Taylor Woodrow Construction is a UK-based civil engineering contractor and part of Vinci Construction UK. The business was once a division of Taylor Woodrow, one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain, which merged with rival George Wimpey in July 2007 to create the Taylor Wimpey housebuilding group. In September 2008, Taylor Woodrow Construction was acquired from Taylor Wimpey by Vinci.
History
Early years
The Taylor Woodrow business was founded in Blackpool as a housebuilder by Frank Taylor and his uncle, Jack Woodrow, creating the Taylor Woodrow name. In 1930, Taylor moved to London and his business eventually established headquarters in Southall. In 1935, the housebuilding business was floated on the London Stock Exchange as Taylor Woodrow Estates. In 1937, Taylor Woodrow Construction was formed and, after a modest start, the company was soon engaged in defence work. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, private housing development stopped, and for six years Taylor Woodrow built military camps, airfields and factories, and worked on the Mulberry harbour units.
1945-2008
By 1945, Taylor Woodrow had become a substantial construction business, and it expanded into domestic civil construction work and internationally, working in East Africa, then west and South Africa and, in the 1950s, Australia, Canada and the middle east. In the UK, Taylor Woodrow Construction became a prominent contractor in the power generation industry, building first conventional power stations and then the world's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall. Hartlepool, Hinkley Point A, Wylfa and Sizewell A followed. In the private sector, notable contracts included terminal buildings at London Heathrow airport, and the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Work inthe middle east helped grow Taylor Woodrow’s international construction business and by the mid 1970s overseas profits accounted for two thirds of group profits. The centrepiece was the joint venture with Costain to build the dry docks at Port Rashid, Dubai, described as "the largest single overseas contract ever undertaken by the British construction industry". However, by the 1980s, middle east construction was declining and the parent Taylor Woodrow group was increasingly focused on housebuilding and the commercial property market. Taylor Woodrow Construction was part of the Channel Tunnel consortium but its operations were less important to the group. A series of mergers and acquisitions culminated in the £6 billion merger with George Wimpey forming Taylor Wimpey in March 2007, and just over a year later, in September 2008, Vinci plc, the British subsidiary of France's Vinci SA, acquired Taylor Woodrow Construction from Taylor Wimpey for £74m.
2008-present
One of four divisions, Taylor Woodrow Construction is Vinci Construction UK's civil engineering business. In early 2009, Vinci planned to reorganise all UK operations under one name, but the Taylor Woodrow brand was eventually retained.
Notable projects undertaken
Major projects completed by the company have included:
