The firm said it has conducted a review of the way it does business in the UK.
The consulting giant announced in 2015 that it would take on contracts with a value of up to £100m as a construction manager through its construction services division, headed by former Bovis Lend Lease pre-construction director John Hilton.
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In effect, the move brought Aecom’s existing construction management capacity in the US and Russian markets to the UK, although Aecom Construction Services (ACS) is a home-grown operation staffed by individuals who know the London market.
The division promised to use Aecom’s design and technical expertise to take out around 10% of the construction costs on projects.
In June last year, Aecom’s UK and Ireland business reported a 52% fall in pre-tax profit in 2017 after problems on an unnamed “underperforming project”.
The company unveiled a pre-tax profit of £3.3m in the year to 29 September 2017, down more than half on the £6.9m it made the year before. Meanwhile turnover rose to £403m, up 14% on 2016 thanks largely to Aecom’s growth in the UK and in particular in the water sector.
Now, after a strategic review of its operations, Aecom said it will make changes to its approach to construction services work.
A spokesperson for Aecom said: “We will continue to offer integrated project and construction management services but will be changing the way we do self-delivery ‘at risk’ construction projects here in the UK, working with delivery partners in the future rather than taking on the work in-house.
“This change in approach does not alter our focus on delivering innovative and high-quality projects and products for our clients, using traditional and increasingly digital design including modern methods of construction. We will complete current projects and evaluate each new opportunity as it arises.”
Aecom’s work with the Silvertown Partnership (TSP), comprising Chelsfield Properties, First Base and Macquarie Capital, to deliver 3,000 homes at the 62-acre derelict site at the Royal Docks in east London has not been affected by the move.
