension (current age 50)

RPS life expectancies

Members in receipt of a pension
Members not yet in receipt of a pension (current age 50)

2020 
Average life expectancy 
at 65 years of age

2019 
Average life expectancy 
at 65 years of age

Male

21.5
22.5

Female

23.3
24.2

Male

20.5
21.4

Female

22.5
23.4

2020 
Average life expectancy 
at 65 years of age

2019 
Average life expectancy 
at 65 years of age

Male

20.6
21.5

Female

22.6
23.5

Male

20.5
21.4

Female

22.5
23.4

Amounts recognised in the income statement
The BBPF defined contribution employer contributions paid and charged to the income statement have been separately identified in the table 
below and the defined contribution section assets and liabilities amounting to £573m (2019: £531m) have been excluded from the tables on 
pages 208 to 210. Defined contribution charges for other schemes include contributions to multi-employer pension schemes.

Group 
Current service cost
Administrative expenses
Defined contribution charge
Included in employee costs (Note 7)
Past service cost as a result of GMP equalisation 
(Note 10.2.2)
Interest income
Interest cost
Net finance income/(cost) (Note 8)
Total charged to income statement 

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
2020
£m

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2020
£m

Other
schemes
2020
£m

(1)
–
(47)
(48)

(3)
72
(67)
5
(46)

(2)
–
–
(2)

–
7
(8)
(1)
(3)

(1)
–
(6)
(7)

–
–
(1)
(1)
(8)

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
2019
£m

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2019
£m

Other
schemes
2019
£m

(2)
–
(44)
(46)

–
95
(90)
5
(41)

(1)
(1)
–
(2)

–
9
(11)
(2)
(4)

(1)
–
(6)
(7)

–
–
(1)
(1)
(8)

Total
2020
£m

(4)
–
(53)
(57)

(3)
79
(76)
3
(57)

Total
2019
£m

(4)
(1)
(50)
(55)

–
104
(102)
2
(53)

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

207

Financial statementsRailways
Pension
Scheme
2020
£m

Other
schemes
2020
£m

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2019
£m

Other
schemes
2019
£m

30 Retirement benefit assets and liabilities continued
30.2 IAS 19 accounting valuations continued
Amounts recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income

Actuarial movements on pension 
scheme obligations
Actuarial movements on pension scheme assets
Total actuarial movements recognised in  
the Statement of Comprehensive Income 
(Note 32.1)
Cumulative actuarial movements recognised in 
the statement of comprehensive income

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
2020
£m

(416)
370

(46)

(115)

(40)
22

(18)

(85)

Total
2020
£m

(454)
392

(62)

2
–

2

The actual return on plan assets was a gain of £471m (2019: £433m gain).

Amounts recognised in the Balance Sheet

Present value of obligations
Fair value of plan assets
Asset/(liabilities) in the balance sheet

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
2020
£m

(3,828)
4,043
215

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2020
£m

(443)
363
(80)

Other
schemes †
2020
£m

(46)
–
(46)

Total
2020
£m

(4,317)
4,406
89

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
2019
£m

(251)
300

49

(69)

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
2019
£m

(3,503)
3,752
249

Total
2019
£m

(286)
329

43

(5)
–

(5)

(30)
29

(1)

(67)

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2019
£m

(406)
340
(66)

Other
schemes †
2019
£m

(50)
–
(50)

Total
2019
£m

(3,959)
4,092
133

(25)

(225)

(27)

(163)

† 

Investments in mutual funds of £21m (2019: £22m) are held to satisfy the Group’s deferred compensation obligations (Note 20.1).

The defined benefit obligations comprise £46m (2019: £50m) arising from wholly unfunded plans and £4,271m (2019: £3,909m) arising from 
plans that are wholly or partly funded.

Movement in the present value of obligations

At 1 January
Currency translation differences
Current service cost 
Past service cost as a result of GMP equalisation
Transfers
Interest cost 
Actuarial movements from reassessing the 
difference between RPI and CPI
Other financial actuarial movements
Actuarial movements from changes in 
demographic assumptions
Experience gains/(losses)
Total actuarial movements
Benefits paid
At 31 December

Balfour 
Beatty 
Pension 
Fund 
2020 
£m

(3,503)
–
(1)
(3)
–
(67)

(30)
(228)

(162)
4
(416)
162
(3,828)

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2020
£m

Other
schemes
2020
£m

(406)
–
(2)
–
(3)
(8)

(18)
(23)

–
1
(40)
16
(443)

(50)
–
(1)
–
–
(1)

–
2

–
–
2
4
(46)

Balfour 
Beatty 
Pension 
Fund 
2019
£m

(3,316)
–
(2)
–
–
(90)

Total
2020
£m

(3,959)
–
(4)
(3)
(3)
(76)

(48)
(249)

(20)
(368)

(162)
5
(454)
182
(4,317)

190
(53)
(251)
156
(3,503)

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2019
£m

Other
schemes
2019
£m

(377)
–
(1)
–
–
(11)

(15)
(40)

25
–
(30)
13
(406)

(49)
2
(1)
–
–
(1)

–
(5)

–
–
(5)
4
(50)

Total
2019
£m

(3,742)
2
(4)
–
–
(102)

(35)
(413)

215
(53)
(286)
173
(3,959)

Following independent advice from the Group’s actuaries and considering the correspondence between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and 
the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) to potentially align the RPI with CPIH (a variant of the Consumer Prices Index that includes an estimate of 
housing costs), the Group reassessed the difference between RPI and CPI measures of price inflation from an average margin of 0.85% for 
BBPF and 0.75% for RPS at December 2019 to an average margin of 0.65% for BBPF and 0.45% for RPS at December 2020. This resulted in 
an actuarial loss of £48m being recognised within the statement of other comprehensive income. 

208

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED30 Retirement benefit assets and liabilities continued
30.2 IAS 19 accounting valuations continued
Movement in the fair value of plan assets

At 1 January
Interest income 
Actuarial movements
Transfers
Contributions from employer
– regular funding
– ongoing deficit funding
Administrative expenses
Benefits paid
At 31 December

Fair value of the assets held by the schemes at 31 December

Return-seeking
– Developed nation equities
– Emerging market equities
– Hedge funds
– Return-seeking growth pooled funds
– Other return-seeking assets
Liability-matching bond-type assets
– Corporate bonds
– Fixed interest gilts^
– Index-linked gilts^
– Liability-matching pooled funds
– Interest and inflation rate swaps
Property
Secure income assets
Cash and other
Total

Balfour 
Beatty 
Pension 
Fund 
2020 
£m

3,752
72
370
–

2
9
–
(162)
4,043

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
£m

1,033
341
68
350
–
274
2,315
483
478
1,216
–
138
165
176
354
4,043

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2020
£m

340
7
22
3

1
6
–
(16)
363

2020

Railways
Pension
Scheme  †
£m

193
–
–
–
193
–
170
–
–
–
170
–
–
–
–
363

Total
2020
£m

4,092
79
392
3

3
15
–
(178)
4,406

Total
£m

1,226
341
68
350
193
274
2,485
483
478
1,216
170
138
165
176
354
4,406

Balfour 
Beatty 
Pension 
Fund 
2019
£m

3,487
95
300
–

2
24
–
(156)
3,752

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
£m

1,168
369
38
354
–
407
1,991
426
623
824
–
118
231
177
185
3,752

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2019
£m

309
9
29
–

1
6
(1)
(13)
340

2019

Railways
Pension
Scheme  †
£m

191
–
–
–
191
–
149
–
–
–
149
–
–
–
–
340

Total
2019
£m

3,796
104
329
–

3
30
(1)
(169)
4,092

Total
£m

1,359
369
38
354
191
407
2,140
426
623
824
149
118
231
177
185
4,092

†  The amounts represent 100% of the scheme’s assets. 

^  Of the assets above, £1,694m (2019: £1,447m) are assets that have quoted prices in active markets. The remaining assets that are neither quoted nor traded on an active market are stated 

at fair value estimates provided by the manager of the investment or fund.

Estimated contributions expected to be paid to the Group’s principal defined benefit schemes during 2021

Regular funding
Ongoing deficit funding+
Total required by schedule of contributions
Estimated BBPF running costs to be funded from ongoing deficit contributions*
Estimated total cash contributions

Balfour
Beatty
Pension
Fund
2021
£m

1
15
16
(3)
13

Railways
Pension
Scheme
2021
£m

1
6
7
–
7

Total
2021
£m

2
21
23
(3)
20

*  The running costs of the BBPF are funded from ongoing deficit contributions as per the BBPF schedule of contributions.

+  Ongoing deficit funding contributions presented above for the BBPF in 2021 are expected to be less than the amounts prescribed in the funding agreement due to overpaid contributions 

in 2020.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

209

Financial statements30 Retirement benefit assets and liabilities continued
30.2 IAS 19 accounting valuations continued
The sensitivity analysis below has been determined based on reasonably possible changes in assumptions occurring at the end of the 
reporting period. In each case the relevant change in assumption occurs in isolation from potential changes in other assumptions. In practice 
more than one variable is likely to change at the same time. The sensitivities have been calculated using the projected unit credit method.

Sensitivity of the Group’s retirement benefit obligations at 31 December 2020 to different actuarial assumptions

Assumptions
Discount rate
Market expectation of RPI inflation
Salary growth
Life expectancy

Sensitivity to increase in assumption

Sensitivity to decrease in assumption

Percentage
points/years

0.5%
0.5%
0.5%
1 year

(Decrease)/
increase in
obligations 
%

(Decrease)/
increase in
obligations 
£m

(7.7)%
5.6%
<0.1%
5.0%

(327)
241
1
212

Percentage
points/years

(0.5)%
(0.5)%
(0.5)%
(1 year)

(Decrease)/
increase in
obligations 
%

(Decrease)/
increase in
obligations 
£m

8.7%
(5.3)%
(<0.1)%
(4.9)%

372
(225)
(1)
(209)

Sensitivity of the Group’s retirement benefit assets at 31 December 2020 to changes in market conditions

Increase in interest rates
Increase in market expectation of RPI inflation

Percentage
points

0.5%
0.5%

(Decrease)/
increase
in assets
%

(7.3)%
4.5%

(Decrease)/
increase
in assets
£m

(321)
196

The asset sensitivities only take into account the impact of the changes in market conditions on bond type assets. The value of the schemes’ 
return-seeking assets is not directly correlated with movements in interest rates or RPI inflation.

Year end historical information for the Group’s retirement defined benefit schemes

Present value of obligations
Fair value of assets
Surplus/(deficit)
Experience adjustment for obligations
Experience adjustment for assets
Total deficit funding

30.3 Latest formal triennial funding valuations

Date of last formal triennial funding valuation
Scheme deficit
Market value of assets
Present value of obligations
Deficit in defined benefit scheme
Funding level

2020
£m

(4,317)
4,406
89
5
392
15

2019
£m

(3,959)
4,092
133
(53)
329
30

2018
£m

(3,742)
3,796
54
(4)
(117)
27

2017
£m

(3,956)
3,988
32
21
148
25

2016
£m

(4,155)
3,924
(231)
76
704
41

Balfour Beatty 
Pension 
Fund 
£m

Railways 
Pension 
Scheme 
£m

31/03/2019 31/12/2016

4,136 
(4,228)
(92)
97.8%

319
(367)
(48)
86.9%

210

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED31 Share capital
31.1 Ordinary shares of 50p each

At 31 December 2019 and 2020

Issued

Million

690

£m

345

All issued ordinary shares are fully paid. Ordinary shares carry no right to fixed income but each share carries the right to one vote at general 
meetings of the Company. No ordinary shares were issued during the current or prior year. 

On 9 December 2020, the Company announced a £50m share buyback programme, which commenced on 5 January 2021. Refer to Note 39.

31.2 Cumulative convertible redeemable preference shares of 1p each

Issued

2020

2019 

Million

–

£m

–

Million

112

£m

1

On 1 July 2020, the Company redeemed its 112m preference shares in full for £112m and cancelled them. The redemption of these shares 
resulted in £1m, representing the nominal amount of 1p per preference share, being transferred to the capital redemption reserve (included 
within other reserves) and £111m being transferred to share premium. These movements were offset by the release of the £18m equity 
component of the redeemed preference shares and a transfer from retained earnings of £94m. 

Liability component recognised in the Balance Sheet

Redemption value of shares in issue at 1 January
Equity component
Interest element
Liability component at 1 January at amortised cost
Interest accretion
Redemption of preference shares 
Liability component at 31 December at amortised cost

Interest expense on the preference shares is calculated using the effective interest method.

2020 
£m

112
(18)
12
110
2
(112)
–

2019 
£m

112
(18)
12
106
4
–
110

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

211

Financial statements32 Movements in equity
32.1 Group

At 1 January 2020
Profit/(loss) for the year
Currency translation differences
Actuarial movements  
on retirement benefit liabilities
Fair value revaluations
– PPP financial assets
– cash flow hedges
–  investments in mutual funds 

measured at fair value through 
OCI 

Tax on items recognised  
in other comprehensive income
Total comprehensive (loss)/income 
for the year
Joint ventures’ and associates’ 
dividends
Redemption of preference shares
Reserve transfers relating to joint 
ventures and associates
At 31 December 2020

Called-
up share
capital
2020
£m

Share
premium
account
2020
£m

Special
reserve
2020
£m

345
–
–

65
–
–

22
–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–
345

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
111

–
176

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–
22

Other reserves

Share
of joint
ventures’
and
associates’
reserves
(Note 19.6)
2020
£m

Equity
component
of
preference
shares
2020
£m

Hedging
reserves
2020
£m

PPP
financial
assets
2020
£m

Currency
translation
reserve
2020
£m

Retained
profits
2020
£m

Other
2020
£m

Non-
controlling
interests
2020
£m

46
38
(4)

–

8
1

–

(2)

41

(50)
–

28
65

18
–
–

(29)
–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
(18)

–
–

–

–
(4)

–

1

(3)

–
–

–
(32)

27
–
–

–

5
–

–

(2)

3

–
–

–
30

109
–
(11)

17
–
–

–

–
–

–

–

(11)

–
–

–
98

–

–
–

2

–

2

–
1

–
20

748
(8)
–

(62)

–
–

–

6

(64)

50
(94)

(28)
612

9
–
–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–
9

Total
2020
£m

1,377
30
(15)

(62)

13
(3)

2

3

(32)

–
–

–
1,345

212

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED32 Movements in equity continued
32.1 Group continued

Called-
up share
capital
2019
£m

345
–

Share
premium
account
2019
£m

65
–

Special
reserve
2019
£m

22
–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
345

–
65

–
22

At 1 January 2019
Profit for the year
Currency translation 
differences
Actuarial movements  
on retirement benefit 
liabilities
Fair value revaluations
– PPP financial assets
– cash flow hedges
–  investments in 
mutual funds 
measured at fair 
value through OCI 
Recycling of revaluation 
reserves to the income 
statement on disposal@
Tax on items recognised  
in other comprehensive 
income@
Total comprehensive 
income/(loss) for the 
year
Ordinary dividends 
Joint ventures’ and 
associates’ dividends
Non-controlling 
interests’ dividends
Movements relating to 
share-based payments
Reserve transfers 
relating to joint venture 
and associate disposals
At 31 December 2019

Share
of joint
ventures’
and
associates’
reserves
(Note 19.6)
2019
£m

63
66

(7)

2

24
2

–

(2)

(6)

79
–

(95)

–

–

(1)
46

Other reserves

Equity
component
of
preference
shares
2019
£m

18
–

Hedging
reserves
2019
£m

(25)
–

PPP
financial
assets
2019
£m

24
–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–
(4)

–

–

–

(4)
–

–

–

–

–

–

3
–

–

–

–

3
–

–

–

–

Currency
translation
reserve
2019
£m

123
–

(12)

–

–
–

–

(2)

–

(14)
–

–

–

–

–
18

–
(29)

–
27

–
109

@  Recycling of revaluation reserves to the income statement on disposal has no associated tax effect.

