However, the number of contracts awarded was 20% down on March, suggesting that without Persimmon鈥檚 mega contract in South Glamorgan, the overall picture would have looked very different indeed.
The contract that propelled Persimmon to clear victory in the Builders鈥� Conference BCLive league table for April is a 拢700m order from Haford Care Association for the construction of a new housing development on the Barry Waterfront.
In a distant second was Lend Lease, which finally got the green light on the long-awaited construction of a new UK headquarters for US tech giant, Google.聽 That contract is valued at 拢350m.
In third place was Clugston Construction, which bagged a pair of contracts with a combined value of 拢254.4m.聽聽 By far the larger is its 拢252m contract for a new energy from waste plant at Avonmouth for Viridor.
In a year that has once again been categorised by the rise and rise of the house-building sector, Galliford Try swept to fourth spot with an eight contract haul with a combined value of 拢214.9m.聽 The largest of these is a 拢128m contract for the construction of 468 new homes at Great Eastern Quays in London.
As has become the norm, Morgan Sindall Group once again bagged the highest number of contract awards with 13 contracts contributing to a 拢161.7m monthly total.
The number of tenders on the BCLive radar screen remains depressed and is currently a third down on this time last year.聽 With the interference of the general election, it might not be until the fourth quarter of the year before any signs of certainty return, said Builders鈥� Conference chief executive Neil Edwards.
Overall in April 2017 the Builders鈥� Conference registered 492 new construction orders, with a total value of 拢4,151.2m, being shared out among 279 separate construction companies.
April's Top 20 
Of course, a more representative picture of where construction work is going in the UK is to look at the table for the past 12 months. This shows most of the usual suspects at the top of the tree, headed by Laing O鈥橰ourke (拢1.93bn of firm orders taken since 1st May 2016), Morgan Sindall (拢1.62bn), Galliford Try (拢1.62bn) and Kier (拢1.46bn).
Five other companies have booked more than 拢1bn worth of new work in the past year: ISG, BAM, Keepmoat, Balfour Beatty and Willmott Dixon. Balfour Beatty鈥檚 relative lowly position for what is traditionally the country鈥檚 biggest contractor, is evidence of chief executive Leo Quinn鈥檚 promise of a more selective approach to bidding for work.
Last 12 months 
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
