The firm revealed that margins were holding up well, as its order intake more than doubled to £1.23bn following several major project wins over the period.

Skanska has ridden the strong south east recovery. This has helped to raise operating profits in the first nine months of 2014 by a fifth to £30.8m on turnover ahead 30% to exceed £1bn.

While the construction arm’s operating margin slipped to 3.1% from 3.3% in the same period last year, it remains ahead of most other leading contractors.

Chief executive Mike Putnam said: “We have a healthy order book and a good pipeline of projects.

“I believe Skanska UK is on track to deliver another strong and stable performance in 2014.”

Most recent new orders include a £87m mechanical and electrical fit-out contract at the Battersea Power Station redevelopment and the £50m site-wide infrastructure project at the North West Cambridge Development.

Putnam said the contractor was well placed for 2015. “We are in good shape and our pipeline of future work remains strong and continues to grow.”

Skanska’s group president and CEO Johan Karlström remarked that the UK had delivered the fastest turnaround in opportunities across its global business.

He said: “The biggest shift if you go back one year is in the UK, we see a clear trend of new projects coming to the market and in our order bookings.”

But he warned competition for new work was fierce in the UK and Skanska was carefully watching upward cost pressure.