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We look forward to welcoming John Cresswell as Murphy’s new Chairman of the Board in November and wish a fond farewell to Alastair Kerr whose leadership has guided us successfully over the last decade.

John Murphy, CEO, said: “I would like to thank Alastair for his leadership of the Murphy Board over the last 10 years, and for the impact he has made on our business.  Alastair has been instrumental in implementing Murphy’s good governance practices, building a professional family Board, and in demonstrating the importance of culture to the long-term success of businesses like Murphy.  I wish Alastair every success in the future.”

Alastair Kerr commented: “It has been both a privilege and a pleasure to help support the Murphy business over the last 10 years, and, in particular, to see it develop so strongly over recent years under the leadership of our founder’s grandson, John Murphy and his team. I wish everyone involved in it every success for the future; I am confident that the business will be wisely guided by John Cresswell for many years to come.”

John Cresswell brings substantial executive advisory experience to Murphy, having served as CEO of 215-year old family-owned business, Bibby Line Group, Arqiva and ITV.  His current tenures include Operating Advisor with Lazard Asset Management with the Sustainable Private Infrastructure Fund, and as Non-Executive Director of Capita plc.

Commenting on the appointment, John Murphy explained: “John has more than 30 years’ experience leading and developing organisations across a broad range of industry sectors, making him an ideal person for this role.  There is strong cultural alignment between John and the Murphy family, and I look forward to working closely with him to continue the standard set by Alastair Kerr.”  

John Cresswell, incoming Chair, commented: “I feel extremely privileged to take on this role at such a transformative time for Murphy and the construction and engineering industry.  Murphy is values-led, has a reputation for quality delivery, and a strong balance sheet. The Group has a clear longer-term ambition to be the leading family-owned construction business and a solid strategy to get there.  I am excited to be able to play a part in that journey.”

Alastair will stand down from the Board on 22 December 2022.

Please click here to read our official press release.

The opening ceremony for the Murphy Ireland built, state-of-the-art covered reservoir and associated works at Stillorgan Co. Dublin, took place yesterday with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien in attendance.

The Stillorgan Reservoir Upgrade project means that the water supply to over 200,000 people across Dublin and Wicklow is now safe and secure through 2031 and beyond.  

The upgraded reservoir can store over 160 million litres of treated drinking water and has replaced three open reservoirs at this site, which were no longer fit for purpose.

The project represents an investment of over €50m by the client Irish Water.

The Stillorgan Reservoir Upgrade is the latest in a number of major upgrades of water supplies in the Greater Dublin Area, designed to future-proof the supply to cater for increasing demand, population growth and the challenges that are likely to be presented by climate change.

Officially opening the new reservoir, Minister O’Brien described the project as a “critical element in the ongoing modernisation of the water supply for the Greater Dublin Area.”

Adding: “Congratulations to Irish Water and all their partners for delivering this landmark project.” 

John G. Murphy, Managing Director, Murphy Ireland said:

“This project is a testament to the great collaborative effort of everyone involved including Irish Water, Nicholas O’ Dwyer and of course all our own employees, who worked tirelessly to deliver this massively important piece of strategic infrastructure on time and to budget, despite external challenges including Brexit and Covid 19.

Over the last 54 years, Murphy Ireland has built a reputation for quality and excellence, offering industry-leading services in civil engineering, transport infrastructure, piling, tunnelling, structural steel, pipe fabrication and weld testing services, as well as fully integrated turnkey solutions to both the municipal and industrial water sectors, encompassing all aspects of design, construction and operation and maintenance. This reputation could not have been built without the wonderful work of our people and teams, supported by valued, long-standing clients like Irish Water.”

Niall Gleeson, Irish Water CEO said:

“We all recognise the need to improve our ageing water infrastructure and the completion of this project is another important step along the road to building a secure and sustainable water supply for the people of Dublin for generations to come.

We would like to thank the local community for their patience and support as we carried out this essential work, as well as our delivery partners in Dublin City Council, Nicholas O’Dwyer Ltd and Murphy Ireland.”

The original Stillorgan Reservoir site comprised of three open reservoirs and was one of the last remaining uncovered treated water reservoirs in Europe, where treated drinking water was left exposed to the elements, with consequent risk of contamination.

The construction of the new covered reservoir will eliminate that risk and enable better management of the supply of water to customers. Construction work began on the upgrade project in 2018 with the draining down of the Gray Reservoir, which had not been fully drained since it was built in the late 1800s.

The new reservoir and associated infrastructure will have the capacity to support future water demand through 2031 and beyond.

