What Graham Group does

Graham Group (legal entity: John Graham Holdings Ltd) is a privately owned, family-controlled UK and Ireland construction contractor founded approximately 1776 and headquartered in Northern Ireland. The business operates through five integrated divisions — Building, Civil Engineering, Interior Fit-Out, Facilities Management, and Investment Projects — and employs more than 2,200 people across regional offices in Northern Ireland, Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Renfrew), England (London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, plus new Cumbria and Peterborough locations), Wales (Cardiff), and the Republic of Ireland (Dublin). Reported turnover exceeds £1 billion annually.

GRAHAM's offering spans design-and-build construction contracts, interior fit-out, long-term facilities management (including a 40-year NHS Lanarkshire partnership via Hub South West), and PPP/PFI-style investment projects. The company is differentiated by its 250-year heritage, Tier 1 contractor status in the UK and Ireland, and a portfolio of landmark projects including the £114m Renfrew Bridge (UK's first twinleaf cable-stayed swing bridge), a £142m Defence Infrastructure Organisation contract, and Ireland's first Passivhaus-certified leisure centre. Its technology stack centres on BIM 360 Field, 4D scheduling via Navisworks, modern methods of construction (pre-fabricated service modules, bathroom pods), and passive design strategies.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through competitive tendering on public sector frameworks (Pagabo, Procure Partnerships, Southern Construction Framework, Frameworks Scotland 2) and direct appointments for major projects. The customer base is heavily weighted toward government clients — local authorities, NHS trusts, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, housing associations (Clarion/Latimer, SNG) — with private sector developers as a secondary segment. Pricing is project-based via multi-year contracts, with no public standard pricing; ancillary managed services revenue (hard FM, lifecycle) provides a recurring annuity layer atop the project-based core.

Name

Graham Group

Legal name

John Graham Holdings Ltd

Website

https://graham.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1776

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Graham Group is a privately owned UK and Ireland construction contractor operating across Building, Civil Engineering, Interior Fit-Out, Facilities Management, and Investment Projects. With over 2,200 employees and turnover above £1 billion, it serves primarily public sector clients via framework tendering and direct appointments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction and Civil Engineering Services

NAICS

Nonresidential Building Construction (2362)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540), Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600), Operative Builders (1531)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial General Contracting (New Build) (IMAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Self-Performing General Contractors (IMAFAAAI)

Keywords

• Civil engineering construction
• Building construction services
• Interior fit-out
• Facilities management
• Infrastructure projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Hillsborough

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Construction Contracts: Primary revenue from design and construction contracts for building, civil engineering, and infrastructure projects across public and private sectors.
2. Facilities Management Services: Long-term FM contracts delivering hard FM and lifecycle services to healthcare facilities and other built environment assets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Graham Group is a privately owned construction contractor delivering building, civil engineering, interior fit-out, facilities management, and investment/PPP projects across the UK and Ireland. The company undertakes complex infrastructure, commercial, residential, healthcare, education, and defence projects for public-sector and private-sector clients, and operates long-term hard FM and lifecycle services for built assets.

Product overview

Graham Group is a privately-owned construction company operating through five core divisions: Building, Civil Engineering, Interior Fit Out, Facilities Management, and Investment Projects. The company delivers complex construction projects across the UK and Ireland, spanning sectors including residential, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and commercial development. The divisions operate both independently and collaboratively to provide integrated project delivery from design through construction to facilities management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Building
• Civil Engineering
• Interior Fit-Out
• Facilities Management
• Investment Projects

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of GRAHAM's trainees remain with the business
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Procure PartnershipscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGRAHAM secured placement on six lots under the Procure Partnerships North West Contractor Framework worth £1.2bn, covering construction and infrastructure projects over £5m. Achieved first-place rankings on both Lot 11 and Lot 12 (infrastructure lots £15m-£30m and £30m+).
• SNG (Sovereign Network Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGRAHAM appointed to six lots under SNG's new-build framework forming part of a 10-year development programme to deliver 25,000 new homes across the South of England including London. Lots include geographic regions London & East, South, and West in £15m-£45m and £45m+ value bands.
• Southern Construction Framework (SCF)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGRAHAM appointed by University of Bath via the Southern Construction Framework to deliver 960-bedroom purpose-built student accommodation. Working under a two-stage Pre-Construction Services Agreement.
• AtkinsRéalismajorTechnology or IntegrationAtkinsRéalis serving as multi-disciplinary design partner for Hereford Bypass project, collaborating with GRAHAM on the 3.6km single carriageway connecting A49 and A465 roads.
• Hub South WestcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor40-year partnership via Hub South West for delivery of hard FM and lifecycle services to NHS Lanarkshire primary healthcare facilities including Hunter Health Centre, Houldsworth Health Centre, and Kilsyth Health Centre. Contract value £500k per annum.
• PagabocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGRAHAM awarded contracts through Pagabo's Major Works Framework for projects including £76.8m Agora regeneration in Milton Keynes. Pagabo manages frameworks providing public sector clients access to pre-qualified contractors.
• Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor£142m deal to overhaul three army sites across Edinburgh for the DIO, delivering new buildings and refurbishments. Major public sector infrastructure project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Balfour Beatty: Largest UK Tier 1 contractor with overlapping building, civil engineering and infrastructure capabilities across the same public sector framework ecosystem. Directly competes with Graham on frameworks such as Pagabo and major highways/rail work.
• Morgan Sindall Group: UK-listed construction and regeneration group operating across building, infrastructure, fit-out and property services. Closely comparable in segment mix and public/private sector customer profile to Graham's five-division model.
• Kier Group: UK Tier 1 contractor with highways, infrastructure, utilities and building divisions competing head-to-head with Graham on public sector frameworks and civil engineering work across England and Wales.
• John Sisk & Son: Privately owned, family-controlled Irish-headquartered contractor with building, civil engineering and fit-out operations across Ireland and the UK. Almost identical ownership structure, Irish heritage and five-division model to Graham.
• Wates Group: Privately owned UK Tier 1 contractor focused on building, interior fit-out and facilities management. Highly comparable privately held family business competing for similar public and private sector building work.
• Bowmer + Kirkland: Privately owned UK building and civil engineering contractor of comparable revenue scale. Direct competitor on commercial building, student accommodation and public sector schemes.

Broad incumbents

• Skanska UK: UK arm of Swedish-listed Skanska, operating across building, civil engineering and infrastructure. Competes with Graham on major public infrastructure and building projects but with a broader international parent and larger balance sheet.
• Mace Group: International consultancy and construction firm with significant UK building and infrastructure operations. Comparable on building and fit-out but operates broader programme management and consultancy services.
• Laing O'Rourke: Privately owned UK-headquartered international contractor with major building, civil engineering and infrastructure capabilities. Direct competitor on large public infrastructure and building projects.

Regional players

• McLaughlin & Harvey: Northern Ireland-headquartered building and civil engineering contractor with strong overlap to Graham in NI and Scotland. Comparable family-business heritage and building/civils focus but smaller geographic and revenue footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/grahamgroupuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Graham Group