Other
2019
£m

22
–

–

–

–
–

2

–

–

2
–

–

–

(7)

–
17

Retained
profits
2019
£m

575
64

–

43

–
–

–

–

(8)

99
(36)

95

–

14

1
748

Non-
controlling
interests
2019
£m

10
3

Total
2019
£m

1,242
133

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

3
–

–

(4)

–

–
9

(19)

45

27
(2)

2

(4)

(14)

168
(36)

–

(4)

7

–
1,377

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

213

Financial statements32 Movements in equity continued
32.2 Company

At 1 January 2019
Loss for the year
Currency translation differences
Total comprehensive loss for the year
Ordinary dividends 
Movements relating to share-based payments
At 31 December 2019
Profit for the year
Currency translation differences
Total comprehensive profit for the year
Redemption of preference shares
Movements relating to share-based payments
At 31 December 2020

Other reserves

Called-up
share
capital
£m

Share
premium
account
£m

Equity
component 
of preference
shares
£m

Special
reserve
£m

345
–
–
–
–
–
345
–
–
–
–
–
345

65
–
–
–
–
–
65
–
–
–
111
–
176

22
–
–
–
–
–
22
–
–
–
–
–
22

18
–
–
–
–
–
18
–
–
–
(18)
–
–

Other
£m

87
–
–
–
–
8
95
–
–
–
1
6
102

Retained
profits
£m

873
(30)
3
(27)
(36)
(1)
809
67
(5)
62
(94)
(6)
771

Total
£m

1,410
(30)
3
(27)
(36)
7
1,354
67
(5)
62
–
–
1,416

As permitted under Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the Company has elected not to present its Statement of Comprehensive Income 
(including the profit and loss account) for the year. Balfour Beatty plc reported a profit for the financial year ended 31 December 2020 of £67m 
(2019: £30m loss).

The retained profits of Balfour Beatty plc are wholly distributable. By special resolution on 13 May 2004, confirmed by the court on 16 June 2004, 
the share premium account was reduced by £181m and the £4m capital redemption reserve was cancelled, effective on 25 June 2004, and a 
special reserve of £185m was created. This reserve becomes distributable to the extent of future increases in share capital and share premium 
account, of which £nil occurred in 2020 (2019: £nil).

32.3 Balfour Beatty Employee Share Ownership Trust 
The retained profits in the Group and the retained profits of the Company are stated net of investments in Balfour Beatty plc ordinary shares acquired 
by the Group’s employee discretionary trust, the Balfour Beatty Employee Share Ownership Trust, to satisfy awards under the Performance 
Share Plan, the Executive Buyout Scheme, the Deferred Bonus Plan and the Restricted Share Plan. In 2020, 3.5m (2019: 0.9m) shares were 
purchased at a cost of £7.9m (2019: £2.0m). The market value of the 3.9m (2019: 3.7m) shares held by the Trust at 31 December 2020 was 
£10.5m (2019: £9.6m). The carrying value of these shares is £8.7m (2019: £9.3m). 

Following confirmation of the performance criteria at the end of the performance period in the case of the Performance Share Plan, and at the 
end of the vesting period in the case of the Deferred Bonus Plan and the Restricted Share Plan, the appropriate number of shares will be unconditionally 
transferred to participants. In 2020, 1.7m shares were transferred to participants in relation to the March 2017 awards under the Performance 
Share Plan (2019: 2.1m shares were transferred to participants in relation to the April 2016 awards under the Performance Share Plan), 0.5m 
shares were transferred to participants in relation to awards under the Deferred Bonus Plan (2019: 0.6m shares) and 1.1m shares were 
transferred to participants in relation to awards under the Restricted Share Plan (2019: 0.9m). 

The Trustees have waived the rights to dividends on shares held by the trust. Participants in the schemes receive an award of shares to 
represent the dividends which would have been payable on the shares since the date of grant.

Other reserves in the Group and Company include £7.2m (2019: £7.2m) relating to unvested Performance Share Plan awards, £4.1m (2019: £4.1m) 
relating to unvested Restricted Share Plan awards and £2.8m (2019: £2.4m) relating to unvested Deferred Bonus Plan awards. 

214

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED33 Notes to the statement of cash flows
33.1 Cash from/(used in) operations

Profit from operations
Share of results of joint ventures and associates
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
Depreciation of right-of-use assets
Depreciation of investment properties
Amortisation of other intangible assets
Impairment of goodwill
Impairment of IT intangible assets
Impairment of property, plant and equipment
Pension payments including deficit funding
Movements relating to equity-settled share-based payments
Gain on disposal of interests in investments
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment
Loss on GMP equalisation
Other non-cash items
Operating cash flows before movements in working capital
Decrease in operating working capital
Inventories
Contract assets
Trade and other receivables
Contract liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Cash from operations

1  Before non-underlying items (Notes 2.10 and 10).

33.2 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and deposits
Term deposits
Cash balances within infrastructure concessions

Notes

19
16
17
18
15
14
15
16
30.2
35
34.2

Underlying

 items 1 
2020
£m

Non-
underlying
items
2020
£m

51
(38)
24
56
2
11
–
1
–
(18)
8
–
(7)
–
(2)
88

12
–
–
–
–
6
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
3
–
21

2020
£m

63
(38)
24
56
2
17
–
1
–
(18)
8
–
(7)
3
(2)
109
167
(14)
87
42
67
(69)
54
276

2019
£m

159
(66)
28
45
1
17
58
–
8
(33)
10
(40)
(6)
–
(1)
180
32
(18)
(19)
(56)
(11)
157
(21)
212

Group 
2020 
£m

591
179
22
792

Group 
2019 
£m

589
154
35
778

Company 
2020 
£m

Company 
2019 
£m

80
178
–
258

137
151
–
288

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks and other short-term highly liquid investments with original 
maturities of less than three months.

33.3 Analysis of movements in borrowings

At 1 January 2019
Currency translation differences
Proceeds of loans
Repayments of loans
At 31 December 2019
Currency translation differences
Proceeds of loans
Repayments of loans
At 31 December 2020

Infrastructure
concessions
non-recourse
project finance
£m

US private
placement
£m

(379)
–
(6)
48
(337)
–
(6)
4
(339)

(239)
8
–
–
(231)
6
–
36
(189)

Other
£m

(15)
–
–
15
–
–
–
–
–

Total
£m

(633)
8
(6)
63
(568)
6
(6)
40
(528)

On 5 March 2020, the Group repaid the second tranche of its US private placement notes amounting to US$46m (£36m). US$259m remain 
outstanding, with the next tranche of US$209m being due in March 2023 and the final tranche of US$50m being due in March 2025.

The Group has a committed bank facility of £375m provided by a set of relationship banks. The purpose of the facility is to provide liquidity as 
required to support Balfour Beatty in its activities.

In October 2020, the Group agreed a one-year extension to the facility, which will now expire in October 2023. A further one-year extension 
option through to October 2024 remains available to the Group, subject to lenders’ approval. This facility was undrawn at 31 December 2020.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

215

Financial statements34 Acquisitions and disposals
34.1 Current and prior year acquisitions
There were no material acquisitions in 2020.

Deferred consideration paid during 2020 in respect of acquisitions completed in earlier years was £3m (2019: £3m). This related to the Group’s 
acquisition of Centex Construction in 2007.

34.2 Current year disposals
There were no disposals made in 2020. 

The Group received £1m of deferred consideration in relation to the disposal of its Middle Eastern joint ventures in 2017. This deferred 
consideration was included in the Group’s assessment of the gain on disposal recognised in 2017.

The Group also received £1m of deferred consideration in relation to the disposal of its entire 50% interest in Consort Healthcare (Fife) Holdings 
Ltd which took place in 2018. This deferred consideration was received as part of the earn-out agreement that was entered into with the buyer 
as part of the disposal and was included in the Group’s assessment of the additional gain on disposal recognised in 2019. 

34.3 Prior year disposals
In 2019, the Group disposed of several Infrastructure Investments assets as detailed below. These disposals were either structured as a sale of 
the infrastructure investment asset itself or through the sale of the Group’s equity interest in the entity which owns the asset. 

The gain recognised from the disposal of assets that were held within joint venture entities of the Group is recognised within the Group’s share 
of results of joint ventures and associates.

Percentage
 disposed
%

Cash
consideration
£m

Net assets
disposed
£m

Amount
 recycled
 from
reserves
£m

Underlying
gain
£m

Notes

Disposal date

Entity/asset

34.3.1 2 January 2019
34.3.2 1 February 2019
34.3.3 13 February to 28 
March 2019

Ranch at Pinnacle Point+
Borden Data Centre^
Dallas 5 Portfolio^

Structure of sale 

Asset sale 
Asset sale
Asset sale

34.3.4 28 March 2019
34.3.5 18 September 2019 THP Partnership (North Island 

Mobile Alabama portfolio^

Asset sale
Equity interest sale 

Hospitals)#

n/a
n/a
n/a

n/a
50

34.3.6 27 September 2019 BBCS-Hawkeye Housing LLC 

Equity interest sale

100

(Iowa)&

34.3.7 30 September 2019 Gammon Capital (West) 

Equity interest sale

34.3.8 10 October 2019
34.3.9 5 December 2019
34.3.10 16 December 2019
34.3.11

Holdings Pte. Ltd^
Evergreen portfolio^
Townlake of Coppell#
Reno student accommodation+ Asset sale
Other

Asset sale
Equity interest sale

50

n/a
10
–
n/a

Less: Repayment of debt following disposal of Iowa and Reno assets 
Less: Cash proceeds not included in the Directors’ valuation@ 
Less: Cash and cash equivalents disposed relating to Iowa
Disposal proceeds per the Directors’ valuation

(5)
(3)
(4)

(2)
(11)

(44)

(17) ~

(2)
(2)
(15)
–
(105)

1
–
1

–
1

–

1

–
–
–
–
4

4
3
8

3
7

16

9

6
3
7
3
69

8
6
11

5
17

60

25

8
5
22
3
170 ∞
(60)
(7)
(1)
102

+  Disposal of asset within a subsidiary entity. 

^  Disposal of asset within a joint venture entity. The disposal of Gammon ITE West was structured as a disposal of equity interests in Gammon Capital (West) Holdings Pte Ltd within a 

joint venture entity. 

#  Disposal of joint venture.

&  Disposal of subsidiary.

∞  Proceeds from the sale within joint venture entities were included within Dividends received from joint ventures and associates – infrastructure investments and within Return of equity from 
joint ventures and associates in the statement of cash flows. The proceeds shown above include a non-controlling interest element of £4m relating to the disposal of the Group’s Dallas 5 
Portfolio asset.

~  Net assets disposed include £8m of subordinated debt receivable which was settled as part of the disposal. 

@  Sales proceeds per the Directors’ valuation do not include the £2m additional sales proceeds received in relation to the Group’s disposal of its 50% interest in Consort Healthcare (Fife) 
Holdings Ltd, the £1m deferred consideration received in relation to the Group’s disposal of its Middle Eastern joint ventures and the £4m element of consideration attributable to a 
non-controlling interest relating to the disposal of the Group’s Dallas 5 Portfolio asset.

216

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED34 Acquisitions and disposals continued
34.3 Prior year disposals continued
34.3.1 On 2 January 2019, the Group disposed of its Ranch at Pinnacle Point asset, a 392-unit residential property located in Rogers, Arkansas, 
for a cash consideration of £8m. The asset disposal resulted in a gain of £4m being recognised in underlying operating profit, including a gain of 
£1m in respect of foreign currency translation reserves recycled to the income statement on disposal. 

34.3.2 On 1 February 2019, the Group disposed of its Borden data centre asset located in Ontario, Canada for a total consideration of £6m. 
The asset disposal resulted in a gain of £3m being recognised in the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates. 

34.3.3 On 13 February 2019, 15 March 2019, 22 March 2019 and 28 March 2019, the Group disposed of its Dallas 5 Portfolio asset, a 1,593-unit 
residential portfolio located throughout Dallas, Texas, for a total consideration of £11m. These asset disposals resulted in a gain of £8m being 
recognised in the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates, including a gain of £1m in respect of foreign currency translation reserves 
recycled to the income statement on disposal. Part of the consideration and gain recognised by the Group is attributable to a non-controlling 
interest, amounting to £4m cash consideration and £2m gain respectively. 

34.3.4 On 28 March 2019, the Group disposed of its Mobile Alabama portfolio, a 320-unit residential property portfolio located in Mobile, 
Alabama, for a total cash consideration of £5m. The asset disposal resulted in a gain of £3m being recognised in the Group’s share of joint 
ventures and associates.

34.3.5 On 18 September 2019, the Group disposed of its entire 50% interest in North Island Hospitals, the concession for two Acute Care Centres 
on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The infrastructure concession was disposed for a cash consideration of £17m and resulted in a gain 
being recognised in underlying operating profit of £7m, including a gain of £1m in respect of foreign currency translation reserves recycled to 
the income statement on disposal. 

34.3.6 On 27 September 2019, the Group disposed of its entire 100% interest in BBCS-Hawkeye Housing LLC (Iowa) for cash consideration of 
£60m. This disposal resulted in a gain of £16m being recognised in underlying operating profit. The disposal included cash disposed of £1m. 

34.3.7 On 30 September 2019, the Group disposed of its entire 50% interest in Gammon Capital (West) Holdings Pte. Ltd for cash consideration 
of £25m. This disposal resulted in a gain of £9m being recognised in the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates, including gains of £1m 
and £8m in respect of foreign currency translation and PPP financial asset reserves respectively, and a loss of £8m in respect of hedging 
reserves, recycled to the income statement on disposal.

34.3.8 On 10 October 2019, the Group disposed of its Evergreen portfolio, a 882-unit residential property portfolio located in Atlanta, Georgia 
for cash consideration of £8m. The asset disposal resulted in a gain of £6m being recognised in the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates.

34.3.9 On 5 December 2019, the Group disposed of its entire 10% interest in Coppell Properties, LLC (Townlake of Coppell) for a cash consideration 
of £5m. This disposal resulted in a gain of £3m being recognised in underlying operating profit. 

34.3.10 On 16 December 2019, the Group disposed of its Reno student accommodation asset for cash consideration of £22m. This disposal 
resulted in a gain of £7m being recognised in underlying operating profit. 

34.3.11 In 2019, the Group received an additional £2m of proceeds, with a further £1m being deferred into future periods, relating to its disposal 
of its entire 50% interest in Consort Healthcare (Fife) Holdings Ltd which took place in 2018. The additional proceeds relate to the earn-out 
agreement that was entered into with the buyer as part of the disposal. At the time of the disposal, the Group did not include an estimate of 
the potential earn-out within its assessment of the gain on disposal as there was significant uncertainty as to whether the earn-out hurdles 
would be met. This additional gain of £3m was recognised as an underlying gain consistent with the Group’s treatment of the gain on disposal 
previously recognised. 

The Group also received £1m of deferred consideration in relation to the disposal of its Middle Eastern joint ventures in 2017. This deferred 
consideration was included in the Group’s assessment of the gain on disposal recognised in 2017.

34.3.12 Subsidiaries net assets disposed

Net assets disposed

Property, plant and equipment
Trade and other payables
Cash

Cash consideration
Gain on disposal
Net cash flow effect
Total consideration
Cash and cash equivalents disposed
Net cash consideration

Note

16

BBCS-Hawkeye 
Housing LLC 
(Iowa)
£m 

44
(1)
1
44
(60)
(16)

60
(1)
59

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

217

Financial statements35 Share-based payments
The Company operates three equity-settled share-based payment arrangements, namely the Performance Share Plan (PSP), the Deferred 
Bonus Plan (DBP) and the Restricted Share Plan (RSP). The Group recognised total expenses relating to equity-settled share-based payment 
transactions of £8m in 2020 (2019: £10m). Refer to the Remuneration report for details of the PSP and DBP schemes.

The Company also operates three cash-settled share-based payment arrangements, namely the Shadow PSP (SPSP), the Shadow RSP (SRSP) 
and the Shadow Deferred Bonus Plan (SDBP). These share-based payment arrangements mirror the conditions of the equity-settled PSP, RSP 
and DBP plans, the only difference being they are settled in cash. The Group recognised total expenses relating to cash-settled share-based 
payment transactions of £5m (2019: £6m).

