Farrans Construction
Farrans Construction is a UK and Ireland civil engineering and building contractor delivering aviation, water, energy, transportation, marine, public-sector, and commercial infrastructure projects. Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Belfast, it operates 6 offices, employs 600+ staff, and was acquired by Sisk from CRH in 2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1941
- HeadquartersBelfast, United Kingdom
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Farrans Construction does
Farrans Construction (legal entity Farrans Limited) is a UK-and-Ireland-headquartered civil engineering and building contractor founded in 1952 and based in Belfast, with additional offices in London, Edinburgh, Stansted and Monaghan. The company delivers large-scale infrastructure and building projects across multiple sectors, with stated specialisation in water, energy, aviation and transportation, alongside marine, public-sector, industrial, commercial, healthcare, education and leisure work. Active projects include airport expansions at Bristol and Leeds Bradford, water pipeline alliances with NI Water and Anglican Water, onshore wind-farm construction for ScottishPower and RWE, and the AMIDs South tied-arch bridge at Paisley Harbour funded by the UK Government Levelling Up Fund.
The business operates as a single integrated contracting service rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Core capabilities span civil engineering (bridges, roads, pipelines, treatment facilities, marine structures) and building construction (terminals, public buildings, commercial fit-out), supported by ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 / 27001, ConstructionLine Gold, Investors in Gold and ICE accreditation. The company runs graduate, apprenticeship, placement and training programmes, and in 2026 co-launched a Level 8 Honours-degree Civil Engineering apprenticeship with ATU Sligo. An ESG portfolio covers a Net Carbon Zero programme, community engagement reaching 14,500 school children annually, and formal governance reporting.
Farrans makes money through project-based construction contracts with direct enterprise and government clients, including NI Water, Translink, National Highways, ScottishPower, Bristol Airport, Leeds Bradford Airport, London Stansted Airport, RWE and multiple UK and Irish councils. Pricing is bespoke and not publicly disclosed, consistent with tendered fixed-price and framework contracts; £1bn of work is currently in hand across 45+ active sites. In 2026 Farrans was acquired by Sisk from CRH, making it part of one of Ireland's largest construction and engineering services groups with operations across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. Headcount stood at 630 employees as of the 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report.
Farrans Construction firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Farrans Construction
- Legal name
- Farrans Limited
- Website
- https://www.farrans.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1941
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Farrans Construction is a UK and Ireland civil engineering and building contractor delivering aviation, water, energy, transportation, marine, public-sector, and commercial infrastructure projects. Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Belfast, it operates 6 offices, employs 600+ staff, and was acquired by Sisk from CRH in 2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Farrans Construction industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civil Engineering & Construction Services
- NAICS
- Water and Sewer Line and Related Structures Construction (237110), Utility System Construction (2371), Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (237)
- SIC
- Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623), Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water & Wastewater Pipeline Construction (Mains, Force Mains, Interceptors) (IMAFAGAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Overhead & Underground Collection System Construction (MV/HV Lines, Duct Banks) (EUAEADAG)
Keywords
Where Farrans Construction is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Belfast
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
Farrans Construction business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Construction Services: Revenue generated from civil engineering and building construction projects across multiple sectors including aviation, water, energy, transportation, marine, public sector, commercial, industrial, healthcare, education, and leisure. Projects include large-scale infrastructure work such as airports, wind farms, pipelines, and transportation links.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Farrans Construction product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Farrans Construction is a civil engineering and building contractor that delivers large-scale infrastructure projects across the UK and Ireland, specialising in water, energy, aviation, transportation, marine, public sector, industrial, commercial, healthcare, education, and leisure sectors. The company provides end-to-end project delivery including pipelines, bridges, airport terminals, wind farms, and public buildings, operating with over 600 employees across multiple regional offices.
Product overview
Farrans Construction is a building and civil engineering contractor operating as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company's core product portfolio encompasses civil engineering and building construction across multiple sectors including aviation, transportation (bridges and roads), water infrastructure, energy (wind farms), marine construction, public sector (healthcare, education), commercial, and industrial construction. Recent notable projects include the AMIDs South tied-arch bridge in Paisley, Leeds Bradford Airport Phase 1, Bristol Airport expansion, strategic water pipelines, and wind farm installations. The company also operates supplementary service offerings including a Level 8 Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering (in partnership with ATU Sligo), graduate programmes, apprenticeships, placements, and training & development services. An ESG portfolio covers environmental (Net Carbon Zero), social value, and governance initiatives.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Aviation Construction Specialist airport construction and expansion services including terminal improvements, runway upgrades, and aviation infrastructure development for airport authorities and operators across the UK and Ireland.
- Water Infrastructure Construction Water pipeline construction, strategic pipeline alliances, and water treatment and distribution infrastructure projects delivered for water utilities in the UK and Ireland.
- Energy Infrastructure Construction Renewable energy infrastructure projects including onshore wind farm construction and energy distribution systems delivered for energy companies such as ScottishPower and RWE.
- Transportation Infrastructure Construction Road, bridge, and transportation network construction including tied-arch bridge projects such as the AMIDs South project in Paisley, delivered for transport authorities and councils.
- Marine Construction Marine and coastal infrastructure construction including port facilities and harbour works for public and private clients.
