Keller Group

Quality 0.50 · 0 views · Updated 2 months ago

British ground engineering company

title: "Keller Group" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["companies-based-in-the-city-of-westminster", "companies-listed-on-the-london-stock-exchange", "companies-in-the-ftse-250-index", "construction-and-civil-engineering-companies-of-the-united-kingdom", "geotechnical-engineering-companies", "1950-establishments-in-england", "british-companies-established-in-1950", "construction-and-civil-engineering-companies-established-in-1950"] description: "British ground engineering company" topic_path: "engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keller_Group" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British ground engineering company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameKeller Group plc
logoKeller Group logo.svg
former_nameChidworth Limited (19891990)
typePublic limited company
traded_as
key_people{{Ubl
industryGround engineering
revenue£2,986.7 million (2024)
operating_income£212.6 million (2024)
net_income£142.7 million (2024)
num_employees10,000 (2026)
subsid{{Ubl
homepage
foundation
locationLondon, England
::

| name = Keller Group plc | logo = Keller Group logo.svg | former_name = Chidworth Limited (19891990) | type = Public limited company | traded_as = | key_people = {{Ubl | Carl-Peter Forster (Chair) | James Wroath (CEO) | David Burke (CFO) | industry = Ground engineering | products = | revenue = £2,986.7 million (2024) | operating_income = £212.6 million (2024) | net_income = £142.7 million (2024) | num_employees = 10,000 (2026) | parent = | subsid = {{Ubl | Cyntech | GEO-Instruments | Suncoast Post-Tension | Moretrench Industrial | Phi Group | homepage = | footnotes = | foundation = | location = London, England Keller Group plc () is a geotechnical engineering company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company is the world's largest geotechnical specialist contractor.

History

The company was established in the 1950s as the ground engineering division of GKN plc. In 1960, it expanded into a stand-alone piling and ground improvement company and, in 1975, it acquired the German company Johann Keller and took on that name. In 1990, it was the subject of a management buy-out from GKN plc supported by Candover. three months later, it was awarded a £7.5 million contract for a German customer; at the time, it was the company's largest single order. In early 1995, Keller Group announced it has recorded £9.4 million in pre-tax profits, a 33 percent rise over the previous year; this was in part attributed to deals made in the North American market.

In 1997, Keller Group's fiscal performance dipped somewhat, which was attributed to external factors such as the strengthening of the Sterling and an economic downturn in Germany. Six months later, profits rose to £13.8 million, which was up 10 percent from the previous year; a large portion of these gains were from its international projects. During 1998, the company elected to expand its British-based concrete repair subsidiary Makers, as well as acquire the Australian foundation specialist Franki for £3.5 million. In August 1999, Keller Group stated that two-thirds of its pre-tax profits were derived from Makers.

Throughout the early 2000s, the American market would be a consistent source of profits for the company. During 2003, Keller Groups underwent restructuring, which included 50 job losses, due to overcapacity and industry-wide changes; profits declined sharply by 46 percent while its subsidiary Makers was marked down by £7 million. However, by the start of 2005, Makers had returned to profitability and Keller Group was once again considering its expansion.

During 2006, Keller Group acquired Anderson Drilling, the creators and owners of the Big Stan drilling rig, along with several British specialist firms, amid stronger than expected fiscal results. In September 2007, the company sold its social housing division for nominal consideration; later that same year, the company acquired the American piling specialist HJ Foundation in exchange for £24.5 million.

During 2008, Keller Group was impacted by the start of the Great Recession and a major downturn in the housing market; in an effort to reduce its dependence upon the US market, it turned towards other markets, such as India and eastern Europe. One year later, the company achieved over £1 billion in turnover for the first time.

In 2011, it was awarded contracts worth £30 million for grouting, structural monitoring and surveying works on London's Crossrail programme. Two years later, Keller Group doubled its profits, which its management was attributed to its international growth.

During 2015, the company's performance dipped due to a downturn in Australia; while lower revenues were recorded for that year, profits actually rose. Nevertheless, in 2018, Keller Group issued a profit warning and dropped out of the FTSE 250 Index.

In January 2023, Keller Group published a profit warning after a "deliberate and sophisticated financial reporting fraud" at Austral Construction. The estimated impact was £6m related to the first half of 2022, and £8m to £10m relating to prior years. Two directors were dismissed as investigations continued, and the company's shares fell 10%. The fraud was described by The Times as "apparently sophisticated". Keller's pre-tax profit for 2022 fell by 17% as a result; it made £56m profit across the year, from a turnover of £2.9bn.

In June 2025, Keller announced CEO Michael Speakman would leave in August 2025 for medical reasons, and would be succeeded by James Wroath, a former CEO of logistics firm Wincanton. In 2024, Keller revenues grew 1% to £2.98bn with pre-tax profit up 46% to £184m, and operating profit up 34% to £205m.

Operations

Keller operates under three divisions and is supported by its group head office:

  • North America: Bencor, Case Foundation, Hayward Baker, HJ Foundation, Keller Canada, McKinney Drilling, Suncoast, Moretrench. With effect from 1 January 2020, these businesses were all branded as Keller and operate as regional parts of a single company.
  • Europe, Middle East and Africa: Central Europe, North-East Europe, North-West Europe, South-East Europe, Franki, French Speaking Countries, Middle East, Iberia and Latin America, Brazil
  • Asia-Pacific: ASEAN, India, Keller Australia and Austral Construction.