Movements in share plans
Equity-settled share-based payment awards

2020 number of awards

Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year
Awards in lieu of dividends
Forfeited during the year
Exercised during the year
Expired during the year
Outstanding at 31 December
Exercisable at 31 December
Weighted average remaining contractual life (years) 
Weighted average share price at the date of exercise for awards exercised in the year 

2019 number of awards

Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year
Awards in lieu of dividends
Forfeited during the year
Exercised during the year
Expired during the year
Outstanding at 31 December
Exercisable at 31 December
Weighted average remaining contractual life (years) 
Weighted average share price at the date of exercise for awards exercised in the year 

PSP
conditional
awards

9,008,081
3,972,249
–
(1,740,854)
(1,680,913)
–
9,558,563
–
1.3
263.8

DBP
conditional
awards

1,896,170
1,041,528
–
(124,022)
(504,312)
–
2,309,364
–
1.4
216.6

PSP
conditional
awards

9,228,854
3,491,337
–
(1,721,747)
(1,990,363)
–
9,008,081
–
1.3
259.6p

DBP
conditional
awards

1,839,625
720,664
41,745
(71,534)
(634,330)
–
1,896,170
–
1.4
262.0p

RSP
conditional
awards

3,695,775
1,136,761
–
(199,044)
(1,092,400)
–
3,541,092
–
1.5
261.1

RSP
conditional
awards

3,283,682
1,540,549
74,051
(349,718)
(852,789)
–
3,695,775
–
1.6
245.3p

The principal assumptions, including expected volatility determined from the historical weekly share price movements over the three-year period 
immediately preceding the award date, used by the consultants in the stochastic model for the 33.3% of the PSP awards granted in 2020 
subject to market conditions, were:

Award date

Name of award

11 June 2020
23 March 2020

PSP award
PSP award

Closing
share 
price on
award date
Pence

259.0
197.3

Expected
volatility of
shares
%

31.39%
28.97%

Expected
term of
awards
Years

3.0
3.0

Risk-free
interest
rate
%

0.00
0.05

Calculated
fair value
of an
award
Pence

205.0
155.0

Number of
 awards

883,860
3,088,389

For the 66.7% of the PSP awards granted in 2020 subject to non-market conditions and for the DBP and RSP awards granted in 2020, the fair 
value of the awards is the closing share price on the date of grant.

Cash-settled share-based payment awards

2020 number of awards

Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year
Awards in lieu of dividends
Forfeited during the year
Exercised during the year
Expired during the year
Outstanding at 31 December
Exercisable at 31 December
Weighted average remaining contractual life (years) 
Weighted average share price at the date of exercise for awards exercised in the year 

SPSP
conditional
awards

7,771,941
3,989,675
–
(1,603,849)
(1,281,170)
–
8,876,597
–
1.3
263.1

SDBP
conditional
awards

328,737
831,076
–
(92,783)
–
–
1,067,030
–
1.7
–

SRSP
conditional
awards

1,102,053
544,000
–
(297,771)
–
–
1,348,282
–
1.4
–

As at 31 December 2020, the Group’s liability in respect of these cash-settled share-based payment awards amounted to £11m (2019: £9m). 
This liability has been recorded within accruals.

218

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED35 Share-based payments continued
Movements in share plans continued
Cash-settled share-based payment awards continued

2019 number of awards

Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year
Awards in lieu of dividends
Forfeited during the year
Exercised during the year
Expired during the year
Outstanding at 31 December
Exercisable at 31 December
Weighted average remaining contractual life (years) 
Weighted average share price at the date of exercise for awards exercised in the year 

SPSP
conditional
awards

5,771,435
3,139,866
–
(695,032)
(444,328)
–
7,771,941
–
1.3
261.4p

SDBP
conditional
awards

–
321,573
7,164
–
–
–
328,737
–
2.3
–

SRSP
conditional
awards

369,754
724,621
25,992
(18,314)
–
–
1,102,053
–
2.0
–

36 Commitments
Capital expenditure authorised and contracted for which has not been provided for in the financial statements amounted to £3m (2019: £7m) in 
the Group and £nil (2019: £nil) in the Company.

The Group has committed to provide its share of further equity funding and subordinated debt in Infrastructure Investments projects which 
have reached financial close. Refer to Note 41(f).

37 Contingent liabilities
The Company and certain subsidiary undertakings have, in the normal course of business, given guarantees and entered into counter-indemnities 
in respect of bonds relating to the Group’s own contracts and given guarantees in respect of their share of certain contractual obligations of joint 
ventures and associates and certain retirement benefit liabilities of the Balfour Beatty Pension Fund and the Railways Pension Scheme. Guarantees 
are treated as contingent liabilities until such time as it becomes probable payment will be required under the terms of the guarantee.

Provision has been made for the Directors’ best estimate of known legal claims, investigations and legal actions in progress. The Group takes 
legal advice as to the likelihood of success of claims and actions and no provision is made where the Directors consider, based on that advice, 
that the action is unlikely to succeed, or that the Group cannot make a sufficiently reliable estimate of the potential obligation.

In June 2019, allegations about the handling of certain work orders were publicised about a number of military bases managed by Balfour Beatty 
Communities (BBC). Subsequently, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) commenced an investigation into the allegations of false claims. Balfour 
Beatty instructed Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, BBC’s outside counsel, to conduct its own investigation, and BBC proactively contacted the DoJ to 
notify them of the review. Balfour Beatty’s own investigation is substantially complete, and the Group’s findings have been shared with the DoJ. 

The Group has made a provision in the current year for an estimate of the historical incentive fees that its investigation was unable to fully verify 
and which BBC has proposed to be repaid. The Group’s external counsel is engaging with the DoJ, with the intention of seeking resolution but as 
the DOJ investigation is still ongoing, the Group is not able to provide any further indication or measure with sufficient reliability the outcome of 
the investigation, including timing or any quantum of any possible fine, penalty or damages that may arise.

38 Related party transactions
Joint ventures and associates
The Group has contracted with, provided services to, and received management fees from, certain joint ventures and associates amounting to 
£345m (2019: £334m). These transactions occurred in the normal course of business at market rates and terms. In addition, the Group procured 
equipment and labour on behalf of certain joint ventures and associates which were recharged at cost with no mark-up. The amounts due from 
or to joint ventures and associates at the reporting date are disclosed in Notes 24 and 25 respectively.

Transactions with non-Group members
The Group also entered into transactions and had amounts outstanding with related parties which are not members of the Group as set out 
below. These companies were related parties as they are or were controlled or jointly controlled by a non-executive director of Balfour Beatty plc.

Sale of goods and services 
Anglian Water Group Ltd+
URENCO Ltd
Purchase of goods and services
Anchor QEA, LLC

2020
£m

5
–

1

2019
£m

19
2

–

+   Anglian Water Group Ltd ceased to be a related party of the Group on 31 March 2020 following the retirement of Stephen Billingham as chairman from the board of Anglian Water. The 

sales of goods and services to Anglian Water Group Ltd represents the sales carried out in periods up until his retirement.

All transactions with these related parties were conducted on normal commercial terms, equivalent to those conducted with external parties. 
At 31 December 2020, there were no amounts owed by or to these related parties (2019: £nil) and no guarantees have been given or received 
and no expense has been recognised in either year for bad or doubtful debts in respect of amounts owed by related parties.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

219

Financial statements38 Related party transactions continued
Compensation of key management personnel of the Company

Short-term benefits
Share-based payments

2020
£m

2.610
1.278
3.888

2019
£m

3.034
1.314
4.348

Key management personnel comprise the executive Directors who are directly responsible for the Group’s activities and the non-executive 
Directors. The compensation included above is in respect of the period of the year during which the individuals were Directors. Further details 
of Directors’ emoluments, post-employment benefits and interests are set out in the Remuneration report on pages 134 to 150.

39 Events after the reporting date
On 9 December 2020, the Company announced a £50m share buyback programme, which commenced on 5 January 2021. In the period from 
5 January 2021 to 8 March 2021 (the last practicable date prior to the date of this document), the Company purchased 8.6m ordinary shares to 
be held in treasury with no voting rights for a total consideration of £23.6m. On 9 March 2021, the Board decided to extend the Company’s 
initial share buyback programme to £150m for 2021.

During the year the Group received grant income of £19m in relation to the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme (JRS). This income was 
recognised as a non-underlying item in the Group’s results. Refer to Note 10.2.1. The furlough scheme provided welcome and timely support but the 
Group has made the decision post 31 December 2020 to voluntarily refund this income. Due to the timing of the decision to repay the JRS, there was 
no liability recognised at 31 December 2020 and the cost of the refund will be recognised as a non-underlying item within the Group’s 2021 results.

On 4 March 2021 the UK Government announced an intention to increase the rate of corporation tax to 25% with effect from 1 April 2023. It is currently 
expected that this will become substantively enacted during 2021 and hence the Group’s deferred tax balances will be reassessed at that time. The impact of 
this rate change would have been an increase of around £20m to the Group’s deferred tax assets as at 31 December 2020 if the tax increase had been 
substantively enacted by that date. The actual impact will be dependent on a number of factors including actuarial movements in the Group’s pension schemes.

As at 9 March 2021, there were no other material post balance sheet events arising after the reporting date.

40 Financial instruments
Capital risk management
The Group manages its capital to ensure its ability to continue as a going concern and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the 
cost of capital. The components of capital are as follows: equity attributable to equity holders of the Company comprising issued ordinary 
share capital, reserves and retained earnings as disclosed in Notes 31.1 and 32; US private placement as disclosed in Note 27; and cash and 
cash equivalents and borrowings as disclosed in Note 27.

The Group maintains or adjusts its capital structure through the payment of dividends to equity holders, issue of new shares and buyback of 
existing shares, and drawdown of new borrowings and repayment of existing borrowings. On 1 July 2020, the Company redeemed its 
convertible redeemable preference shares as disclosed in Note 31.2. The policy of the Group is to ensure an appropriate balance between 
cash, borrowings (other than the non-recourse borrowings of companies engaged in Infrastructure Investments projects), working capital and 
the value in the Infrastructure Investments investment portfolio.

The overall capital risk management strategy of the Group remains unchanged from 2019. 

On 9 December 2020, the Company announced a £50m share buyback programme, which commenced on 5 January 2021. Refer to Note 39. 

Categories of financial instruments

Loans and 
receivables 
at amortised 
cost, cash 
and deposits 
2020 
£m

Financial 
liabilities at 
amortised 
cost 
2020 
£m

Financial 
assets at 
fair value
through OCI
2020 
£m

Financial 
assets at 
amortised 
cost
2020 
£m

Derivatives 
2020 
£m

Loans and 
receivables 
at amortised 
cost, cash 
and deposits 
2019 
£m

Financial 
liabilities at 
amortised 
cost 
2019 
£m

Financial 
assets at 
fair value 
through OCI 
2019 
£m

Financial 
assets at 
amortised 
cost
2019 
£m

Derivatives 
2019 
£m

Financial assets
Fixed rate bonds and 
treasury stock
Mutual funds
PPP financial assets
Cash and deposits
Trade and other receivables
Total
Financial liabilities
Liability component of 
preference shares
Trade and other payables
Unsecured borrowings
Infrastructure concessions 
non-recourse term loans
Derivatives
Total
Net
Current year comprehensive 
income/(loss) excluding 
share of joint ventures and 
associates

–
–
–
792
1,047
1,839

–
–
–

–
–
–
1,839

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
(1,456)
(189)

(339)
–
(1,984)
(1,984)

–
21
155
–
–
176

–
–
–

–
–
–
176

27

(36)

15

220

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

5
–
–
–
–
5

–
–
–

–
–
–
5

–

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–
(36)
(36)
(36)

–
–
–
778
1,109
1,887

–
–
–

–
–
–
1,887

–
–
–
–
–
–

(110)
(1,570)
(231)

(337)
–
(2,248)
(2,248)

–
22
155
–
–
177

–
–
–

–
–
–
177

(4)

24

(49)

14

5
–
–
–
–
5

–
–
–

–
–
–
5

2

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–
(32)
(32)
(32)

(6)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED40 Financial instruments continued
Derivatives

Interest rate swaps
Designated as cash flow hedges

Financial liabilities

Financial liabilities

Current 
2020 
£m

(4)
(4)

Non-
current 
2020 
£m

(32)
(32)

Total 
2020 
£m

(36)
(36)

Current 
2019 
£m

(4)
(4)

Non-
current 
2019 
£m

(28)
(28)

Total 
2019 
£m

(32)
(32)

Non-derivative financial liabilities gross maturity
The following table details the remaining contractual maturity for the Group’s non-derivative financial liabilities. The table reflects the 
undiscounted contractual maturities of the financial liabilities including interest that will accrue on those liabilities except where the Group is 
entitled to and intends to repay the liability before its maturity. The discount column represents the possible future cash flows included in the 
maturity analysis, such as future interest, that are not included in the carrying value of the financial liability. 

Maturity profile of the Group’s non-derivative financial liabilities at 31 December

Due on demand or within one year
Due within one to two years
Due within two to five years
Due after more than five years

Discount
Carrying value

Due on demand or within one year
Due within one to two years
Due within two to five years
Due after more than five years

Discount
Carrying value

Non-recourse
project 
finance 
2020 
£m

Other
borrowings 
2020 
£m

(7)
(9)
(59)
(469)
(544)
205
(339)

–
–
(189)
–
(189)
–
(189)

Non-recourse
project 
finance 
2019 
£m
(6)
(9)
(59)
(496)
(570)
233
(337)

Other
borrowings 
2019 
£m
(35)
–
(158)
(38)
(231)
–
(231)

Other 
financial
liabilities 
2020 
£m

(1,335)
(64)
(51)
(6)
(1,456)
–
(1,456)

Other 
financial
liabilities 
2019 
£m
(1,580)
(48)
(44)
(10)
(1,682)
2
(1,680)

Total non- 
derivative
financial
liabilities 
2020 
£m

(1,342)
(73)
(299)
(475)
(2,189)
205
(1,984)

Total non- 
derivative
financial
liabilities 
2019
£m
(1,621)
(57)
(261)
(544)
(2,483)
235
(2,248)

Discount 
2020 
£m

1
–
2
202
205

Discount
2019 
£m
4
1
5
225
235

Carrying 
value 
2020 
£m

(1,341)
(73)
(297)
(273)
(1,984)

Carrying 
value 
2019 
£m
(1,617)
(56)
(256)
(319)
(2,248)

Derivative financial liabilities gross maturity
The following table details the Group’s expected maturity for its derivative financial liabilities. The table reflects the undiscounted net cash 
inflows/(outflows) on the derivative instruments that settle on a net basis (interest rate swaps) and undiscounted gross inflows/(outflows) for 
those derivatives that are settled on a gross basis (foreign exchange contracts). When the amount payable or receivable is not fixed, the 
amount disclosed has been determined by reference to the projected interest rates, using the yield curves at the reporting date.

Maturity profile of the Group’s derivative financial liabilities at 31 December

Due on demand or within one year
Due within one to two years
Due within two to five years
Due after more than five years
Total

Payable 
2020 
£m

Receivable 
2020 
£m

(37)
(12)
(15)
(22)
(86)

33
8
4
–
45

Net 
payable 
2020 
£m

(4)
(4)
(11)
(22)
(41)

Payable 
2019 
£m

Receivable 
2019 
£m

(23)
(5)
(11)
(21)
(60)

19
2
2
–
23

Net 
payable 
2019
£m

(4)
(3)
(9)
(21)
(37)

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

221

Financial statements40 Financial instruments continued
Financial risk factors
The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks: market risk; credit risk; and liquidity risk. The Group’s financial risk management 
strategy seeks to minimise the potential adverse effect of these risks on the Group’s financial performance.

Financial risk management is carried out centrally by Group Treasury under policies approved by the Board. Group Treasury liaises with the Group’s 
operating companies to identify, evaluate and hedge financial risks. The Board provides written principles for overall financial risk management, 
as well as written policies covering specific areas, such as foreign exchange risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, use of derivative financial instruments 
and non-derivative financial instruments, and the investment of excess liquidity. Compliance with policies and exposure limits is monitored 
through the Group’s internal audit and risk management procedures. The Group uses derivative financial instruments to hedge certain risk 
exposures. The Group does not trade in financial instruments, including derivative financial instruments, for speculative purposes.

(a) Market risk
The Group’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. The Group enters 
into a variety of derivative financial instruments to manage its exposure to interest rate and foreign currency risk, including:

 » forward foreign exchange contracts to hedge the exchange rate risk arising on trading activities transacted in a currency that is not the functional 

currency of the operating company; and

 » interest rate swaps to mitigate the cash flow variability in non-recourse project finance loans arising from variable interest rates on borrowings.

There has been no material change to the Group’s exposure to market risks and there has been no change in how the Group manages those 
risks since 2019.

