The firm bagged eight jobs in the month, the largest the planned £225m Cardiff Bay music arena. In London, McLaren also secured a £150m data centre in London Docklands, while in Yorkshire it sealed a shed deal for a distribution hub for retailer Home Bargains.

Top 10 contractors by work secured in April

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According to data compiled by Barbour ABI, the value of projects secured by the leading 50 contractors rose 7% to £3.82bn.

The number of project awards slipped to 109 from 122 in April.

The flurry of wins for McLaren lifted the firm from 21st position to 11th in the 12-month rolling contracts league of work secured to April.

Among the top five most successful work-winning firms over the last 12 months, Sir Robert McAlpine remained top with Mace moving up a position to replace Morgan Sindall.

Top 5 contractors – Total wins 12 months to April

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Among the other big wins in April, Graham signed off on the University of Manchester’s £400m redevelopment scheme for its Fallowfield Campus.

Planned new Fallowfield Campus

In Scotland, Graham also started a £125m student development at Central Quay for Unite Students.

Mace confirmed a £200m deal to deliver one of the largest building reuse projects in the City of London for JP Morgan Asset Management. 

The project to overhaul 65 Gresham Street will see the building raised in height by four floors to 12 storeys, adding external terraces and inset balconies.