J. MURPHY & SONS LIMITED
Operating under the Murphy brand, the privately owned company is a civil engineering and construction contractor working across the transportation, water, power, and natural resources sectors as a subsidiary of Maryland Ltd.
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Cash
£412m
+3% highest in 3 filed years
Net assets
£372m
+13% highest in 3 filed years
Employees
4,709
+16% highest in 3 filed years
Profit before tax
£102m
+23.5% highest in 3 filed years
Watch the reel
Our short-form breakdown of J. MURPHY & SONS LIMITED's latest filing
J. Murphy & Sons just filed a record year. The UK civil engineering giant is sitting on so much cash it earns £14m a year in interest alone. 🏗️💰
Net assets
3-year trend · vs Industrials median
Accounts
3-year trend · Δ = latest vs prior filed period · latest reflected 2025-12-31
| Metric | Trend | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 | Δ vs prior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £1,383,830,000 | £1,395,602,000 | £1,580,571,000 | +13.3% | |
| Operating profit | £71,732,000 | £81,639,000 | £86,096,000 | +5.5% | |
| Profit before tax | £66,836,000 | £82,863,000 | £102,374,000 | +23.5% | |
| Net profit | £45,946,000 | £62,949,000 | £73,244,000 | +16.4% | |
| Cash | £362,127,000 | £400,477,000 | £412,408,000 | +3% | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £395,233,000 | £433,848,000 | £606,347,000 | +39.8% | |
| Net assets | £300,263,000 | £329,216,000 | £372,082,000 | +13% | |
| Equity | £300,263,000 | £329,509,000 | £372,082,000 | +12.9% | |
| Average employees | 3,855 | 4,060 | 4,709 | +16% | |
| Wages | £276,919,000 | £293,761,000 | £323,563,000 | +10.1% | |
| Directors' remuneration | £3,458,000 | £3,578,000 | £4,573,000 | +27.8% |
Values shown as filed in the company's annual accounts. — indicates the figure wasn't present under that line item in that period. The Δ column is the change from the prior filed period as a percentage of |prior|; lines a company doesn't report show —. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2023-12-31 | 2024-12-31 | 2025-12-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 5.2% | 5.8% | 5.4% | |
| Net margin | 3.3% | 4.5% | 4.6% | |
| Return on capital employed | 18.1% | 18.8% | 14.2% | |
| Gearing (liabilities / total assets) | 65.7% | 67.4% | 66.8% | |
| Current ratio | 1.10x | 1.13x | 1.26x | |
| Interest cover | 13.90x | 47.22x | 41.88x |
Margins divide P&L lines by turnover. Gearing is liabilities over total assets. Current ratio is current assets over creditors falling due within one year. Interest cover is operating profit over absolute finance costs. Sector-distribution context coming next.
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Consolidated group
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“Taking into account the Directors are of the opinion that the Group has adequate liquidity headroom and mitigation strategies to continue to operate for at least the next 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements. Thus, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting.”