(i) Foreign currency risk management
The Group operates internationally and is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from exposure to various currencies, primarily to US dollars, euros 
and Hong Kong dollars. Foreign exchange risk arises from future trading transactions, assets and liabilities and net investments in foreign operations.

Group policy requires operating companies to manage their transactional foreign exchange risk against their functional currency. Whenever a 
current or future foreign currency exposure is identified with sufficient reliability, Group Treasury enters into forward contracts on behalf of 
operating companies to cover 100% of foreign exchange risk above materiality levels determined by the Chief Financial Officer.

Refer to page 221 for details of forward foreign exchange contracts outstanding at the reporting date in respect of foreign currency 
transactional exposures.

As at 31 December 2020, the notional principal amounts of foreign exchange contracts in respect of foreign currency transactions where 
hedge accounting is not applied was £45m (2019: £18m) receivable and £45m (2019: £18m) payable with related cash flows expected to occur 
within five years (2019: five years). The foreign exchange gains or losses resulting from fair valuing these unhedged foreign exchange contracts 
will affect the income statement throughout the same periods.

In 2020, the Group has not designated any forward exchange contracts as cash flow hedges. In 2019, the Group designated forward exchange 
contracts with a notional principal amount of £5m receivable and £5m payable as cash flow hedges against highly probable cash flows which were 
expected to occur within five years. Fair value gains on these contracts of £nil were taken to hedging reserves through other comprehensive 
income in 2019. 

No significant amounts in relation to hedge ineffectiveness have been charged or credited to the income statement in relation to any foreign 
exchange cash flow hedges.

The Group’s investments in foreign operations are exposed to foreign currency translation risks. The Group does not enter into forward foreign 
exchange or other derivative contracts to hedge foreign currency denominated net assets.

In March 2013, the Group raised US$350m through a US private placement which has been designated as a net investment hedge against changes 
in the value of the Group’s US net assets due to exchange movements. On 7 March 2018, the Group repaid the first tranche of this loan amounting to 
US$45m. On 5 March 2020, the Group repaid the second tranche of this loan amounting to US$46m. The Group has reassessed this hedge 
and has concluded that the hedge continues to be effective. Exchange movements in the year totalled £6m (2019: £8m). A 5% increase/
decrease in the US dollar to sterling exchange rate would lead to a £9m decrease (2019: £11m)/£9m increase (2019: £12m) in the carrying 
amount of the liability on the Group’s balance sheet, with the movement recognised in other comprehensive income. 

The hedging policy is reviewed periodically. At the reporting date there had been no change to the hedging policies since 2019.

(ii) Interest rate risk management
Interest rate risk arises in the Group’s non-recourse project companies which borrow funds at both floating and fixed interest rates and hold 
financial assets measured at fair value through OCI. Floating rate borrowings expose the Group to cash flow interest rate risk. The Group’s 
policy to manage this risk is to swap floating rate interest to fixed rate, using interest rate swap contracts.

In an interest rate swap, the Group agrees to exchange the difference between fixed and floating rate interest amounts calculated on agreed 
notional principal amounts. The net effect of a movement in interest rates on income would be immaterial. The fair value of interest rate swaps 
is determined by discounting the future cash flows using the yield curve at the reporting date.

During 2020 and 2019, the Group’s non-recourse project subsidiaries’ borrowings at variable rates of interest were denominated in sterling.

The notional principal amounts of the subsidiaries’ interest rate swaps outstanding at 31 December 2020 totalled £101m (2019: £105m) with maturities 
that match the maturity of the underlying borrowings ranging from one year to 19 years.

At 31 December 2020, the fixed interest rates range from 3.5% to 5.1% (2019: 3.5% to 5.1%) and the principal floating rates are LIBOR plus a 
fixed margin.

222

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED40 Financial instruments continued
Financial risk factors continued
(a) Market risk continued
(ii) Interest rate risk management continued
A 50 basis point increase/decrease in the interest rate in which financial instruments are held would lead to a £5m increase (2019: £5m)/£6m 
decrease (2019: £6m) in amounts taken directly to other comprehensive income by the Group in relation to the Group’s exposure to interest 
rates on the PPP financial assets and cash flow hedges of its Infrastructure Investments subsidiaries.

Interest rate risk also arises on the Group’s cash and cash equivalents, term deposits and other borrowings. The majority of the debt of the 
Group is held at fixed interest rates. A 50 basis point increase/decrease in the interest rate of each currency in which these financial instruments 
are held would lead to a £4.6m decrease (2019: £4.0m)/£4.6m increase (2019: £4.0m) in the Group’s net finance cost.

(iii) Price risk management
The Group’s principal price risk exposure arises in its Infrastructure Investments concessions. At the commencement of the concession, an 
element of the unitary payment by the customer is indexed to offset the effect of inflation on the concession’s costs. The Group is exposed to 
price risk to the extent that inflation differs from the index used.

(b) Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations, resulting in financial loss. Credit risk arises from cash and 
deposits, derivative financial instruments, loans provided to joint ventures and associates and credit exposures to customers, including 
outstanding receivables and committed transactions. The Group has a policy of assessing the creditworthiness of potential customers before 
entering into transactions.

For cash and deposits and derivative financial instruments, the Group has a policy of only using counterparties that are independently rated 
with a minimum long-term credit rating of BBB+ and at 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2019, this criterion was met. The credit rating of 
a financial institution will determine the amount and duration for which funds may be deposited under individual risk limits set by the Board of 
Directors for the Group and subsidiary companies. Management monitors the utilisation of these credit limits regularly.

For trade and other receivables, credit evaluation is performed on the financial condition of accounts receivable using independent ratings 
where available or by assessment of the customer’s credit quality based on its financial position, past experience and other factors. The 
Group’s most significant customers are public or regulated industry entities which generally have high credit ratings or are of a high credit 
quality due to the nature of the customer. As such, the Group does not expect material credit losses to occur on balances owed to the Group 
by its public or regulated customers. This is in line with the Group’s experience in the past of recovering balances owed by these customers.

The Group is exposed to credit risk on loans provided to joint ventures and associates, as the repayment of these loans is contingent on the 
performance of the underlying concession or operation. In the Infrastructure Investments segment the concessions are typically financed by a 
combination of non-recourse external borrowings and subordinated loans provided by the joint venture partners. The Group assesses any 
expected credit losses on its loans provided to joint ventures and associates by comparing the carrying value of the relevant investment in joint 
venture or associate balance (which includes the loans provided) to future cash flows expected to be received from the joint venture or 
associate, discounted where appropriate. 

The maximum exposure to credit risk in respect of the above at the reporting date is the carrying value of financial assets recorded in the 
financial statements, net of any allowance for losses.

There has been no material change to the Group’s exposure to credit risks and there has been no change in how the Group manages those 
risks since 2019.

(c) Liquidity risk
The Group manages liquidity risk by maintaining adequate cash balances and banking facilities, continuously monitoring forecast and actual 
cash flows and matching the maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities. Details of undrawn committed borrowing facilities are set out in 
Note 27.1. The maturity profile of the Group’s financial liabilities is set out on page 221.

There has been no material change to the Group’s exposure to liquidity risks and there has been no change in how the Group manages those 
risks since 2019.

Fair value estimation
The Group holds certain financial instruments on the balance sheet at their fair values. The following hierarchy classifies each class of financial 
asset or liability in accordance with the valuation technique applied in determining its fair value.

There have been no transfers between these categories during 2020 or 2019.

Level 1 – The fair value is calculated based on quoted prices traded in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. 

The Group holds investments in mutual funds measured at fair value through OCI which are traded in active markets and valued at the closing 
market price at the reporting date.

Level 2 – The fair value is based on inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either 
directly or indirectly.

The fair value of interest rate swaps is calculated as the present value of the estimated future cash flows utilising yield curves at the reporting 
date and taking into account own credit risk. Own credit risk for Infrastructure Investments’ swaps is not material and is calculated using the 
following credit valuation adjustment (CVA) calculation: loss given default multiplied by exposure multiplied by probability of default.

The fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts is determined using quoted forward exchange rates at the reporting date and yield curves 
derived from quoted interest rates matching the maturities of the foreign exchange contracts. Own credit risk for the other derivative liabilities 
is not material and is calculated by applying a relevant credit default swap (CDS) rate obtained from a third party.

Level 3 – The fair value is based on unobservable inputs.

The fair value of the Group’s PPP financial assets is determined in the construction phase by applying an attributable profit margin by reference to 
the construction margin on non-PPP projects reflecting the construction risks retained by the construction contractor, and fair value of construction 
services performed. In the operational phase it is determined by discounting the future cash flows allocated to the financial asset at a discount 
rate which is based on long-term gilt rates adjusted for the risk levels associated with the assets, with market-related movements in fair value 
recognised in other comprehensive income and other movements recognised in the income statement. Amounts originally recognised in other 
comprehensive income are transferred to the income statement upon disposal of the asset. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

223

Financial statements40 Financial instruments continued
Financial risk factors continued 
(c) Liquidity risk continued
Fair value estimation continued
A change in the discount rate would have a significant effect on the value of the asset and a 50 basis point increase/decrease, which represents 
management’s assessment of a reasonably possible change in the risk-adjusted discount rate, would lead to a £6m decrease (2019: £6m)/£6m 
increase (2019: £7m) in the fair value of the assets taken through equity. Refer to Note 21 for a reconciliation of the movement from the opening 
balance to the closing balance.

For PPP financial assets held in joint ventures and associates, a change in the discount rate by 50 basis point increase/decrease, which represents 
management’s assessment of a reasonably possible change in the risk-adjusted discount rate, would lead to a £53m decrease (2019: £44m)/£56m 
increase (2019: £47m) in the fair value of the assets taken through equity within the share of joint ventures and associates reserves. 

Financial instruments at fair value

Investments in mutual fund financial assets
PPP financial assets
Total assets measured at fair value
Financial liabilities – infrastructure  
concessions interest rate swaps
Total liabilities measured at fair value

2020

2019

Level 1
£m

Level 2
£m

Level 3
£m

21
–
21

–
–

–
–
–

(36)
(36)

–
155
155

–
–

Total
£m

21
155
176

(36)
(36)

Level 1
£m

Level 2
£m

Level 3
£m

22
–
22

–
–

–
–
–

(32)
(32)

–
155
155

–
–

Total
£m

22
155
177

(32)
(32)

41 Principal subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates
(a) Principal subsidiaries

Construction and support services 
Balfour Beatty Group Ltd
Balfour Beatty Construction Group Inc
Balfour Beatty Construction, LP
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc
Infrastructure Investments
Balfour Beatty Communities LLC
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Investments Ltd*
Balfour Beatty Investments Inc
Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions LLC
Balfour Beatty Investments, LP
Balfour Beatty Communities, LP
Other
Balfour Beatty Holdings Inc. 
Delphian Insurance Company Ltd*

(b) Principal joint ventures and associates

Construction and support services
Gammon China Ltd
Infrastructure Investments (Note 41)
Connect Plus (M25) Ltd

Country of incorporation 
or registration

US
Canada
US

US

US
US
Canada
Canada

US
Isle of Man

Country of incorporation 
or registration

Ownership interest 
%

Hong Kong

50.0

15.0

(c) Principal joint operations
The Group carries out a number of its larger contracts in joint arrangements with other contractors so as to share resources and risk. The principal 
joint projects in progress during the year are shown below.

M25 Maintenance
M4 Junction 3–12
HS2 – Area North
Skanska/Balfour Beatty 
Driscoll/Balfour Beatty 
Greenline Extension 
LAX Integrated Express Solutions 

Country of incorporation 
or registration

Ownership interest 
%

52.5
60.0
50.0
50.0
35.0
25.0
30.0

US
US 
US
US

Notes
(i)  Subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates whose results did not, in the opinion of the Directors, materially affect the results or net assets of the Group are not shown. 

(ii) Unless otherwise stated, 100% of the equity capital is owned and companies are registered in England and Wales and the principal operations of each company are conducted in the 

country of incorporation. 

* 

Indicates held directly by Balfour Beatty plc. 

A full list of the Group’s related undertakings is included in Note 43.

224

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED41 Principal subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates continued
(d) Balfour Beatty Investments UK
Roads
Balfour Beatty is a promoter, developer and investor in 13 road and street lighting projects to construct new roads, to upgrade and maintain 
existing roads and to replace and maintain street lighting. The principal contract is the project agreement with the governmental highway 
authority. All assets transfer to the customer at the end of the concession.

Concession company (i)

Project

£m Shareholding

Total debt 
and equity 
funding 

Method of 
accounting

Financial
close

Duration
years

Construction
completion

Connect M1-A1 Ltd
Connect A50 Ltd
Connect A30/A35 Ltd
Connect M77/GSO plc (ii)
Connect Roads Sunderland Ltd
Connect Roads South Tyneside Ltd
Connect Roads Derby Ltd
Connect Plus (M25) Ltd

Connect CNDR Ltd

Connect Roads Coventry Ltd
Connect Roads Cambridgeshire Ltd
Connect Roads Northamptonshire Ltd
Aberdeen Roads Ltd

30km road
57km road
102km road
25km road
Streetlighting
Streetlighting
Streetlighting
J16 – J23, J27 – J30 and 
A1(M) Hatfield Tunnel
Carlisle Northern 
Development Route
Streetlighting
Streetlighting
Streetlighting
Aberdeen Western 
Peripheral Route

290
42
127
167
27
28
36

1,309

176
56
51
64

20%
25%
20%
85%
20%
20%

March 1996
JV
May 1996
JV
July 1996
JV
May 2003
JV
JV
August 2003
JV December 2005
April 2007

100% Subsidiary

15%

25%
20%
20%
20%

JV

JV
JV
JV
JV

May 2009

July 2009
August 2010
April 2011
August 2011

665

33.3%

JV December 2014

30
30
30
32
25
25
25

30

30
25
25
25

33

1999
1998
2000
2005
2008
2010
2012

2012

2012
2015
2016
2016

2020

Notes
(i)  Registered in England and Wales and the principal operations of each company are in England and Wales, except Connect M77/GSO plc and Aberdeen Roads Ltd which are registered in 

and conduct their principal operations in Scotland.

(ii)  Due to the shareholders’ agreement between Balfour Beatty and the other shareholder requiring unanimity of agreement in respect of significant matters related to the financial and 

operating policies of this company, the Directors consider that the Group does not control this company and it has been accounted for as a joint venture.

Healthcare
Balfour Beatty is a promoter, developer and investor in three healthcare projects to build hospital accommodation and to provide certain non-medical 
facilities management services over the concession period. The principal contract is the project agreement between the concession company and 
the NHS Trust and in the case of the Irish Primary Care Centres, the Irish Government. All assets transfer to the customer at the end of the concession.

Concession company (i)

Project

£m Shareholding

Total debt 
and equity 
funding 

Method of 
accounting

Financial
close

Duration
years

Construction
completion

Consort Healthcare (Birmingham) Ltd 

Woodland View Project Co Ltd

Healthcare Centres PPP Ltd

Teaching hospital and 
mental health hospital
Mental health hospital in 
Irvine
Primary health care 
centres

553

40%

JV

June 2006

58

100% Subsidiary

June 2014

158

40%

JV

May 2016

40

27

26

2011

2016 

2019

Note
(i)  Registered in England and Wales and the principal operations of each company are in England and Wales, except Woodland View Project Co Ltd which is registered in and conducts its 

principal operations in Scotland and Healthcare Centres PPP Ltd which is registered in and conducts its principal operations in Ireland.

Student accommodation
Balfour Beatty is a promoter, developer and investor in four student accommodation projects. On Holyrood, Sussex and Aberystwyth, the principal 
agreement is between the concession company and the university and the assets transfer to the customer at the end of the concession. 
On Glasgow Residences the building is owned outright by Balfour Beatty and rooms will be let to individual students.

