Builder bucks industry trend

The UK's biggest construction firm, Balfour Beatty, has bucked the industry gloom by saying it expects trading to remain "strong" this year.

Balfour said that it had won £400 million worth of new orders in the first five months of the year, taking its order book to £11.8 billion.

Its upbeat comments come in stark contrast to woes being seen in the wider construction sector as firms battle against dwindling project finance and rising costs.

In a statement, the firm said: "Trading in the year to date continues to be strong. We anticipate that order intake and trading performance will remain strong throughout the year and that we will make good progress."

Broker Panmure Gordon said in a note: "It is seeing solid trading across its main UK and US operations."