Group structure
- J. MURPHY & SONS LIMITED · parent
- J. M. Piling Co. Limited 100%
- J. Murphy & Sons (Delancey Street) Limited 100%
- Land and Marine Engineering Limited 100%
- Murphy Plant Limited 100%
- Rocklift Limited 90%
- Abergeldie Consolidated Pty Ltd 40%
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
12 active · 28 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MURPHY, John Patrick | Secretary | 2011-07-19 | — | British |
| CRESSWELL, John Harold | Director | 2022-09-01 | May 1961 | British |
| GRAMMER, Paul Clive | Director | 2022-10-01 | May 1962 | British |
| KING, Russell John | Director | 2024-03-01 | Nov 1957 | British |
| LEDWIDGE, Joseph John | Director | 2021-02-01 | May 1970 | British |
| LODGE, Deborah | Director | 2017-03-31 | Dec 1968 | British |
| MARA, Clare Patricia | Director | 2017-03-31 | Mar 1975 | Irish |
| MURPHY, James Alexander | Director | 2017-03-31 | Oct 1984 | Irish |
| MURPHY, John Patrick | Director | 2020-09-03 | May 1966 | British |
| MURPHY, John Paul | Director | 2010-02-09 | Nov 1979 | Irish |
| MURPHY, Karina Duarte Corware, Dr | Director | 2018-01-30 | Jul 1984 | British |
| WALKER, Adam Christopher | Director | 2023-10-01 | Sep 1967 | British |
Show 28 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| CASSIDY, Thomas | Secretary | 2010-02-01 | 2011-07-31 |
| MOTEN, William Paul | Secretary | 2000-04-05 | 2010-02-01 |
| O'CONNELL, Michael | Secretary | — | 2000-04-05 |
| ABOGADO NOMINEES LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2010-02-01 | 2013-12-16 |
| ANDERSON, Peter Stuart | Director | 2018-01-01 | 2019-12-31 |
| BEHAN, Matthew | Director | 2011-05-03 | 2015-12-31 |
| BROSNAHAN, Paul | Director | 2006-05-15 | 2014-04-09 |
| BURKE, David Anthony | Director | 2016-10-03 | 2020-09-30 |
| DAVIES, David Huw | Director | 2015-11-01 | 2023-11-30 |
| DAWSON, Leslie William | Director | 2010-10-28 | 2014-11-01 |
| HOLLINGSHEAD, Stephen | Director | 2015-05-18 | 2019-11-29 |
| JESTIN, Trevor William | Director | 2008-01-28 | 2014-04-09 |
| KEANE, Thaddeus | Director | — | 1999-12-31 |
| KERR, Alastair Gibson | Director | 2014-11-12 | 2022-12-31 |
| MCAULIFFE, Louis John | Director | 2007-01-16 | 2014-04-10 |
| MCGRATH, Kevin Finbarr | Director | 2005-12-01 | 2014-04-10 |
| MCNAMEE, Peter | Director | — | 1993-02-26 |
| MOTEN, William Paul | Director | 2010-01-11 | 2011-06-01 |
| MURPHY, Bernard Joseph | Director | — | 2019-03-31 |
| MURPHY, Caroline | Director | 2008-05-16 | 2014-03-26 |
| MURPHY, Eamonn | Director | — | 2008-05-31 |
| MURPHY, John | Director | — | 2009-05-07 |
| MURPHY, Kathleen | Director | 2017-03-31 | 2023-07-31 |
| O'CALLAGHAN, James Martin | Director | — | 2015-12-18 |
| O'CONNELL, Michael | Director | — | 2009-10-31 |
| RAMSAY, Darren Richard Anthony | Director | 2014-04-29 | 2017-02-06 |
| STACK, John Patrick | Director | 2008-09-01 | 2014-10-01 |
| TOMS, Michael Rodney | Director | 2015-12-01 | 2023-12-31 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drilton Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 75–100%, Voting 75–100%, Appoints directors | 2016-05-16 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 268 total filings
Material constitutional events — rename, articles re-file, resolution
- 2023-02-14 MA Memorandum articles
- 2023-02-14 RESOLUTIONS Resolution
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-26 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2026-01-07 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-09-08 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2025-01-10 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-12-11 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-11-28 | MR04 | mortgage | Mortgage satisfy charge full | |
| 2024-07-12 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-05-08 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-01-09 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-01-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-12-13 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-10-03 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-08-03 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-08-01 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2023-02-14 | MA | incorporation | Memorandum articles | |
| 2023-02-14 | RESOLUTIONS | resolution | Resolution | |
| 2023-01-10 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-01-05 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2022-10-04 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2022-09-12 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 3
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 0
- Officers resigned
- 0
last 12 months
last 24 months
last 12 months
last 12 months
Direct counts from the register. No score, no rating — see the Filing timeline for the underlying events.