Concession company (i)

Project

Holyrood Student Accommodation SPV Ltd
Edinburgh
Aberystwyth Student Accommodation Ltd Aberystwyth
Glasgow Residences (Kennedy Street) 
SPV Ltd
East Slope Residencies Student 
Accommodation LLP

Glasgow

Sussex

Total debt 
and equity 
funding 
£m

82
51

40

Shareholding

Method of
accounting

20%

JV
100% Subsidiary

July 2013
July 2013

Financial
close

Duration
years

Construction
completion

50
35

n/a

50

2016
2015

2017

2020

100% Subsidiary

April 2016

218

80% Subsidiary

March 2017

Note
(i)  Registered in England and Wales and the principal operations of each company are in England and Wales except Holyrood Student Accommodation SPV Ltd and Glasgow Residences 

(Kennedy Street) SPV Ltd which are registered in and conduct their principal operations in Scotland. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

225

Financial statements41 Principal subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates continued
(d) Balfour Beatty Investments UK continued
Other concessions
Pevensey Coastal Defence Ltd (PCDL) has a 25-year contract with the Environment Agency to maintain a shingle bank sea defence in East Sussex. 
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue NW Ltd is contracted by the local authority to design, construct, fund and provide facilities for 16 community 
firestations in Merseyside, Cumbria and Lancashire. UBB Waste (Gloucestershire) Ltd has a contract with the local authority to design, build 
and operate a sustainable waste treatment facility. Thanet involves the operation of transmission assets for the 300MW offshore windfarm 
project located off the Kent coast. Gwynt y Môr involves the operation of transmission assets for the 576MW offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea. 
Humber involves the operation of transmission assets for the 219MW offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Thanet, Gwynt y Môr and Humber 
operate and maintain the transmission assets under the terms of perpetual licences granted by Ofgem which contain the right to be paid a 
revenue stream over a 20-year period on an availability basis. Welland Bio Power involves the design, construction, financing, operation and 
maintenance of a 10.4MW waste wood gasifier located at Pebble Hall Farm, Thredingworth. The East Wick and Sweetwater development is a 
London Legacy Development Corporation project which will result in the creation of two communities, East Wick and Sweetwater, at the 
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. With the exception of the Welland Bio Power plant and the Eastwick and Sweetwater project, all 
assets transfer to the customer at the end of the relevant concession. 

Concession company (i)

Project

Sea defences

Pevensey Coastal Defence Ltd
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue 
NW Ltd
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Phase 1) Ltd
Property development
UBB Waste (Gloucestershire) Ltd Waste processing plant
Offshore transmission
Thanet OFTO Ltd
Offshore transmission
Gwynt y Môr OFTO plc (ii)
Waste wood gasifier
Welland Bio Power Ltd
Offshore transmission
Humber Gateway OFTO Ltd

Fire stations

Total debt 
and equity 
funding 
£m

3

55

90
223
197
256
17
187

Method of 
accounting

Financial
close

Duration
years

Construction
completion

Shareholding

25%

JV

July 2000

100% Subsidiary

February 2011

50%

JV
49.5% Associate
JV
JV
JV
JV

20%
60%
25%
20%

January 2019
January 2016
December 2014
February 2015
March 2015
September 2016

25

25

3
25
20
20
n/a
20

n/a

2013

2021
2019
n/a
n/a
2018
n/a

Notes
(i)  Registered in England and Wales and the principal operations of each company are in England and Wales.

(ii)  Due to the shareholders’ agreement between Balfour Beatty and the other shareholders requiring unanimity of agreement in respect of significant matters related to the financial and 

operating policies of this company, the Directors consider that the Group does not control this company and it has been accounted for as a joint venture.

(e) Balfour Beatty Investments North America
Military housing
Summary Balfour Beatty through its subsidiary Balfour Beatty Communities LLC is a manager, developer, and investor in a number of US 
military privatisation projects associated with a total of 55 US government military bases which includes 55 military family housing communities 
and one unaccompanied personnel housing community that are expected to contain approximately 43,000 housing units once development, 
construction and renovation are complete.

The projects comprise 11 military family housing privatisation projects with the United States Department of the Army (Army), seven projects 
with the United States Department of the Air Force (Air Force) and two projects with the United States Department of the Navy (Navy). In addition, 
there is one unaccompanied personnel housing (UPH) project with the Army at Fort Stewart.

Contractual arrangements The first phase of the project, known as the initial development period, covers the period of initial construction or 
renovation of military housing on a base, typically lasting three to eight years. With respect to Army and Navy projects, the government becomes 
a member or partner of the project entity (Project LLC); the Air Force is not a named partner or member in Balfour Beatty Communities’ Project 
LLCs, however it contributes a commitment to provide a government direct loan to the Project LLC and has similar rights to share in distributions 
and cash flows of the Project LLC. On each project, the Project LLC enters into a ground lease with the government, which provides the Project 
LLC with a leasehold interest in the land and title to the improvements on the land for a period of 50 years. Each of these military housing 
privatisation projects includes agreements covering the management, renovation, and development of existing housing units, as well as the 
development, construction, renovation and management of new units during the term of the project, which, in the case of the Army, could 
potentially extend for up to an additional 25 years. The 50-year duration of each project calls for continuous renovation, rehabilitation, 
demolition and reconstruction of housing units. At the end of the ground lease term the Project LLC’s leasehold interest terminates and all 
project improvements on the land generally transfer to the government.

Preferred returns The projects will typically receive, to the extent that adequate funds are available, an annual minimum preferred return. On 
most existing projects, this annual minimum preferred return ranges from 9% to 12% of Balfour Beatty Communities’ initial equity contribution 
to the project. 

226

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED41 Principal subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates continued
(e) Balfour Beatty Investments North America continued
Military housing continued
Allocation of remaining operating cash flow Operating cash flow remaining after the annual minimum preferred return is paid is shared 
between Balfour Beatty Communities and the reinvestment account held by the project for the benefit of the government. On most of the 
existing projects, the total amount that Balfour Beatty Communities is entitled to receive (inclusive of the preferred return) is generally capped 
at an annual modified rate of return, or cash-on-cash return, on its initial equity contribution to the project. Historically, these caps have ranged 
between approximately 9% to 18% depending on the particular project and the type of return (annual modified rates of return or cash-on-cash). 
However, in some of the more recent projects, there are either no annual caps or lower projected annual rates of return. The total capped 
return generally will include the annual minimum preferred return. The reinvestment account is an account established for the benefit of the 
military, but funds may be withdrawn for construction, development and renovation costs during the remaining life of a privatisation project 
upon approval by the applicable military service.

Return of equity Generally, at the end of a project term, any monies remaining in the reinvestment account are distributed to Balfour Beatty 
Communities and the Army, Navy or Air Force, in a predetermined order of priority. Typically these distributions will have the effect of providing 
the parties with sufficient funds to provide a minimum annual return over the life of the project and a complete return of the initial capital contribution. 
After payment of the minimum annual return and the return of a party’s initial contribution, all remaining funds will typically be distributed to the 
applicable military service.

Military concession company (i)

Military family housing
Fort Carson Family Housing LLC
– Fort Carson expansion
– Fort Carson GTA expansion
– Fort Carson GTA II expansion
Stewart Hunter Housing LLC
Fort Hamilton Housing LLC
Fort Detrick/Walter Reed Army Medical Center 
Housing LLC
Northeast Housing LLC
Fort Eustis/Fort Story Housing LLC
– Fort Eustis expansion
– Fort Eustis – Marseilles Village
Fort Bliss/White Sands Missile Range Housing LP
– Fort Bliss expansion
– Fort Bliss GTA expansion phase I
– Fort Bliss GTA expansion phase II
Fort Gordon Housing LLC
Carlisle/Picatinny Family Housing LP
– Carlisle Heritage Heights phase II
AETC Housing LP
Southeast Housing LLC
Vandenberg Housing LP
Leonard Wood Family Communities LLC
AMC West Housing LP
West Point Housing LLC
Fort Jackson Housing LLC
Lackland Family Housing LLC
Western Group Housing LP
Northern Group Housing LLC
ACC Group Housing LLC
Military unaccompanied personnel housing
Stewart Hunter Housing LLC

Total project
funding 
US$m

Projects

Financial 
close

Duration 
years

Construction
completion

Army base

Two Army bases
Army base

Two Army bases
Seven Navy bases
Two Army bases

Two Army bases

Army base
Two Army bases

Four Air Force bases
11 Navy bases
Air Force base
Army base
Three Air Force bases
Army base
Army base
Air Force base
Four Air Force bases
Six Air Force bases
Two Air Force bases

176
130
99
68
374
61

November 2003
November 2006
April 2010
June 2015
November 2003
June 2004

July 2004
112
November 2004
496
March 2005
175
July 2010
8
March 2013
26
July 2005
427
December 2009
46
July 2011
156
November 2012
146
May 2006
109
July 2006
84
October 2012
21
February 2007
359
November 2007
558
November 2007
155
Acquired June 2008
231
July 2008
428
August 2008
220
181
October 2008
105 Acquired December 2008
March 2012
328
August 2013
427
June 2014
56

36 

January 2008

46
43
39
34
50
50

50
50
50
45
42
50
46
44
43
50
50
44
50
50
50
47
50
50
50
50
50
50
50

50

2004
2010
2013
2018
2012
2009

2008
2010
2011
2011
2015
2011
2011
2014
2016
2012
2011
2014
2012
2013
2012
2014
2015
2016
2013
2013
2017
2019
2018

2010

Note
(i)  Registered in the US and the principal operations of each project are conducted in the US.

The Group evaluated each of its interests in the military housing projects to determine if the entities should be consolidated. This analysis 
included, but was not limited to, identifying the activities that most significantly impact an entity’s economic performance, which party or 
parties control those activities and the risks associated with these entities. Decision-making power over key facets of the contracts was 
evaluated when determining which party or parties had control over the activities that most significantly impacted a project’s economics. 
Based on this review, the Directors consider that the Group does not have the power to direct these activities and does not have control and 
therefore the Group does not consolidate the military housing projects and accounts for these projects as investments in associates.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

227

Financial statements41 Principal subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates continued
(e) Balfour Beatty Investments North America continued
Hospitals
Summary Balfour Beatty is a developer, operator and investor in one hospital project in Canada.

Contractual arrangements The principal contract is the project agreement between the concession company and the authority. An inflation-indexed 
payment is primarily based upon availability of the hospitals subject to any performance related deductions. The construction services for the 
project were subcontracted to a joint venture in which the Group had a 50% participation and the facilities maintenance services were subcontracted 
to a joint venture in which the Group has a 50% participation. The payments for the soft facilities management services are initially market 
adjusted after the third year of operations and then every six years thereafter. All assets transfer to the authority at the end of the concession.

Hospital
Affinity Partnerships (i)(ii)

Project
BC Children’s and BC 
Women’s Hospitals

Total project 
funding 
C$m

Shareholding

Method of 
accounting

Financial 
close

Duration 
years

Construction 
completion

454

70%

JV

April 2014

33

2017

Notes
(i)  Registered in the province of Manitoba in Canada and the principal operations of each project are conducted in British Columbia, Canada.

(ii)  Balfour Beatty has joint control over the project through unanimous consent from all shareholders over all significant operating and financing decisions, and therefore does not consolidate 

the project.

Aviation
Summary Balfour Beatty is a developer, operator and investor in an automated people mover at the Los Angeles airport. The people mover 
will be a 2.25-mile above ground airport transport system. 

Contractual arrangements The principal contract is the project agreement between the concession partnership and the authority. All assets 
transfer to the authority at the end of the concession.

Concession partnership

LAX Integrated Express Solutions LLC (i)

Project

LINXS

Total project 
funding 
US$m

Shareholding

Method of 
accounting

Financial 
close

Duration 
years

Construction 
completion

2,506

27%

JV

June 2018

30

2023

Note
(i)  Registered in the US and the principal operations of the project are conducted in the US.

Residential investments
Summary Balfour Beatty is a developer, operator and investor in 12 multifamily residential projects.

Contractual arrangements Balfour Beatty has formed joint ventures to acquire residential apartment buildings for 12 multifamily residential 
projects. For all residential projects, the joint ventures entered into agreements with Balfour Beatty Communities LLC to perform the 
operations and renovation work.

Residential investments (i)

Carolina Cove (Wilmington) Owner LLC (North Carolina)
Riverchase Landing (Hoover) Owner, LLC (Alabama)
Zephyr Ridge (Zephyrhills) Owner, LLC (Tampa, Florida)
Lexington (Ridgeland) Owner, LLC (Jackson, Mississippi)
Southwind (Memphis) Owner, LLC (Tennessee) (ii)
Waterchase (Largo) Owner, LLC (Florida)
Wolfchase (Bartlett) Owner, LLC (Tennessee)
Landings (Jacksonville) Owner, LLC (Florida)
Retreat at Schillinger (Mobile) Owner, LLC (Alabama)
Paces Brook (Columbia) Owner, LLC (South Carolina)
Chenal Pointe (Little Rock) Owner, LLC (Arkansas)
Moretti (Homewood) Owner, LLC (Alabama)

Total project 
funding 
US$m

Shareholding

Method of 
accounting

Financial 
close

Renovation 
completion

48
44
31
27
40
36
48
48
33
27
34
34

50%
8%
50%
50%
20%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%

JV
JV
JV
JV
JV
JV
JV
JV
JV
JV
JV
JV

December 2017
March 2018
August 2018
August 2018
December 2018
April 2019
June 2019
August 2019
December 2019
December 2019
October 2020
December 2020

2018
2025
2025
2025
2025
2025
2025
2025
2026
2026
2027
2027

Notes
(i)  Registered in the US and the principal operations of each project are conducted in the US.

(ii)  Under the joint venture terms, Balfour Beatty maintains a 20% voting ownership interest in the entity and a 15% economic ownership in regard to distributions.

228

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED41 Principal subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates continued
(e) Balfour Beatty Investments North America continued
Student accommodation
Summary Through its subsidiary, Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions LLC, Balfour Beatty is a manager on one student accommodation project, 
where it also acted as a developer. Balfour Beatty is also a developer and owner of five additional student accommodation projects. 

Contractual arrangements The principal contract in the Florida Atlantic University project is the property management agreement with the 
state university setting out the obligations for the operation and maintenance of the student accommodation. The principal contracts in the 
other student accommodation projects where Balfour Beatty is an owner are the ground leases, development leases and operating agreements 
with the state universities setting out the obligations for the construction, operation and maintenance of the student accommodation including 
lifecycle replacement during the concession period.

Concession company (i)

C-BB Management LLC/C-BBC Development LLC 
(Florida)
Northside Campus Partners LP (Texas Dallas)
Northside Campus Partners 2, LP (Texas Dallas)
Northside Campus Partners 3, LP (Texas Dallas) (iii)
Northside Campus Partners 4, LP (Texas Dallas) (iii)
Balfour Beatty-Walsh Housing LLC (Purdue) (iii)

Total project 
funding 
US$m

100
54
67
36
70
88

Shareholding

Method of 
accounting

Financial 
close

Duration 
years

Construction 
completion

(ii)
10%
10%
70%
65%
67%

JV
JV
JV
JV
JV
JV

March 2010
March 2015
February 2017
June 2019
December 2019
January 2018

30
61
61
61
61
45

2011
2016
2018
2020
2021
2019

Notes
(i)  Registered in the US and the principal operations of each project are conducted in the US.

(ii) 50% holding in the management company. 

(iii) Due to the shareholders’/partnership agreement between Balfour Beatty and the other shareholder/partner requiring unanimity of agreement in respect of significant matters related to the 

financial and operating policies of this undertaking, the Directors consider that the Group does not control this undertaking and it has been accounted for as a joint venture.

(f) Balfour Beatty Investments UK and North America
Total future committed equity and debt funding for Infrastructure Investments’ project companies

Concessions

UK
Other concessions

North America
Aviation
Multifamily housing

Projects at financial close
Projects at preferred bidder stage
Total

2021 
£m

2022 
£m

2023 
£m

2024 
onwards 
£m

Total 
£m

7
7

–
3
3
10
3
7
10

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–

21
–
21
21
21
–
21

–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

7
7

21
3
24
31
24
7
31

42 Audit exemptions taken for subsidiaries
The following subsidiaries are exempt from the requirements under the Companies Act 2006 relating to the audit of individual financial 
statements by virtue of Section 479A of the Act.

Education Investments Holdings Ltd
Consort Healthcare Infrastructure Investments Ltd

Company registration number

6863458
6859623

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

229

Financial statements43 Details of related undertakings of Balfour Beatty plc as at 31 December 2020
In accordance with Section 409 of the Companies Act 2006 a full list of subsidiaries, partnerships, associates and joint ventures, including the 
principal activity, the country of incorporation and the effective percentage of equity owned as at 31 December 2020 is disclosed below. 
Unless otherwise stated, all interests are in the ordinary share capital or shares of common stock in the entity and are held indirectly by the 
Company, and all entities operate principally in their country of incorporation. All subsidiaries had a reporting period ended 31 December 2020 
and are wholly owned and consolidated into the Group’s results, except where indicated. 