For more on the Stillorgan Reservoir Upgrade see: Stillorgan Reservoir – Our Projects | Murphy Ireland (murphygroup.com)

The UK Government has today announced its new Energy Security Strategy which sets out how Great Britain will accelerate the deployment of wind, new nuclear, solar and hydrogen to support energy security and the transition to net zero.

J Murphy & Sons Limited has a long history of supporting clients to deliver better-engineered, sustainable energy solutions. We welcome the plan but say action is needed now if people of Britain are to see benefits anytime soon.

Jon Downs, Murphy Managing Director, Energy, said:

“The UK Government’s new Energy Security Strategy is an undoubted step in the right direction and outlines a credible path towards boosting the country’s long term energy independence and security at a time when our reliance on overseas supply is being brought into stark relief.  However, the focus must now shift towards providing the infrastructure that is so urgently needed in order to make this strategy a reality – a scaled up expansion of our nuclear, wind, solar and hydrogen plans, as well as improved domestic oil and gas capabilities will only be possible if investment is made today.  Today’s plan is a good outline, but we need the rest of the construction and engineering industry to get on board to make the Government’s plan a reality – what we need now is action.”

You can find the full Government strategy here.

• Murphy recognises the positive social impact of supporting prisoners on release and encourage other industry employers to get on board
• Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab backing national scheme to drive thousands of prisoners into work to cut crime
• 91 prisons will benefit from new ‘Employment Advisory Boards’ by next spring
• Prison leavers with a job much more likely to go straight – cutting £18 billion cost of reoffending

John Murphy, CEO of J. Murphy & Sons Ltd (“Murphy” or “the Group”), is one of dozens of top business leaders from across England and Wales who is spearheading a drive to get prison leavers into stable jobs so they can break the cycle of crime, it was announced today.

John Murphy is chairing an Employment Advisory Board (EAB) at HMP Berwyn. The board is a link between the jail and employers, making sure that offenders use their time in prison to gain the skills and links to the job opportunities they need to head straight into stable work upon release.

This is crucial in tackling the £18 billion cost of reoffending, cutting crime and boosting public protection, as ex-offenders in steady jobs within six months of leaving prison are nine percentage points less likely to commit further crime.

EABs will be up and running in all 91 ‘resettlement’ prisons in England and Wales by April 2023. In a survey, 90 per cent of employers who have taken on ex-offenders say they are “motivated, reliable, good at their job and trustworthy”.

John Murphy, chair of HMP Berwyn’s Employment Advisory Board and CEO of J Murphy & Sons Limited, said: “Bringing our expertise to the prison and helping to provide opportunities which encourage people to turn their backs on crime is highly rewarding.

“I strongly urge other construction industry employers to follow Murphy’s lead and get on board this extremely valuable programme. Ex-offenders offer companies a valuable employment stream and a potential driver of their economic growth. Our programme shifts the focus onto upskilling offenders while they are still in the prison system, ensuring they are ready to move straight into stable work when released, breaking the cycle of crime.

“A criminal record should not be an obstacle to succeeding in life.”

The scheme was officially launched by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab during a visit to HMP Wandsworth’s EAB this week.

Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Dominic Raab MP, said: “Getting prison leavers into work is a formula that works. It reduces the chance of reoffending – cutting crime and making the public safer.

“It’s a true win-win, allowing us to boost public protection and save the taxpayer money, while providing the reliable staff businesses need to drive the British economy.”

EABs are chaired by business experts from companies such as J Murphy & Sons Limited, performance car manufacturer Lotus, and business services provider Sodexo. They work with prisons to ensure they understand what employers want so offenders have the right skills and links to job opportunities on release.

This ensures training programmes and prison workshops are geared to local employment needs and that offenders can access a vibrant business network as they prepare for release.

As part of the Prisons White Paper published last December, the Government has committed to investing £200 million per year by 2023 on reducing reoffending, including on prison leaver employment schemes. Initiatives to be funded include the roll out of prison employment leads to all resettlement prisons who will work closely with the specialist employment team in Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, the New Futures Network.

View the press release from the Ministry of Justine here. 

View the press release from Construction News here. 

On 18 February, Best Companies hosted their online live event unveiling their league table for regional, sector and national winners.

The results follow an employee engagement survey carried out with Best Companies in 2021.

Best Companies big quarterly reveal showed that Murphy improved in all categories, with the company recognised as:

• UK’s 3rd Best Big Company to work
• London’s 2nd Best Big Company to work for, and
• Construction and Engineering’s 2nd Best Company to work

A fantastic result and a step forward to achieving Murphy’s People strategic objective in their Murphy at 75 strategy.

This is real testament to the passion and commitment of Murphy’s multi-skilled, direct-delivery teams.

