Dive Brief:
- London-based contractor Balfour Beatty appointed company executive Gavin Russell to the CEO role of the company's Infrastructure Investments arm, the company announced on Jan. 25.
- Russell, who has been with the company since 2014, was formerly finance director of Balfour Beatty's Major Projects, Highways and Investments businesses, and was a group financial controller prior to that, according to the announcement.
- Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Investments is the wing of the company's investment arm that directly focuses on projects in the infrastructure space, particularly projects that the company believes it can manage upon completion. The company's current infrastructure portfolio is about 70% public-private partnership (P3) projects and 30% non-P3 projects, according to the company's website.
Dive Insight:
Balfour Beatty Group CEO Leo Quinn was optimistic about the company's future in the infrastructure investment space.
"With a continuation of its strategy of investment in attractive new opportunities and disposal of assets timed to optimise value and maximize returns, Infrastructure Investments has a strong positive trajectory," Quinn said in the release.
Balfour Beatty Investments has diversified into new markets in recent years, including multifamily housing in the U.S., student housing and generation and transmission of renewable energy, according to the release.
The company is currently working on several infrastructure projects in the U.S. and U.K., including:
- the I-635 project in Dallas
- the Southern Gateway in Texas to widen Interstate 35E
- the Los Angeles Airport Automated People Mover in California
- the HS2 project in Britain (pictured above)
- the Thames Tideway tunnel project in London
With the passage of the IIJA, more funding is being funneled to U.S. infrastructure projects, and many contractors are poised to take advantage of new opportunities in the sector.