Subsidiary undertakings incorporated in the United Kingdom 

Entity

Principal activity

Entity

350 Euston Road, Regent’s Place, London NW1 3AX
Aberystwyth Student Accommodation Ltd
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue NW 
Holdings Ltd
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue NW 
Intermediate Ltd
Balfour Beatty Fire and Rescue NW Ltd
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure 
Investments Ltd (i) 
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners 
Member Ltd 
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Projects 
Investments Ltd
Balfour Beatty Investments Ltd 

Balfour Beatty OFTO Holdings Ltd 

BBI Holdings Australia Ltd

BBPF LLP (iii)
Connect Roads Derby Holdings Ltd 

Connect Roads Derby Ltd 
Connect Roads Infrastructure  
Investments Ltd 
Consort Healthcare Infrastructure 
Investments Ltd 
East Slope Residencies Facilities 
Management Ltd 
East Slope Residencies Holdings Ltd 

East Slope Residencies Partner Ltd 
East Slope Residencies plc (ii)
East Slope Residencies Student 
Accommodation LLP (ii) (iii)
Education Investments Holdings Ltd

Initial GP1 Ltd 

Manchester Residences (New Cross) Ltd 
South Cambridgeshire Investments 
Holdings Ltd
West Stratford Developments Ltd (iv)

Infrastructure concession
Investment holding 
company
Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession
Investment holding 
company
Investment holding 
company
Investment holding 
company
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd
Investment holding 
company
Investment holding 
company
Investment partnership
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession
Investment holding 
company 
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession

Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession

Investment holding 
company 
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession
Investment holding 
company
Investment holding 
company 

5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU
Dormant 
Avatar Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Balfour Beatty Build Ltd 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Building Ltd 

Balfour Beatty CE Ltd

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering (SW) Ltd  Agent of Balfour Beatty 

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Civils Ltd 

Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 

230

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Balfour Beatty Const Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Construction (SW) Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Construction 
International Ltd 
Balfour Beatty Construction Northern Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Engineering Services 
(HY) Ltd 
Balfour Beatty Group Employment Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Group Ltd

Balfour Beatty Homes Ltd

Balfour Beatty International Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Investment Holdings Ltd (i)

Balfour Beatty Management Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Nominees Ltd 
Balfour Beatty Overseas Investments Ltd

Balfour Beatty Overseas Ltd

Balfour Beatty Property Ltd (i)
Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure 
Services Ltd 
Balfour Beatty Rail Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Rail Projects Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Rail Technologies Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Rail Track Systems Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Refurbishment Ltd

Principal activity

Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Employer for UK 
workforce
Construction and support 
services
Agent of Manring Homes 
Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Investment holding 
company
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Nominee company
Investment holding 
company
Investment holding 
company
Agent of Balfour Beatty plc
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Ltd  Agent of Balfour Beatty 

Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Ltd 

Balfour Kilpatrick Ltd 
BB Indonesia Ltd
Balvac Ltd 

Bical Construction Ltd 

Bignell & Associates Ltd

Birse Group Ltd 

Birse Metro Ltd
Bnoms Ltd (i)
BPH Equipment Ltd 

Cowlin Group Ltd 

Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Dormant 
Support services
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Investment holding 
company
Dormant
Nominee company
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd
Dormant

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED43 Details of related undertakings of Balfour Beatty plc as at 31 December 2020 continued
Subsidiary undertakings incorporated in the United Kingdom continued

Entity

Principal activity

Entity

Devonshire House Dormant Three Limited Dormant 
Guinea Investments Ltd 

Haden Building Services Ltd
Haden Young Ltd (i)
Hall & Tawse Western Ltd 
Laser Rail Ltd 

Lounsdale Electric Ltd 
Manring Homes Ltd (i)
Multibuild (Construction & Interiors) Ltd 

Office Projects (Interiors) Ltd

Omnicom Engineering Ltd 
Raynesway Construction Ltd 

Investment holding 
company
Dormant
Dormant 
Dormant 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Dormant 
Property investment
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Construction services 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 

Strata Construction Ltd 
W.T. Glover & Company Limited 

Dormant
Dormant

Hereford Steel Works, Holmer Road, Hereford HR4 9SW
Painter Brothers Ltd 

Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd

Kings Business Park, Kings Drive, Prescot, Merseyside L34 1PJ
Balfour Beatty Pension Trust Ltd (i)

Pension fund trustee

C/O Mc Griggors LLP, Arnott House, 12–16 Bridge Street, 
Belfast, BT1 1LS, Northern Ireland
Balfour Kilpatrick Northern Ireland Ltd 

Dormant

The Curve Building, Axis Business Park, Hurricane Way, Langley, 
Berkshire SL3 8AG
Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering Ltd 

Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd

Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services Ltd  Agent of Balfour Beatty 

Balfour Beatty Living Places Ltd 

Sunderland Streetlighting Ltd 

Testing and Analysis Ltd 

Group Ltd
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd

Maxim 7, Maxim Office Park, Parklands Avenue, Eurocentral, 
Holytown ML1 4WQ
Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd 

Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Investment partnership
Investment holding 
company
Infrastructure concession 

Balfour Beatty Construction  
Scottish & Southern Ltd 
Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick Limited 

Balfour Beatty Rail Residuary Ltd 

Balfour Beatty Regional Civil 
Engineering Ltd 
BBPFS LP (iii)
Glasgow Residences (Kennedy Street) 
Holdings Ltd
Glasgow Residences (Kennedy Street)  
LLP (iii)
Glasgow Residences (Kennedy Street) 
SPV Ltd 
Hall & Tawse Ltd 
Initial Founder Partner GP1 Ltd 

Woodland View Holdings Co Ltd 

Woodland View Intermediate Co Ltd 
Woodland View Project Co Ltd (v)

Principal activity

Investment holding 
company
Infrastructure concession 
Infrastructure concession 

Midmill Business Park, Tumulus Way, Kintore,  
Aberdeenshire AB51 0TG
Balfour Beatty Engineering 
Services (CL) Ltd

Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd

Q14, Quorum Business Park, Benton Lane,  
Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8B
Balfour Beatty Rail Corporate  
Services Ltd 
Balfour Beatty WorkSmart Ltd 

Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 
Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd 

C/O Mazars, Tower Bridge House, St Katharine’s Way, London 
E1W 1DD
Balfour Beatty Power Construction Ltd
Balfour Beatty Power Networks 
(Distribution Services) Ltd
Birse Construction Ltd 

Dormant
Dormant

Birse Rail Limited
Dean & Dyball Workforce Ltd
Edgar Allen Engineering Ltd 
Eastern Infrastructure Maintenance 
Company Ltd 
Mansell Maintenance Limited 
Mansell plc 

Investment holding 
company –  
in liquidation
Dormant – in liquidation
Dormant – in liquidation
Dormant – in liquidation
Dormant – in liquidation

Dormant – in liquidation
Investment holding 
company – in liquidation

West Service Road, Raynesway, Derby DE21 7BG
Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services Ltd 

Agent of Balfour Beatty 
Group Ltd

C/O Mazars LLP, 100 Queen Street, Glasgow G1 3DN Scotland
Balfour Beatty Engineering Services  
Dormant – in liquidation 
(LEL) Ltd

Lumina Building, 40 Ainslie Road, Hillington Park,  
Glasgow G52 4RU 
Shaw-Petrie Limited 

Dormant

42-44 Clarendon Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 1DR
Barlow & Young, Limited 
Haden International Ltd

Dormant
Dormant

Fourth Floor, 130 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LQ
Dormant
00158345 Ltd
Dormant
01198171 Ltd
BICC Dormant One Limited
Dormant
Devonshire House Dormant One Limited Dormant
Third Floor Devonshire House, Mayfair Place, London, W1X 5FH
BICC Cables (Kenya) Ltd
BICC Thermoheat Limited

Dormant
Dormant

Notes
(i)  Held directly by Balfour Beatty plc.

(ii)  80% owned.

(iii)  Partnership interests held.

Infrastructure concession 

(iv)  31 March year end.

(v)  99% owned.

Dormant 
Investment holding 
company

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

231

Financial statements43 Details of related undertakings of Balfour Beatty plc as at 31 December 2020 continued
Subsidiary undertakings incorporated outside the United Kingdom 

Entity

Australia

Principal activity

Entity

Ireland

Principal activity

Allens Corporate Services Pty Limited, Level 33,  
101 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000 
Balfour Beatty Australian Limited 
Partnership (ii)
Balfour Beatty Australia Pty Ltd 

Holding company

Construction and support 
services

Bahamas

The Alexander Corporate Group Limited, One Millars Court,  
P.O. Box N-7117, Nassau
Balfour Beatty Bahamas Ltd
Brazil

Dormant

Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, No. 1478, Suites 105, 1st Floor, 
Jardim Paulistano, Sao Paulo, 01.451-001
RHA do Brasil Servicos de  
Infraestrutura Ltda
Canada

Construction services 

Boren Ladner Gervais LLP, 22 Adelaide Centre East Tower 
Toronto ON M5H 4E3
BB Group Canada Inc

Investment holding 
company

Taylor McCaffrey LLP, 900-400 St. Mary Avenue,  
Winnipeg MB R3C 4K5
Balfour Beatty Communities GP, Inc
Balfour Beatty Communities, LP (ii)
Balfour Beatty Construction GP, Inc
Balfour Beatty Construction, LP (ii)
Balfour Beatty CWH Holdings Inc
Balfour Beatty Investments GP, Inc 
Balfour Beatty Investments, LP (ii)
Balfour Beatty THP Holdings, Inc
BB CWH, LP (ii)
BB CWH GP, Inc
BB NIH, LP (ii)
BB NIH GP, Inc
Chile

Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Construction services 
Construction services 
Infrastructure concession 
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment

Vicuna MacKenna Poniente 6843 Oficina 209, La Florida, Santiago
Balfour Beatty Chile S.A.
China

Construction services 

Beijing Landmark Towers Building 2, Room 511-514, 
No 8 Dongsanhuan North Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Balfour Beatty Rail Electrification 
Equipment Trading (Beijing) Ltd 
Germany

Construction services – 
in liquidation

Garmischer Strasse 35, 81373 Munich
Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH
BICC Holdings GmbH

Schreck-Mieves GmbH
Hong Kong

Construction services 
Investment holding 
company 
Dormant 

Level 54, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong
Balfour Beatty Hong Kong Ltd

Construction and support 
services 

India

City Junction Business Park, Northern Cross, Malahide Road, 
Dublin 17
Balfour Beatty Ireland Ltd
Isle of Man

Support services 

Tower House, Loch Promenade, Douglas IM1 2LZ, Isle of Man
Delphian Insurance Company Ltd (i)
Jersey

Insurance company 

12 Castle Street, St. Helier, Jersey
Balfour Beatty Employees Trustees Ltd (i) Employee trust
Malaysia

12th Floor, Menara symphony, No 5, Jalan Prof. Khoo Kay Kim, 
Seksyen 13, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Balfour Beatty Rail Design International 
Sdn Bhd 
Netherlands

Support services 

Rapenburgerstraat 177/B, 1011 VM Amsterdam
Balfour Beatty Netherlands B.V.

Investment holding 
company 

Romania

23 General Ernest Brosteanu Street, 1st District, 010527, Bucharest
S.C. Balfour Beatty Rail S.R.L.
Sri Lanka

Dormant 

Phase 3 Investment Promotion Zone, Katunayake, Colombo, 
Western Province
Balfour Beatty Ceylon (Private) Ltd 
Thailand

Support services

9 Soi Santisuk, Sithisarn Road, Huay Kwang, Bangkok
Asia Trade Development Co Ltd 
Balfour Beatty Construction (Thailand) 
Co Ltd 
Balfour Beatty Holdings (Thailand) Co Ltd  Dormant
Dormant
Balfour Beatty Thai Ltd 
Linwood Co Ltd 
Dormant
United States

Dormant
Dormant

1011 Centre Road, Suite 310, Wilmington DE 19805
Balfour Beatty Holdings Inc

Balfour Beatty LLC 

Investment holding 
company
Investment holding 
company

300 Galleria Parkway, Suite 2050, Atlanta, GA 30339 
National Engineering & Contracting Company Construction services

Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc 

Construction services

Corporation Service Company, 1127 Broadway Street NE, Suite 
310, Salem OR 97301
Balfour Beatty Rock Springs, LLC

Construction services

Corporation Service Company, 1703 Laurel Street, Columbia,  
SC 29201
National Casualty and Assurance, Inc 

Insurance company

Corporation Service Company, 251 Little Falls Drive, 
Wilmington DE 19808
Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions, LLC

Infrastructure holding 
company 
Infrastructure investment 
Construction services 
Construction services 
Construction services 

6th Floor, N-1 Balsa Block, Manyata Embassy Business Park, 
Nagavara, Rachenahalli Village, Bangalore – 560045, India
Engineering design 
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure India  
consultancy 
Pvt. Ltd

Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC
Balfour Beatty Construction D.C., LLC
Balfour Beatty Construction, LLC
Balfour Beatty Equipment, LLC

232

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED43 Details of related undertakings of Balfour Beatty plc as at 31 December 2020 continued
Subsidiary undertakings incorporated outside the United Kingdom continued

Entity

Principal activity

Entity

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure investment 

Investment company
Business services 
Infrastructure investment 

Balfour Beatty Investments, Inc 
Balfour Beatty Management Inc 
Balfour Beatty/Benham  
Military Communities LLC (vi)
Balfour Beatty/PHELPS 
Military Communities LLC (v)
Balfour Beatty Military Housing 
Development LLC
Balfour Beatty Military Housing 
Investments LLC
Balfour Beatty Military Housing 
Management LLC
Construction services 
Balfour Beatty – Worthgroup, LLC
BBC-D5 Investors, LLC (iii)
Investment company
BBC AF Housing Construction LLC
Infrastructure investment 
BBC AF Management/Development LLC Infrastructure investment 
Investment company
BBC-Evergreen, LLC
Infrastructure investment 
BBC Independent Member I, Inc 
BBC Independent Member II, Inc
Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – ACC Group, LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – AETC General 
Infrastructure investment 
Partner LLC (iv)
BBC Military Housing – AETC Limited 
Partner LLC (iv)
BBC Military Housing – AMC General 
Partner LLC
BBC Military Housing – AMC Limited 
Partner LLC
BBC Military Housing – Bliss/WSMR 
General Partner LLC
BBC Military Housing – Bliss/WSMR 
Limited Partner LLC
BBC Military Housing – Carlisle/ 
Picatinny General Partner LLC
BBC Military Housing – Carlisle/ 
Picatinny Limited Partner LLC
BBC Military Housing – FDWR LLC (vi)
Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Fort Carson LLC
Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Fort Gordon LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Fort Hamilton LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Fort Jackson LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Hampton Roads LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Lackland LLC
Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Leonard Wood LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Navy Northeast LLC (vi)
Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Navy Southeast LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Northern Group, LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Stewart Hunter LLC Infrastructure investment 
BBC Military Housing – Vandenberg 
Infrastructure investment 
General Partner LLC (vi)
BBC Military Housing – Vandenberg 
Limited Partner LLC (vi) 
BBC Military Housing – West Point LLC
BBC Military Housing – Western General 
Partner, LLC
BBC Military Housing – Western Limited 
Partner, LLC
BBC Multifamily Holdings, LLC
BBCS – Northside Campus LLC
BBCS Development, LLC

Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

BICC Cables Corporation

Principal activity

Business services 

Corporation Service Company, 300 Deschutes Way SW, 
Suite 304, Tumwater WA 98501
Howard S. Wright Construction Co
HSW, Inc 

Construction services
Construction services

CSC – Nevada, C/O CSC Services of Nevada, Inc.,  
502 East John Street Carson City, Nevada 89706
Balfour Beatty-Golden Construction 
Company
Balfour Beatty Construction Company, Inc Construction services
Construction services
Balfour Beatty Construction Group, Inc 

Construction services

Notes
(i)  Held directly by Balfour Beatty plc.

(ii)  Partnership interests held.

(iii)  65% interest held.

(iv)  80% interest held. 

(v)  89% interest held. 

