Alfred McAlpine

Alfred McAlpine

Company type	Public
Industry	Construction Business services
Founded	1935[1]
Defunct	2008
Fate	Acquired
Successor	Carillion
Headquarters	Hooton, Cheshire
Key people	Dr Roger Urwin, (Chairman) Ian Grice, (CEO)
Number of employees	8,600 (2008)

Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in Hooton, Cheshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Carillion in 2008.

The origins of Alfred McAlpine are strongly associated with the businessman Alfred McAlpine, a son of 'Concrete' Bob McAlpine, and the north western operations of Sir Robert McAlpine. These operations became legally distinct in 1940; 18 year later, the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange under the name Marchwiel Holdings. By this point, Jimmie McAlpine was the chairman of the company, a position he would hold until 1985. Prior to 1983, the company's operations were constrained by a non-compete agreement with Sir Robert McAlpine; while the geographical restriction was removed, some terms of agreement remained in effect between the two companies.

Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, Alfred McAlpine was a major road builder, being responsible for the construction of over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll (as part of the CAMBBA consortium). During the 1980s, it expanded its presence in the home building sector; by the late 1990s, McAlpine was building over 4,000 houses per year. However, the company opted to sell its homebuilding operations to rival company George Wimpey in August 2001. It also owned and operated Penrhyn Quarry, the country's largest slate works; a major accounting scandal at the company's slate subsidiary occurred during the mid 2000s. During February 2008, Alfred McAlpine was acquired by rival company Carillion in exchange for £572m, which made Carillion the biggest support services company in Britain at that time.