In a bullish trading update today the contractor predicted a year-end order book of £17bn up from £14.3bn in 2019 and boosted by major projects like HS2.

Revenue is expected to be in line with last year at £8.4bn despite the impact of Covid-19 while full year average monthly net cash is now forecast to be around £500m.

Balfour is planning a final dividend this year and return more capital to shareholders with an initial £50m share buyback programme from January 2021.

The update said: “Balfour Beatty continues to expect that the earnings-based businesses will report a more normalised operating profit in 2021, broadly in line with 2019.”

Quinn added: “As the impact of Covid-19 reduces, we are seeing positive momentum across the business. 

“Ours is an industry that underpins economies: going forward, it will help to drive recovery, including new jobs, new skills and a greener future.

 “We look towards 2021 with a strong order book, a robust balance sheet and having maintained our expert capability.

“These attributes provide confidence that Balfour Beatty is well positioned to deliver value through profitable managed growth in both the medium and long term.”