(vi)  90% interest held. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

233

Financial statements43 Details of related undertakings of Balfour Beatty plc as at 31 December 2020 continued
Joint ventures incorporated in the United Kingdom

Entity

% held by
the Group

Principal activity

Entity

% held by
the Group

Principal activity

350 Euston Road, Regent’s Place, London NW1 3AX
BBDE Orbital Holdings, LLP (iii) 37.5

25

20

20
85

25
20

20
25
25

Connect A30/A35 Holdings 
Ltd (iv)
Connect A30/A35 Ltd (iv)
Connect A50 Ltd (iv)
Connect CNDR Holdings 
Ltd (iv)
Connect CNDR Immediate 
Ltd (iv)
Connect CNDR Ltd (iv)
Connect M1-A1 Holdings 
Ltd (i) (iv)
Connect M1-A1 Ltd (iv) 
Connect M77/GSO 
Holdings Ltd (ii) (iv)
Connect M77/GSO plc (ii) (iv)
Connect Roads 
Cambridgeshire Holdings Ltd 
Connect Roads 
Cambridgeshire 
Intermediate Ltd
Connect Roads 
Cambridgeshire Ltd
Connect Roads Coventry 
Holdings Ltd
Connect Roads Coventry 
Intermediate Ltd 
Connect Roads Coventry Ltd 20
Connect Roads Ltd (iv)
25

85
20

20

20

20

20

Connect Roads 
Northamptonshire 
Holdings Ltd 
Connect Roads 
Northamptonshire 
Intermediate Ltd 
Connect Roads 
Northamptonshire Ltd 
Connect Roads South 
Tyneside Holdings Ltd
Connect Roads South 
Tyneside Ltd
Connect Roads Sunderland 
Holdings Ltd
Connect Roads 
Sunderland Ltd
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Holdings) Ltd (iv)
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Phase 1) Ltd (iv)
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Phase 2) Ltd (iv)
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Phase 3) Ltd (iv)
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Phase 4) Ltd (iv)
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Phase 5) Ltd (iv)

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

50

50

50

50

50

50

Investment holding 
company 
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 
Infrastructure concession 
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 
Investment holding 
company 
Investment holding 
company

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession 

Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 

Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Phase 6) Ltd (iv)
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Phase 7) Ltd (iv)
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Finance (Holdings) Ltd (iv)
East Wick and Sweetwater 
Projects (Finance) Ltd (iv)
Gwynt y Mor OFTO 
Holdings Ltd (ii) (iv)
Gwynt y Mor OFTO 
Intermediate Ltd (ii) (iv)
Gwynt y Mor OFTO plc (ii) (iv)
Humber Gateway OFTO 
Holdings Ltd (iv)

Humber Gateway OFTO 
Intermediate Ltd (iv)
Humber Gateway OFTO 
Ltd (iv)
South Cambridgeshire 
Projects LLP (v)
Thanet OFTO Holdco Ltd (iv)

Thanet OFTO Intermediate 
Ltd (iv)
Thanet OFTO Ltd (iv)

50

50

50

50

60

60

60
20

20

20

50

20

20

20

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 

Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 
Investment holding 
company 

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Investment holding 
company 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Blythe House, Blythe Park, Cresswell, Stoke on Trent, 
Staffordshire ST11 9RD
Tyseley Bio Power Ltd 

37.5

Investment holding 
company

15

Connect Plus House, St Albans Road, South Mimms, 
Hertfordshire, EN6 3NP
Connect Plus (M25) 
Holdings Ltd (iii) (iv)
Connect Plus (M25) 
Intermediate Ltd (iii) (iv)
Connect Plus (M25) Issuer 
plc (iii) (iv)
Connect Plus (M25) Ltd (iii) (iv) 15

15

15

Investment holding 
company
Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Maxim 7, Maxim Office Park, Parklands Avenue, 
Eurocentral, Holytown, ML1 4WQ
Aberdeen Roads (Finance) plc  33.3
33.3
Aberdeen Roads  
Holdings Ltd
Aberdeen Roads Ltd

33

Infrastructure concession
Investment holding 
company 
Investment holding 
company
Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Holyrood Holdings Ltd 

Holyrood Student 
Accommodation Holdings Ltd 
Holyrood Student 
Accommodation  
Intermediate Ltd 
Holyrood Student 
Accommodation plc
Holyrood Student 
Accommodation SPV Ltd 

20

20

20

20

20

Westminster House, Crompton Way, Segensworth West, 
Fareham, Hampshire PO15 5SS
25
Pevensey Coastal 
Defence Ltd 

Infrastructure concession

234

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED43 Details of related undertakings of Balfour Beatty plc as at 31 December 2020 continued
Joint ventures incorporated in the United Kingdom continued

Entity

% held by
the Group

Principal activity

Entity

% held by the 
Group

Principal activity

Luisenstr, 38, 10117 Berlin
InoSig GmbH
Hong Kong

50

Construction services

22/F, Tower 1, The Quayside, 77 Hoi Bun Road, Kwun Tong, 
Kowloon, Hong Kong 
AsiaBuild Ltd
Balfour Beatty E&M Ltd
BBE&M (Macau) Ltd

50
50
50

40

C/O Pario Ltd, 2 Hunting Gate, Wilbury Way, Hitchin, 
Hertfordshire SG4 0TJ
Consort Healthcare 
(Birmingham) Funding plc
Consort Healthcare 
(Birmingham) Holdings Ltd
Consort Healthcare 
(Birmingham) Intermediate Ltd
Consort Healthcare 
(Birmingham) Ltd

40

40

40

Infrastructure concession 

Investment holding 
company 
Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

C/O FRP Advisory Group plc, 2nd Floor, 110 Cannon Street, 
London EC4N 6EU
Birmingham Bio Power Ltd 

37.5

Infrastructure concession 
– in administration 

9 Amberside House Wood Lane, Paradise Industrial Estate, 
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England HP2 4TP
Pebblehall Bio Power Ltd 

25

Investment holding 
company
Infrastructure concession

Welland Bio Power Ltd 

25

Notes
(i)  Held directly by Balfour Beatty plc.

(ii)  Due to the shareholders’ agreement between Balfour Beatty and the other 

shareholders requiring unanimity of agreement in respect of significant matters related 
to the financial and operating policies of the company, the Directors consider that the 
Group does not control the company and it has been accounted as a joint venture. 

(iii)  The Group owned a 37.5% partnership interest in BBDE Orbital Holdings LLP at 

31 December 2020. Connect Plus (M25) Holdings Ltd and its subsidiaries are 40% 
owned by BBDE Orbital Holdings LLP.

(iv)  31 March year end. 

(v)  Partnership interests held. 

Overseas joint ventures

Entity

Bermuda

% held by the 
Group

Principal activity

Conyers Dill & Pearman Limited, 2 Clarendon House,  
2 Church Street, Hamilton HM 11
CP Bay Carry A LP
CP Bay Carry B LP
British Virgin Islands

20
20

Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession 

Vistra Corporate Services Centre, Wickhams Cay II Road Town, 
Tortola VG1110
Gammon Asia Ltd 
Gammon Construction 
Holdings Ltd
Canada

Management company
Investment holding 
company

50
50

Taylor McCaffrey LLP, 900-400 St. Mary Avenue,  
Winnipeg MB R3C 4K5
50
Affinity BBL Inc
Affinity General Partner Inc
50
Affinity Limited Partnership (i) (iv) 70
70
Affinity Partnerships (iv)
50
CWH Facilities  
Management,LP (iv)
CWH FM GP Inc
CWH Design – Build GP (iv)
Ledcor Balfour Beatty 
Affinity Holdings Inc
Germany

50
50
50

Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 
Construction services 
Investment holding 
company

Digital G Ltd
Dongguan Pristine Metal 
Works Ltd

Entasis Ltd
Gammon Building 
Construction (Macau) Ltd
Gammon Building 
Construction Ltd
Gammon Capital Ltd
Gammon Capital 
Management Ltd 
Gammon China Ltd 

50
50

50
50

50

50
50

50

Gammon Concrete Services Ltd 50
50
Gammon Construction 
(China) Ltd
Gammon Construction 
(Shanghai) Ltd
Gammon Construction 
(Vietnam) Holdings Ltd

50

50

Gammon Construction 
Consultants (Shenzhen) Ltd
Gammon Construction Ltd (iii) 50

50

Gammon Construction 
Vietnam Co. Ltd
Gammon E&M Ltd
Gammon Engineering & 
Construction Company Ltd
Gammon Engineering Ltd
Gammon Finance Ltd 
Gammon Interiors Ltd 
Gammon Management 
Services Ltd
Gammon Plant Ltd

50

50
50

50
50
50
50

50

Gold Tactics Investment Ltd 50
50
Into G Ltd

Lambeth Associates Ltd 

Pristine Metal Works Ltd 

Sanfield-Gammon 
Construction JV Company 
Ltd
Ireland

50

50

25

Dormant
Dormant
Electrical and mechanical 
contracting
Technology and innovation
Manufacturing services

General contractor
Building construction

Building construction

Dormant
Dormant

Investment holding 
company 
Dormant
Building construction

Construction - in liquidaion

Construction and project 
management

Support services

Engineering and 
construction
Management services

Engineering services
Engineering and 
construction
Dormant
Finance and investment 
Dormant
Construction management 
services
Plant and equipment hire 
and maintenance 
Dormant
Interior fit-out and 
contracting
Management and 
consultancy services 
Investment holding 
company
Construction services

Dunmoy House, St. Margaret’s Road, Finglas, Dublin 11
Support services 
Balfour Beatty CLG Ltd 

50

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

235

Financial statements43 Details of related undertakings of Balfour Beatty plc as at 31 December 2020 continued
Overseas joint ventures continued

Entity

% held by the 
Group

Principal activity

Entity

% held by the 
Group

Principal activity

C/O Pario SPV Management Limited, Suite 54, Morrison 
Chambers, 32 Nassau St, Dublin 2, D02 AP29
Healthcare Centres PPP 
Holdings Ltd
Healthcare Centres PPP Ltd  40
Malaysia

Investment holding 
company
Infrastructure concession

40

70

42

Construction services –  
in liquidation
Construction services –  
in liquidation

Level 8, Symphony House, Block D13, Pusat Dagangan Dana 1, 
Jalan PJU 1A/46, 47301 Petaling Jaya
Balfour Beatty Ansaldo 
Systems JV Sdn Bhd (ii)
Balfour Beatty Rail  
Sdn Bhd (ii)
Unit B-9-7, Level 9, Capital 2, Oasis Square, No.2 Jalan PJU 
1A/7A, Ara Damansara, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Gammon Sdn Bhd 
Pesaka Gammon 
Construction Sdn Bhd 
Philippines
G/F Makati Stock Exchange, Ayala Avenue, Makati City, Metro 
Manila, Philippines
Gammon Philippines, Inc.
MG Construction Ventures 
Holdings, Inc.
Singapore

Construction services
Property services

Dormant
Dormant

29.99
16.65

50
15

239 Alexandra Road, 159930
Digital G (Singapore) Pte. Ltd 50
50
Gammon Construction and 
Engineering Pte. Ltd
Gammon Construction 
Holdings (S) Pte. Ltd
Gammon Investments Pte. 
Ltd
Gammon Pte. Ltd

50

50

50

Equipment services
Construction services

Investment holding 
company 
Investment holding 
company 
Engineering and 
construction
Management and 
consultancy services 

50

Lambeth Associates Design 
& Consultancy Pte Ltd
Thailand 
21st Floor, Times Square Building, 246 Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoey 
Sub-District, Klongtoey District, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
24.5
Gammon Construction 
(Thailand) Ltd
23rd Floor, Times Square Building, 246 Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoey 
Sub-District, Klongtoey District, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Gammon (Thailand) Ltd
Thai Gammon Ltd
United States

Dormant
Dormant

24.5
24.5

Dormant

Corporation Service Company 1201 Hays Street, 
Tallahassee FL 32301
C-BB Management, LLC
C-BBC Development, LLC

50
50

Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment

10

Corporation Service Company, d/b/a CSC-Lawyers, 
Incorporating Service Company, 211 E. 7th Street, Suite 620, 
Austin TX 78701-3218
Northside Campus 
Partners, LP (iv)
Northside Campus Partners 
2,LP (iv)
Northside Campus Partners 
3, LP (i)(iv)
Northside Campus Partners 
4, LP (i)(iv)

65

70

10

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

236

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 
Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

50

50

50

50

50

50

50

50

10
50

Northside Campus General 
Partner, LLC
Construction Service Company, 251 Little Falls Drive, 
Wilmington DE19808
BBC – ApexOne Caroline 
Cove, LLC
BBC – ApexOne Chenal 
Pointe, LLC
BBC – ApexOne Landings, LLC 50
50
BBC – ApexOne 
Lexington, LLC
BBC – ApexOne Moretti, LLC 50
50
BBC – ApexOne Paces  
Brook, LLC
BBC – ApexOne Retreat, LLC 50
50
BBC – ApexOne Riverchase 
Landing, LLC
BBC – ApexOne 
Southwind, LLC
BBC – ApexOne 
Waterchase, LLC
BBC – ApexOne 
Wolfchase, LLC
BBC – ApexOne Mobile  
Eastern, LLC
BBC – ApexOne Zephyr 
Ridge, LLC
BBC Army Integrated, LLC
Carolina Cove (Wilmington)  
Owner, LLC
Chenal Pointe (Little Rock) 
Owner, LLC
LAX Integrated Express 
Solutions Holdco, LLC
LAX Integrated Express 
Solutions, LLC
Landings (Jacksonville) 
Owner, LLC
Lexington (Ridgeland)  
Owner, LLC
Moretti (Homewood)  
Owner, LLC
Northside Campus Limited 
Partner, LLC
Paces Brook (Columbia) 
Owner, LLC
Retreat at Schillinger  
(Mobile) Owner, LLC
Riverchase Landing  
(Hoover) Owner, LLC
Southwind (Memphis) 
Owner, LLC
Southwind (Memphis) 
Holdings, LLC
T-BBA Riverchase 
Holdings, LLC
Waterchase (Largo) 
Owner, LLC
Wolfchase (Bartlett) 
Owner, LLC
Windscape (Daphne) 
Owner, LLC

7.5

7.5

50

50

50

50

50

50

50

50

50

20

20

27

27

10

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure investment 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

Infrastructure concession 

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED43 Details of related undertakings of Balfour Beatty plc as at 31 December 2020 continued
Overseas joint ventures continued

Entity

% held by the 
Group

Principal activity

Entity

% held by the 
Group

Principal activity

Zephyr Ridge (Zephyrhills) 
Owner, LLC

50

Infrastructure investment 

430 Eastwood Road, Wilmington, NC 28403
New Energy Alliance LLC

50

Construction and support 
services

Notes
(i)  Due to the shareholders’ agreement between Balfour Beatty and the other shareholders 
requiring unanimity of agreement in respect of significant matters related to the financial 
and operating policies of the company, the Directors consider that the Group does not 
control the company and it has been accounted for as a joint venture. 

(ii) The Group holds a 70% interest in Balfour Beatty Rail Sdn Bhd, which holds a 60% interest 

in Balfour Beatty Ansaldo Systems JV Sdn Bhd. Due to the shareholders’ agreement 
between Balfour Beatty and the other shareholders requiring unanimity of agreement in 
respect of significant matters related to the financial and operating policies of these 
companies, the Directors consider that the Group does not control these companies and 
they have been accounted for as joint ventures.

(iii)  Preference shares and/or deferred shares also held.

(iv)  Partnership interest held. 

