 | |
| Industry | Construction Business services |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1822 |
| Defunct | 2006 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Carillion |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Key people | Joe Darby, (Chairman) Sir John Gains, (CEO) |
Number of employees | 25,600 |
Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006.
The firm was founded by John Mowlem in 1822, and was continued as a partnership by successive generations of the Mowlem and Burt families, including George Burt, and Sir John Mowlem Burt. [1]
The company was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902 and went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1924. [2] During the Second World War the company was one of the contractors engaged in building the Mulberry harbour units. [3]
A long-standing national contractor, Mowlem developed a network of regional contracting businesses including Rattee and Kett of Cambridge (bought in 1926); E. Thomas of the west country (bought in 1965) and the formation of a northern region based in Leeds in 1970. [4] The network was further augmented by the acquisition of Ernest Ireland of Bath (bought in 1977), [5] and the acquisition of McTay Engineering of Bromborough, together with its shipbuilding subsidiary McTay Marine (also bought in the late 1970s). [6]
In 1971 the company expanded overseas purchasing a 40% shareholding in an Australian contractor, Barclay Brothers, and later taking 100% ownership. The Australian business, re-branded Barclay Mowlem, expanded into all other Australian mainland states, except South Australia, and into Asia. [7]
Mowlem acquired SGB Group, a supplier of scaffolding, in 1986. [8] Mowlem also bought Unit Construction in 1986, giving the firm a substantial presence in private housebuilding - within two years, sales were up to an annual rate of 1,200. The ensuing recession led to losses of over £180m between 1991 and 1993 and banking covenants came under pressure. The housing division was sold to Beazer in 1994. [9]
Major projects undertaken by or involving Mowlem included:
Mowlem was also the owner and developer of London City Airport completed in 1986. [32]
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John Mowlem was an English stonemason, builder and founder of the quarrying and construction company "Mowlem, Burt and Freeman".
George Burt was a public-works contractor and businessman from Swanage, England, who managed the construction company Mowlem, founded by his uncle John Mowlem.
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Sir John Mowlem Burt worked in the UK construction industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was part of the Mowlem firm of contractors and was from the third generation of the family that were involved with the company.
Rattee and Kett was a building contractor based in Cambridge
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Swanage Town Hall is a municipal building on Swanage High Street in Dorset. Constructed by the local building contractor George Burt in 1882–83, it reused materials salvaged from demolition works in London. The façade was rescued from London's 17th-century Mercers' Hall and the external clock is dated to 1826. It was not universally welcomed and one critic in the 1930s described it as "positively dreadful". The hall serves as the chamber for the current town council and has previously hosted the magistrates' court, fire brigade and citizens' advice service.
Barclay Mowlem was an Australian construction company that traded from 1957 until 2006.
