Leo Quinn, whose departure as Balfour Beatty chief executive was announced today, has had a major impact on transforming his firm – many would argue on the construction industry in general.
In a LinkedIn post today, the man who turned round the struggling firm called his role “the best job in the best industry”.
Quinn said: “Together, we’ve connected communities, painted skylines, and developed great leaders. We’ve transformed Balfour Beatty into a market leader, and I like to think that along the way, we’ve helped to transform the infrastructure and construction industry into the credible and essential economic driver that it is today.”
The future for Quinn remains uncertain. Tellingly, the Balfour Beatty announcement did not use the word “retirement”.
He will remain in a strategic advisory role to help his successor Philip Hoare get a grip on the business.
That is no small task, and the process is expected to last months.
When he is finally able to step away, Quinn will undoubtedly want a break. But whether that will mark the end of Leo Quinn’s involvement in the firm he led for a decade remains an open question.
Here is the timeline of Leo Quinn’s time at the helm of what is now the biggest UK contractor:
October 2014
Balfour Beatty appoints QinetiQ chief executive Quinn as group chief executive, succeeding Andrew McNaughton. Hailed as a “turnaround specialist”, Quinn joins on a basic salary of £800,000, in the wake of five profit warnings issued by the firm during the previous two years. The appointment marks Quinn’s return to a company where he started his career in 1979 as a civil engineer in the firm’s UK construction services business. In a letter to the firm’s staff, Quinn promises “bold” leadership and “brave decisions” to restore the contractor to its “rightful place on the global stage”.
February 2015
Balfour Beatty announces its Build to Last programme focusing on four areas, including the strengthening of financial control and the introduction of a more disciplined approach to project bidding and risk review processes. The move comes after KPMG says the firm’s bidding process is often “at very low margins with optimistic assumptions around cost, programme and procurement savings, and inadequate provisions for risk”. At the same time of the Build to Last announcement, Balfour Beatty issues a further £70m profit warning.
March 2017
A month after selling its stake in its Middle East joint ventures, Balfour Beatty marches back into the black, as it posts pre-tax profit of £8m in the year to 31 December 2016. The previous year, the firm had reported a pre-tax loss of £199m. Hailing the Build to Last programme, Quinn says: “The transformation of Balfour Beatty is well under way. We have upgraded leadership, processes and controls while continuing to invest in the group’s unique strengths.”
December 2017
A paper released by the contractor, 25% by 2025: Streamlined construction – seven steps to offsite and modular building, sets out the firm’s commitment to reduce onsite working by a quarter by 2025 and proposes how government can drive uptake of the technologies.
March 2018
Balfour Beatty reports its best results in five years with a pre-tax profit of £117m in 2017 – a huge leap from the £10m in 2016 and the highest level since the £147m reported in 2012. The company’s pre-tax margin hit 1.7 per cent on a turnover of £6.92bn. Speaking about the collapse of rival Carillion on the BBC’s Today programme, Quinn says: “Removing a major competitor from the market who was underperforming is always helpful.” Quinn tells Construction News that his firm has the industry’s strongest balance sheet, thanks to its focus on cash generation.
September 2019
Balfour Beatty’s joint venture with Vinci is awarded the construction management contract to build the £1bn HS2 station at Old Oak Common. A year later, the JV is given notice to proceed on two main design and build jobs on HS2 worth £5bn. The civil engineering work involves extensive earthworks, ground engineering, viaducts and tunnels along a 90km stretch of the line.
March 2020
Covid hits. Quinn and the rest of Balfour Beatty’s leadership team take a 20 per cent pay cut in response to the crisis. Balfour Beatty announces its sites will remain operational and it will implement the standard operating procedures. The news comes a week after the firm announces plans to carry out a £50m share buyback plan during the year.
June 2020
Balfour Beatty survives a shareholder revolt over executive pay. A resolution to approve its directors’ remuneration report was opposed by just over 17 per cent of the shareholder votes at a meeting on the report. The report details chief executive Leo Quinn’s award of £2.9m in 2019 and chief financial officer Philip Harrison’s £1.3m package.
August 2020
Balfour Beatty reveals a £26m pre-tax loss in the first half of 2020, largely due to problems in the UK business caused by Covid. Quinn says: “The financial impacts of Covid are unavoidable; but they will pass. Since the start of Build to Last, our balance sheet, order book and expert capability are at record levels.”
March 2021
The company announces a U-turn on its initial decision to keep hold of government furlough cash. The group will now repay £19m claimed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Annual results show an annual pre-tax profit for 2020, bouncing back from a £26m loss in the first half of the year due to the pandemic.
May 2021
Balfour Beatty announces plans to leave the Irish market, where it works on gas projects through a joint venture.
March 2022
Balfour Beatty posts a pre-tax profit of £87m for the year to December 2021. The firm reports revenue of £8.2bn, down slightly from the £8.6bn total recorded in 2020. In an interview with CN, Quinn warns about the looming spectre of hyperinflation on the sector.
March 2023
Quinn trumpets the group’s “transformation into a well-balanced and lower-risk group” after reporting £287m profit for 2022. The contractor sees its profit increase by 230 per cent from £87m in 2021, while its turnover increases by 8 per cent from £8.26bn to £8.93bn. Two months earlier, Balfour beats a Kier joint venture to a £1.2bn contract to build road connections to the Lower Thames Crossing.
March 2024
Balfour Beatty reports annual revenue growth of 7.8 per cent to £9.6bn for the year ending 31 December 2023. Pre-tax profit was £261m, up from £244m. Quinn hails “a solid performance, with increased revenue and profit from our earnings-based businesses and strong operating cashflow”. In June, Quinn tells a podcaster he would be “embarrassed” if the company does not double its roughly 2 per cent margin “in the current environment”. Later in the year, Balfour reports a revenue dip for the first half of 2024.
March 2025
Balfour Beatty announces Leo Quinn’s departure, planned for September 2025.
