Kier won more work from the government than any other company in the UK during the last financial year.

Analysis by procurement data specialist Tussell shows Kier secured public sector contracts worth £1.4bn in the year to March 2023.

That put it top of the league of “strategic suppliers” to the government who do so much business with the public sector that their relationship is directly managed by the cabinet office.

Also on the list of strategic construction suppliers is Balfour Beatty (£1.2bn), Babcock (£1.1bn), Atkins (£460m), KBR (£414m), Jacobs (£377m), Tilbury Douglas (£233m), Mott MacDonald (£211m) and Laing O’Rourke (£120m).

Only Atkins and Babcock saw their public sector income increase during the year with an 11% drop in spending shared by the construction strategic suppliers to £5.5bn overall.

A number of contractors are now listed as challengers who could soon join the main list – they are Vinci, Willmott Dixon and Wates.