Murphy has been awarded one of three multi-billion-pound contracts by Network Rail for the South of England, worth up to £7bn for Control Period 6 (2019-2024). 

The framework to deliver renewals and enhancements in Anglia, South East and Wessex has been awarded to Murphy (Anglia), BAM Nuttall Limited (South East) and Geoffrey Osborne Limited (Wessex) who will act as strategic delivery partners throughout CP6. 

The multi-discipline framework will deliver projects of varying value, including stations, buildings and civils, electrifications, power, signalling, telecommunications and track. This is initially in place for a five-year period but has the option of three one-year extensions if required. 

Cameron Burns, Commercial Director Southern region, said: “Over the last few years we have made a shift towards working more collaboratively and closer to fewer key contractors, which has allowed us to deliver major improvements for passengers successfully and safely. Given that we are delivering in some of Britain’s busiest stations and on some of the most used routes into the capital, our ability to upgrade the railway with minimal impact on passengers is increasingly important. We want to build on this success for CP6 and the relationships we have with our suppliers, and we look forward to working with them all going forward.” 

John Dowsett, Managing Director for Infrastructure at Osborne, said: “Winning this CP6 framework is highly significant for us – it sees us further strengthening our rail portfolio and continuing to work with Network Rail, who recognise and value the collaborative approach we bring.” 

John Murphy, CEO of J Murphy and Sons said: “We are excited to be part of Network Rail’s strategic partnership to deliver CP6.  This award continues our long partnership with them in renewing and enhancing infrastructure throughout the UK and will give us the chance to work together and drive innovation and improvements. It was a real team effort across Murphy, and the framework will leverage our engineering and rail capabilities across our whole business. We are looking forward to getting started and delivering safely and efficiently to benefit rail passengers across the Anglia route.” 

Huw Jones, BAM’s Rail Director said: “We’re proud of the contribution we’ve made and are excited to be continuing our collaboration with Network Rail, and our supply chain, for the safe delivery of exceptional rail infrastructure. This confirmation of our continued involvement allows us to invest with confidence in developing skills, our innovation pipeline and technology. We look forward to playing our part, demonstrating BAM’s commitment to creating sustainable solutions that enhance lives – including rail passengers and the communities where we work.” 

Notes to editors: 

The multidiscipline framework is set up to deliver both renewals and enhancements. The estimated renewals spend on each contract is outlined below: 

Route	CP6 renewals estimated value
Anglia	£340m – £460m
Southeast	£640m – £860m
Wessex	£280m – £370m
Total	£1.26bn – £1.69bn

The estimated enhancements spend on each contract is outlined below: 

Route	CP6 Enhancements
Anglia	Up to £810m
Southeast	Up to £1.06bn
Wessex	Up to £850m
Total	Up to £2.72bn

• Network Rail’s delivery arm for renewals and projects, Infrastructure Projects (IP) organises itself into four regional areas – Scotland North East, Central, Southern and Western and Wales, and national programmes for Signalling, Track and the pan regional Northern Programme. 
• The tender and procurement process for CP6 was intentionally phased to help improve efficiency for both Network Rail and the supply chain. 
• Southern is the second region to announce its contract awards. Last month, Scotland and North East awarded two lots within their framework to Story Contracting and AmcoGiffen. 
• The framework award is one of the most substantial of Network Rail’s CP6 contracts to be let following the Office of Rail and Road’s final determination, which confirmed £35bn of funding for rail maintenance and renewals. 

J. Murphy & Sons Ltd (“Murphy” or “the Group”) is pleased to announce that we have been selected to design and deliver the HVDC Export Cable Onshore Civil works in relation to both the Sofia and Dogger Bank C offshore wind projects.

Sofia Offshore Wind Farm and Dogger Bank C, the third phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm are both located on Dogger Bank, more than 195 kilometres from the North East coast of England, with their export cables coming to shore in Teesside, between Redcar and Marske-by-the-Sea.

Sofia is 100% owned by RWE, and Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni. Although they are owned by different companies, the developers are working jointly at the site of their adjacent converter stations and along the shared onshore cable route.

The projects’ offshore HVDC export cables will connect to onshore cables that will run 7 kilometres to a new converter station – one for each project – now under construction to the North East of Lazenby. Each project will have a further 2 kilometres of HVAC cables to transport power to the existing National Grid substation at Lackenby, where it will enter the national grid.

Under the terms of this award, Murphy will work to install the onshore cable ducts which connect the landfall site in Redcar to the HVDC Onshore Converter station. The Group will also work with local colleges and suppliers to recruit local resources and talent.