- Public Sector Building Construction Construction of healthcare, education, government, and civic buildings delivered for local councils, NHS bodies, and government departments across the UK and Ireland.
- Commercial Building Construction
Quantifiable outcome
- £1bn of construction work currently underway
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Farrans Construction
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments11 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Farrans Construction technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Farrans Construction partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- ATU SligocoreFarrans partnered with ATU Sligo (Atlantic Technological University) to offer a Level 8 Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering - one of the first of its kind in Ireland at honours degree level. Apprentices achieve a Level 8 (Honours) degree while earning a salary and gaining hands-on experience on live projects.
- Acrow BridgecoreAcrow Bridge supplied a 700XS modular steel bridge for Bristol Airport expansion project. Farrans rented the 60-metre bridge to provide temporary access between landside areas and active construction zone, enabling construction traffic to bypass airside operations while maintaining baggage drop access beneath.
- Sisk (Parent Company)coreSisk acquired Farrans Construction from CRH. Farrans is now proud to be a Sisk company, part of one of Ireland's largest providers of pioneering construction and engineering services with extensive operations across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.
- A-SAFEcoreA-SAFE completed safety systems installation at Leeds Bradford Airport's new terminal extension and baggage area. Project was delivered in partnership with Farrans Construction and Millar Design & Management.
- Millar Design & ManagementcorePartnered with Farrans Construction and A-SAFE for Leeds Bradford Airport terminal extension project, providing design and management services for the safety systems installation.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Farrans Construction competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Morgan Sindall Group: UK-listed construction and regeneration group with comparable water, highways, energy and aviation delivery. Larger and more diversified but overlapping in nearly every sector Farrans serves.
- BAM Construct UK: UK arm of Royal BAM Group delivering civil engineering and building across transport, water, energy and public sectors. Larger scale but directly overlapping capability and customer base with Farrans.
- Balfour Beatty: Tier-1 UK infrastructure group delivering highways, rail, water and energy projects. Significantly larger than Farrans but competes for the same major UK infrastructure frameworks including National Highways and water utility works.
- Skanska UK: UK arm of Skanska delivering civil engineering and building across transport, water, energy and public sectors. Larger tier-1 incumbent competing for the same UK public infrastructure tenders as Farrans.
- John Sisk & Son (Sisk Group): Now Farrans' parent group; Ireland's largest indigenous construction and engineering services provider with broader European operations and larger scale than Farrans. Overlapping capability profile across all of Farrans' sectors.
Emerging players
- Knights Brown Group: South of England mid-tier civil engineering contractor delivering coastal, water, highways and energy infrastructure. Comparable scale and capability profile as a fellow UK mid-tier civil contractor chasing utility and public-sector frameworks.
Direct peers
- Wills Bros Civil Engineering: Scottish/NI civil engineering firm delivering highways, water and energy infrastructure across the UK and Ireland. Comparable in scale and in the same mid-tier UK/Irish civil contracting space as Farrans.
- Lagan Construction Group: Northern Ireland-headquartered civil engineering and building contractor with operations in aviation, marine, roads and water across UK and Ireland. Closely comparable on core sector mix and regional focus.
- McLaughlin & Harvey: Northern Ireland-headquartered building and civil engineering contractor delivering aviation, commercial, healthcare, education, leisure, marine and water projects across the UK and Ireland. Directly comparable in scale, sector mix and regional footprint to Farrans.
- Graham Group: County Down (NI)-headquartered contractor operating across UK and Ireland in highways, water, rail, energy and commercial building. Closest sector and geography match to Farrans, including water framework and aviation delivery.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Farrans Construction social profiles
Digital presenceFarrans Construction compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Farrans Construction financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Farrans Construction leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Farrans Construction funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Farrans Construction M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Farrans Construction
What does Farrans Construction do?
Farrans Construction is a civil engineering and building contractor that delivers large-scale infrastructure projects across the UK and Ireland, specialising in water, energy, aviation, transportation, marine, public sector, industrial, commercial, healthcare, education, and leisure sectors. The company provides end-to-end project delivery including pipelines, bridges, airport terminals, wind farms, and public buildings, operating with over 600 employees across multiple regional offices.
Is Farrans Construction a public or private company?
Farrans Construction is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Farrans Construction founded?
Farrans Construction was founded in 1941. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Farrans Construction based?
Farrans Construction is headquartered in Belfast, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Farrans Construction make money?
One revenue line is on record: construction Services.
Who are Farrans Construction's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Morgan Sindall Group, BAM Construct UK, Balfour Beatty, Skanska UK and John Sisk & Son (Sisk Group). Knights Brown Group is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Wills Bros Civil Engineering, Lagan Construction Group, McLaughlin & Harvey and Graham Group.
Does Farrans Construction have an API?
No public API is recorded for Farrans Construction.
What industry is Farrans Construction in?
Farrans Construction's product category is Civil Engineering & Construction Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAFAGAC, Water & Wastewater Pipeline Construction (Mains, Force Mains, Interceptors), with a secondary code of EUAEADAG, Overhead & Underground Collection System Construction (MV/HV Lines, Duct Banks). Its NAICS code is 237110 and its SIC code is 1623.