Associated undertakings incorporated in and outside 
the United Kingdom 

Entity

United Kingdom

% held by the 
Group

Principal activity

Newington House, 237 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 6NP
Power Asset Development 
Infrastructure concession
Company Ltd(iii)
UK Power Networks 
Services Powerlink Ltd(iii)

Infrastructure concession

25

10

30

30

Infrastructure concession

Investment holding 
company
Infrastructure concession

Ashford House, Grenadier Road, Exeter, EX1 3LH
UBB Waste (Essex) 
Holdings Ltd
UBB Waste (Essex) 
Intermediate Ltd
UBB Waste (Gloucestershire) 
Holdings Ltd 
UBB Waste (Gloucestershire) 
Intermediate Ltd
UBB Waste 
(Gloucestershire) Ltd
C/O FRP Advisory Group plc, 2nd Floor, 110 Cannon Street, 
London EC4N 6EU
UBB Waste (Essex) Ltd

Investment holding 
company
Infrastructure concession

49.5

49.5

49.5

30

Infrastructure concession 
– in receivership

United States

100
80
100
67

Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession

Corporation Service Company, 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington 
DE 19808
ACC Group Housing, LLC (i)
AETC Housing LP (i)(ii)
AMC West Housing LP (i) (ii)
Balfour Beatty-Walsh 
Housing, LLC
Carlisle/Picatinny Family 
Housing LP (ii)
DFW 5 – Josey Ranch, LLC 10
10
DFW 5 – Madison 
Parkway, LLC
DFW 5 – Round Grove, LLC 10
10
DFW 5 – Wimberly, LLC
10
DFW 5 – Wimbledon 
Oaks, LLC
DFW 5 Holdings, LLC
FDWR Parent LLC

Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment

Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment

Infrastructure concession

10
10

10

9

10

10

10

Fort Bliss/White Sands 
Missile Range Housing LP (ii)
Fort Carson Family 
Housing LLC
Fort Detrick/Walter Reed 
Army Medical Center 
Housing LLC
Fort Eustis/Fort Story 
Housing LLC
Fort Gordon Housing LLC
10
Fort Hamilton Housing LLC 10
10
Fort Jackson Housing LLC
100
Lackland Family Housing, 
LLC (i)
Leonard Wood Family 
Communities, LLC
Northeast Housing LLC
Northern Group Housing,  
LLC (i)
10
Southeast Housing LLC
Stewart Hunter Housing LLC 10
15
TBB Evergreen 
Commons, LLC
TBB Evergreen Holdings, LLC 15
15
TBB Evergreen Park, LLC
TBB Evergreen Terrace, LLC 15
Vandenberg Housing LP (i)(ii)
90
Western Group Housing, LP (i)(ii) 100
West Point Housing LLC

9
100

10

10

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession

Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure investment

Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure investment
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession
Infrastructure concession

Notes
(i)  The Group evaluated each of its interests in the military housing projects to determine 

if the associated entities should be consolidated. This analysis included, but was not 
limited to, identifying the activities that most significantly impact an entity’s economic 
performance, which party or parties control those activities and the risks associated 
with these entities. Decision-making power over key facets of the contracts were evaluated 
when determining which party or parties had control over the activities that most significantly 
impact a project’s economics. Based on this review, the Directors consider that the 
Group does not have the power to direct these activities and does not control or jointly 
control them and therefore the entities have been accounted for as associated undertakings. 

(ii)  Partnership interests held.

(iii)  31 March year end. 

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

237

Financial statementsUNAUDITED GROUP FIVE-YEAR SUMMARY

Income
Revenue including share of joint ventures and associates
Share of revenue of joint ventures and associates
Group revenue from continuing operations
Underlying profit from continuing operations
Underlying net finance costs
Underlying profit before taxation
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets
Other non-underlying items
Profit from continuing operations before taxation
Taxation on profit from continuing operations
Profit from continuing operations after taxation
Profit from discontinued operations after taxation
Profit for the year
Profit for the year attributable to equity holders
Profit for the year attributable to non-controlling interests
Profit for the year

Capital employed
Equity holders’ equity
Liability component of preference shares
Net non-recourse borrowings – infrastructure concessions
Net cash – other

Statistics
Underlying earnings per ordinary share from continuing operations*
Basic earnings per ordinary share from continuing operations
Diluted earnings per ordinary share from continuing operations
Proposed dividends per ordinary share
Underlying profit from continuing operations before net finance costs 
including share of joint ventures and associates as a percentage of revenue 
including share of joint ventures and associates

2020
£m

2019
£m

2018
£m

2017
£m

2016
£m

8,593
(1,273)
7,320
51
(15)
36
(6)
18
48
(18)
30
–
30
30
–
30

1,336
–
317
(581)
1,072

2020
Pence

3.7
4.4
4.4
1.5

8,411
(1,098)
7,313
221
(21)
200
(6)
(56)
138
(5)
133
–
133
130
3
133

1,368
110
302
(512)
1,268

2019
Pence

26.7
19.0
18.8
2.1

7,814
(1,180)
6,634
205
(24)
181
(8)
(50)
123
12
135
–
135
135
–
135

1,231
106
309
(337)
1,309

2018
Pence

26.3
19.7
19.5
4.8

8,264
(1,348)
6,916
196
(31)
165
(9)
(39)
117
45
162
6
168
168
–
168

1,056
103
305
(335)
1,129

2017
Pence

20.9
23.7
23.4
3.6

8,368
(1,445)
6,923
69
(7)
62
(9)
(43)
10
(8)
2
22
24
24
–
24

757
100
233
(173)
917

2016
Pence

7.2
0.2
0.2
2.7

0.6%

2.6%

2.6%

2.4%

0.8%

Note
*  Underlying earnings per ordinary share from continuing operations have been disclosed to give a clearer understanding of the Group’s underlying trading performance.

238

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

Financial calendar

13 May
7 July
18 August*
6 December*
9 December*

*  Dates are subject to change

2021

Annual General Meeting
Provisional ordinary dividend payable
2021 half year results announcement
Provisional ordinary dividend payable
Trading update 

Registrars
Balfour Beatty’s share register is maintained by Link Group, the Company’s 
Registrars. Link Group is a trading name of Link Market Services Limited. 
All administrative enquiries relating to shareholdings and requests to 
receive corporate documents by email should, in the first instance, be 
directed to Link Group, clearly stating your registered address and, if 
available, your shareholder reference number.

Please write to: Link Group, 10th Floor, Central Square, 29 Wellington 
Street, Leeds, LS1 4DL.

Telephone: 0371 664 0564. Calls are charged at the standard geographic 
rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom are 
charged at the applicable international rate. Lines are open between 
09:00 and 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in 
England and Wales.

Alternatively, you can email: shareholderenquiries@linkgroup.co.uk. 
Link Group can help you to: check your shareholding; register a change 
of address or name; obtain a replacement dividend cheque or tax 
voucher; or record the death of a shareholder. You can also visit 
www.signalshares.com to manage your shareholding, and access 
shares-related services and share plans online.

Share certificates
In order to sell or transfer your shares, you must ensure that you have 
a valid share certificate. This must be in the name of Balfour Beatty plc. 
If you lose or misplace your share certificate, you can contact Link 
Group’s customer support centre and request a replacement certificate. 
Link Group will then issue a letter of indemnity to you which you will 
need to sign and return for a new certificate to be produced. There is 
a fee charged for this service which includes an administration charge 
and a cover charge (the cover charge can vary depending on the value 
of the shareholding).

Dividends and dividend reinvestment plan
Dividends may be paid directly into your bank or building society 
account through the Bankers Automated Clearing System (BACS). 
Link Group can provide a dividend mandate form. A Dividend 
Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) is offered which allows holders of ordinary 
shares to reinvest their cash dividends in the Company’s shares 
through a specially arranged share dealing service. Full details of the 
DRIP and its charges, together with mandate forms, are available at 
www.balfourbeatty-shares.com.

International payment service
Shareholders outside the UK may elect to receive dividends directly 
into their overseas bank account, or by currency draft, instead of by 
sterling cheque. For further information, contact the Company’s 
Registrars, Link Group using the contact details above. Alternatively, 
you can log on to www.balfourbeatty-shares.com and click on the link 
for International Payment Service.

Electronic shareholder communications
The Company’s website www.balfourbeatty.com provides a range of 
information about the Company, our people and businesses and our 
policies on corporate governance and corporate responsibility.

The website should be regarded as your first point of reference for 
information on any of these matters. The share price can also be 
found there.

You can create a Share Portal account, through which you will be able 
to access the full range of online shareholder services, including the 
ability to: view your holdings and indicative share price and valuation; 
view movements on your holdings and your dividend payment history; 
register a dividend mandate to have your dividends paid directly into 
your bank account; change your registered address; sign up to receive 
e-communications or access the online proxy voting facility; and 
download and print shareholder forms.

The Share Portal is easy to use. Please visit www.balfourbeatty-shares.com. 
Alternatively, you can email: Shareportal@linkgroup.co.uk.

Unsolicited telephone calls
In the past, some of our shareholders have received unsolicited 
telephone calls or correspondence concerning investment matters 
from organisations or persons claiming or implying that they have 
some connection with the Company. We advise our shareholders to 
be wary of any unsolicited telephone calls, advice or correspondence 
concerning investment matters from organisations or persons claiming 
or implying that they have some connection with the Company. These 
are typically from overseas-based ‘brokers’ who target UK shareholders 
offering to sell them what often turn out to be worthless or high-risk 
shares in UK or overseas investments. Shareholders are advised to be 
very wary of any unsolicited advice, offers to buy shares at a discount 
or offers of free annual and/or other reports on the Company.

If you receive any unsolicited investment advice:

 \ Always ensure the firm is authorised by the Financial Conduct 

Authority (FCA), is on the FCA Register and is allowed to provide 
financial advice before handing over your money. You can check if a 
firm is on the FCA’s Register via https://register.fca.org.uk/.

 \ Ask the caller for their name and telephone number and inform 

them you will call them back. Then check their identity to ensure 
that they are from the firm they say are from by calling the firm 
using the contact number listed on the FCA Register. If there are no 
contact details on the FCA Register or you are told that they are out 
of date, or if you have any other doubts, call the FCA Consumer 
Helpline on 0800 111 6768.

 \ If you are approached about a share scam, please visit the FCA’s 

ScamSmart website at www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart where you can 
access information about the various types of scam, including 
share and boiler room fraud, see the FCA’s Warning List and 
reports on firms about whom consumers have expressed concerns. 
Alternatively, you can call the FCA Consumer Helpline (see above). 
If you use an unauthorised firm to buy or sell shares or other 
investments, you will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman 
Service or be eligible to receive payment under the Financial 
Services Compensation Scheme if things go wrong.

 \ You should also report any approach to Action Fraud, which is the 

UK’s national fraud reporting centre, at www.actionfraud.police.uk, 
or by calling 0300 123 2040.

American Depository Receipts (ADRs)
An American Depository Receipt (ADR) is a negotiable instrument 
issued by a depositary bank that evidences ownership of shares in a 
corporation organised outside the US. Each ADR represents a specific 
number of underlying ordinary shares in the non-US company, on 
deposit with a custodian in the applicable home market.

ADRs are generally treated as US domestic securities. They are 
quoted and traded in USD and are subject to the trading and 
settlement procedures of the market in which they trade.

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

239

Other informationSHAREHOLDER INFORMATION CONTINUED

Balfour Beatty’s ADR Programme Details
Symbol: BAFYY

ADR: Ordinary Share Ratio: 1:2

CUSIP:05845R306

ADR ISIN: US05845R3066

Underlying ISIN: GB0000961622

Depositary Bank: JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.

Country: United Kingdom

Balfour Beatty’s ADR Depositary Bank is JP Morgan Chase N.A. For 
all ADR-related enquiries, investors can contact JP Morgan via 
telephone, in writing or email as follows:

Telephone:
Toll free within the United States at: 1-800-990-1135 or locally at 
651-306-4383.

JP Morgan representatives are available from 7.00am to 7.00pm 
Central Time, Monday to Friday.

In writing:
Mail
JP Morgan Shareholder Services 
P.O Box 64504 
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0504

Overnight Mail
JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. 
1110 Centre Pointe Curve, Suite 101 
Mendota Heights MN 55120-4100

Email:
jpmorgan.adr@eq-us.com

Gifting shares to your family or to charity
To transfer shares to another member of your family as a gift, please 
ask the Registrars for a Balfour Beatty gift transfer form.

Alternatively, if you only have a small number of shares whose value 
makes it uneconomic to sell them, you may wish to consider donating 
them to the share donation charity ShareGift (registered charity no. 
1052686), whose work Balfour Beatty supports.

Any shares you donate to ShareGift will be aggregated, sold when 
possible, and the proceeds will be donated to a wide range of other 
UK charities. Since ShareGift was launched, over £27m has been 
given to more than 2,600 charities. The relevant share transfer form 
may be obtained from the Registrars. For more information visit 
www.sharegift.org.

Share dealing services
Link Group provide a telephone and online share dealing service for 
UK resident shareholders. To use this service, telephone 0371 664 0445 
from within the UK. Calls are charged at the standard geographic rate 
and will vary by provider. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8.00 am to 
4.30 pm, UK time, excluding public holidays in England and Wales. 
Alternatively, you can log on to www.linksharedeal.com.

Link Market Services Trustees Limited is authorised and regulated by 
the Financial Conduct Authority.

London Stock Exchange Codes
The London Stock Exchange Daily Official List (SEDOL) code is: 
Ordinary shares: 0096162. 

The London Stock Exchange ticker code is: Ordinary shares: BBY.

Capital gains tax (CGT)
For CGT purposes the market value on 31 March 1982 of Balfour 
Beatty plc’s ordinary shares of 50p each was 267.6p per share. This 
has been adjusted for the 1 for 5 rights issue in June 1992, the 2 for 
11 rights issue in September 1996 and the 3 for 7 rights issue in 
October 2009 and assumes that all rights have been taken up.

Consolidated tax vouchers
Balfour Beatty issues a consolidated tax voucher annually to all 
shareholders who have their dividends paid direct to their bank 
account. If you would prefer to receive a tax voucher at each dividend 
payment date rather than annually, please contact the Registrars. A 
copy of the consolidated tax voucher may be downloaded from the 
Share Portal at www.balfourbeatty-shares.com.

Enquiries
Enquiries relating to Balfour Beatty’s results, business and financial 
position should be made in writing to the Corporate Communications 
Department at the address shown below or by email to 
info@balfourbeatty.com.

Balfour Beatty plc Registered Office: 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, 
London E14 5HU. Registered in England and Wales, registered 
number 395826 

Forward-looking statements
This document, including information included or incorporated by 
reference in it, may include statements that are or may be forward-looking 
statements, beliefs or opinions, including statements with respect to 
Balfour Beatty’s business, financial condition and results of operations. 
All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this 
document may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking 
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, 
including the terms “believes”, estimates”, “projects”, “plans”, 
“anticipates”, “targets”, “aims”, “continues”, “expects”, “intends”, 
“hopes”, “may”, “will”, “would”, “could” or “should” or, in each case, 
their negative or other various or comparable terminology. These 
statements are made by Balfour Beatty in good faith based on the 
information available to it at the date of this report and reflect the beliefs 
and expectations of Balfour Beatty. By their nature, forward-looking 
statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties 
because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may 
or may not occur in the future. 

A number of factors could cause actual results and developments to 
differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking 
statements, including, without limitation, developments in the global 
economy, changes in UK and US government policies, spending and 
procurement methodologies, failure in Balfour Beatty’s health, safety 
or environmental policies and those factors set out under Principal 
Risks on pages 94 to 102 of this report. 

No representation or warranty is made that any of these statements 
or forecasts will come to pass or that any forecast results will be 
achieved, and projections are not guarantees of future performance. 
Forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this report 
and Balfour Beatty and its advisers expressly disclaim any obligations 
or undertaking to release any update of, or revisions to, any forward-looking 
statements in this report. No statement in this report is intended to 
be, or intended to be construed as, a profit forecast or profit estimate 
or to be interpreted to mean that Balfour Beatty plc’s earnings per 
share for the current or future financial years will necessarily match or 
exceed the historical earnings per share for Balfour Beatty plc. As a 
result, you are cautioned not to place any undue reliance on such 
forward-looking statements.

Find out more about our investor relations at: 
www.balfourbeatty.com/investors

240

Balfour Beatty plc  Annual Report and Accounts 2020

MORE INFORMATION

Online Annual Report
For a summary of our Annual Report and Accounts 2020 visit:

ar20.balfourbeatty.com

Investor website
For more information about investor relations visit:

balfourbeatty.com/investors

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CBP006326

Balfour Beatty plc’s commitment to 
environmental issues is reflected in this Annual 
Report, which has been printed on Symbol 
Matt Plus and Arcoprint, FSC® certified 
materials. This document was printed by Park 
Communications using its environmental print 
technology, which minimises the impact of 
printing on the environment. Vegetable-based 
inks have been used and 99% of dry waste is 
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Balfour Beatty
5 Churchill Place
Canary Wharf
London E14 5HU
Telephone: +44(0) 20 7216 6800

www.balfourbeatty.com

Balfour Beatty is a registered trademark of Balfour Beatty plc