The main scope of works for Murphy include:

• Detailed engineering and design for the works
• Ecological Management
• Civil infrastructure installation
• Engineering and installation of crossings

The main civils works will commence in March 2022 and run through until the end of 2024. Once operational these two offshore wind projects will generate enough green power to supply all of the North East’s electricity needs every year.

The work builds on Murphy’s proven track record in providing vital cabling to key infrastructure assets, working across traditional power, new nuclear and renewable energy areas. In recent years, the Group has amassed significant experience in the fields of onshore cable civils work and cable installation, working on civils and cable install on projects such as the Triton Knoll, Hornsea Project One and Beatrice wind farms.

Jon Downs, Managing Director of Murphy’s Energy division said: “We are delighted to be appointed as the High Voltage Cable Civils delivery partner for two of the country’s most important strategic renewable energy projects. As Murphy Energy, we are committed to helping our customers accelerate the clean energy transition on our journey towards Net Zero and to deliver 40GW by 2030. These projects are a key element of this journey and we are excited to be playing such a pivotal role in their delivery.”

Sofia Project Director Matthew Swanwick said: “The appointment of Murphy marks another significant milestone for the project and the start of the cable route civils works will signal a new and visible phase of onshore construction. We will build on RWE’s positive working relationship with Murphy and look forward to our ongoing cooperation with Dogger Bank C and to continued good relationships with our stakeholders and the local community.”

Dogger Bank Wind Farm Onshore Work Package Manager for the third phase of the project, Stephen Reynolds, said: “We welcome Murphy and look forward to working with them, alongside Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, as we develop the onshore infrastructure for these significant renewable energy projects.”

J Murphy & Sons Ltd is proud to announce that we have been selected as National Grid Ventures’ delivery partner to design and build the ‘Main Site Works’ workstream of ‘Capacity 25’ – Grain LNG’s capital expansion and enhancement project.

This expansion will be achieved primarily through the installation of:

• Three Boil Off Gas Compressors along with the installation of a new Local Equipment Room
• Two new Submerged Combustion Vaporisers
• Two new Export Tank Pumps

The Murphy Energy team have been working with the Grain LNG team as part of the tender process since March 2021, participating in weekly clarification and negotiation meetings to allow a successful solution to be developed and agreed collaboratively.

The competitive tender process ran from March to late September before Murphy was appointed Preferred Bidder in October, with Contract Award and Contract Start in November 2021.

The Main Site Works project will take place in parallel to the construction of the additional LNG storage tank project with commissioning in early 2025 and ready to accept and process the additional LNG capacity from mid-2025.

This is a significant opportunity for the Murphy Energy business to support a strategic UK Energy project in the journey towards Net Zero.

Goke Phillips, Grain LNG Project Director said:

“I’m delighted to welcome J Murphy & Sons on board. Capacity 25 is a vital strategic investment – not just for Grain LNG, but for the UK – and the Main Site Works is an essential part of it. I’ve been impressed with the collaborative spirit in which the working partnership has already developed and look forward to the successful joint delivery of the project.”

Jon Downs, Murphy Managing Director, Energy, said:

“This award builds on previous work with Grain LNG and the wider relationship with National Grid. The open and forthright way our joint teams have worked together through the procurement process to optimise and overcome the many challenges this complex project presents is a great demonstration of collaborative working at its best. We are looking forward to working closely with the Grain LNG team in successfully delivering The Capacity 25 project and securing part of the UK’s strategic energy developments.”

Upgrade works on the Lee Road Water Treatment Plant (WTP) will reduce the energy consumption and running costs of the water pumps by more than 10%.

Murphy International has been engaged by Irish Water for the design and construction of the Lee Road Water Treatment Plant (WTP) upgrade in Cork City. The existing WTP provides approximately 70% of Cork City’s total treated water supply. This project will provide much needed upgraded facilities to safeguard the water supply for the city.

To mark the commencement of the project, a sod turning event was held in November 2019, which was attended by the Minister for Local Government Eoghan Murphy, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork, Fergal Dennehy and representatives from Irish Water and Cork City Council.

The scope of works includes upgrading the existing WTP from its current capacity of 36,200m³ per day to a new plant with approx. 40,000m³ per day, as well as associated testing, commissioning and operation of the plant for a one-year period.

Other upgrades will include new filter units, sedimentation tanks, a new raw water pumping station, water reservoir, treated water pumping station, boundary fencing and an administration building.

The entire site level will be raised by two metres for flood protection to avoid a reoccurrence of the November 2009 flood when the plant was badly damaged.

The water supply will be maintained throughout construction, which is due to be completed in late 2021. It is expected the upgrade will also make the plant more energy efficient as it is one of the biggest energy consumers in Cork.

The upgraded and modernised plant will provide a more safe and secure water supply for the future of Cork City.