The company has been involved in laying foundations for complex projects including High Speed 2 in the UK and the Spirit Tower in Australia. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Spirit_Tower_in_Iluka.jpg" caption="Spirit Tower]], one of Australia's tallest buildings"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Ritz_Carlton_Residences.jpg" caption="Keller completes foundation for luxury apartments - Miami"] ::

References

References

  1. (13 November 1989). "Keller Group plc overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". [[Companies House]].
  2. "Annual Results 2024". Keller Group.
  3. "Sustainability". Keller Group.
  4. (22 November 2021). "Keller performing well 'despite challenges'". Ground Engineering.
  5. (11 December 2017). "Share of the week: Keller Group". [[The Times]].
  6. Brown, G.. (2015). "The Independent Director: The Non-Executive Director's Guide to Effective Board Presence". Palgrave Macmillan.
  7. "Keller Group". London Stock Exchange.
  8. (18 August 1994). "18Aug94 GERMANY: ROCK STEADY KELLER – HANNOVER CONTRACT.The Keller Group has won its largest single contract since its flotation on the stock market in May with a £7.5 million project in Germany".
  9. (6 April 1995). "Keller shows profits rise after stock market move".
  10. (21 September 1995). "Keller makes big US bucks".
  11. (4 September 1997). "German slump takes toll on Keller results".
  12. (12 March 1998). "Overseas work sets up Keller".
  13. (3 September 1998). "Keller to build up Makers base in UK".
  14. (10 September 1998). "Keller down under".
  15. (26 August 1999). "Keller thanks Makers for growth in pre-tax profits".
  16. FISHLOCK, BILL. (31 August 2000). "Barometer set to rise as Keller rides storm".
  17. (14 March 2002). "US proves golden for a bullish Keller".
  18. (28 August 2003). "Keller restructures as overcapacity takes toll".
  19. (18 March 2004). "Profits plummet by 46 per cent at restructured Keller".
  20. (4 December 2003). "Makers' price slashed".
  21. (7 January 2005). "Makers shapes up for Keller".
  22. (10 March 2005). "Makers recovery ups Keller's 2004 profits".
  23. "Meet Big Stan: Giant Drill Is the Rock Star of the Southwest {{!}} 2011-08-08 {{!}} ENR {{!}} Engineering News-Record".
  24. ATKINSON, JUSTIN. (25 May 2006). "Keller focused on something special".
  25. (22 June 2006). "Claims to boost Keller results".
  26. Boyd, Olivia. (20 September 2007). "Keller sells social housing business to Mears". [[Building (magazine).
  27. McCulloch, Chloë. (2 October 2007). "Keller Group buys US piling contractor for £24.5m". [[Building (magazine).
  28. GLANCY, LISA. (13 May 2008). "Keller's housing woes".
  29. (5 March 2008). "Keller planning a passage to India".
  30. ROGERS, DAVID. (29 July 2008). "Keller looks beyond US in growth plans".
  31. Stewart, Dan. (2 March 2009). "Keller turnover breaks £1bn barrier".
  32. Withers, Iain. (17 August 2011). "Keller lands £30m Crossrail contracts".
  33. Withers, Iain. (4 March 2013). "Overseas growth doubles Keller profit".
  34. Farah, Yoosof. (14 May 2015). "Keller profit dips due to Australia slowdown".
  35. Clark, Tim. (29 February 2016). "Profit jumps at Keller".
  36. Dransfield, Louise. (1 August 2016). "Keller highlights overseas reach in solid results".
  37. Champ, Hamish. (6 December 2018). "Kier and Keller fall out of FTSE250".
  38. Rogers, Dave. (11 October 2018). "Keller warns on profit".
  39. (7 March 2023). "Fraud a profit drag for Keller". Investors Chronicle.
  40. (9 January 2023). "Keller shares underpinned despite revelation of fraud at Australian unit". Shares Magazine.
  41. (9 January 2023). "Keller Posts Strong Overall Performance In H2; Identifies Financial Reporting Fraud In Austral Unit". RTT News.
  42. (10 January 2023). "Two sacked as top mining contractor uncovers suspected 'sophisticated fraud'". Sydney Morning Herald.
  43. (9 January 2023). "Keller fires two directors after unearthing profit reporting fraud". Construction Enquirer.
  44. (9 January 2023). "Keller shares plunge after reporting fraud uncovered". Construction News.
  45. (7 March 2023). "Keller profit falls after £18m reporting fraud". Construction News.
  46. (24 June 2025). "Keller chief executive to step down". Building.
  47. (6 January 2020). "Keller rebrands North American businesses". The Construction Index.
  48. "Keller focuses European operation". 19 November 2020.
  49. (1 July 2019). "Keller to shut loss-making Australian subsidiary". The Construction Index.
  50. (14 April 2021). "HS2: Bauer-Keller JV wins £95M geotechnical contract". Ground Engineering.
  51. (18 February 2017). "$1.2b Surfers tower begins its rise". Gold Coast Bulletin.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

companies-based-in-the-city-of-westminstercompanies-listed-on-the-london-stock-exchangecompanies-in-the-ftse-250-indexconstruction-and-civil-engineering-companies-of-the-united-kingdomgeotechnical-engineering-companies1950-establishments-in-englandbritish-companies-established-in-1950construction-and-civil-engineering-companies-established-in-1950