History

John Laing has shaped the British landscape, working on iconic projects such as the M1, the British Library, the Barbican and Coventry Cathedral. Our investments now span 15 countries.

Explore our timeline

Click on the rotating text to learn more about John Laing's 175 years of investing.

Click on the rotating text to learn more about John Laing's 175 years of investing.

Welcoming in the

1840s

A long recession comes to an end as cities across the UK are linked by railways.

1848

James Laing, born in 1816, finishes building the house and sells it. The proceeds from the first house financed the building of the next two houses on the same plot of land, one of which was kept by the Laing family to live in.

Welcoming in the

1880s

Britain re-enters recession.

1882

James Laing dies, leaving the company entirely in the hands of John Laing Senior, father of Sir John Laing

Welcoming in the

1900s

The construction industry booms.

1906

The company wins the contract for construction of new surface water sewers by the docks at Barrow in Furness.

Welcoming in the

1910s

The War

1910

The Great War exposes the shortcomings of British industry, with many vital components such as ball bearings and drugs being bought from Germany.

1914

The company wins a series of war contracts, and is among the contractors building a whole new town from scratch at Gretna in Scotland for 10,000 staff making ordnance at the nearby factory. To combat some workers' heavy drinking, the Government nationalised breweries and licensed premises in Gretna and north Cumbria in the area. Image © Cumbria Image Bank (Carlisle Library).

1919

The company invented the Easiform system for building new housing after the war. Concrete houses were poured into moulds and shuttering. From the 1920s to the 1960s Laing built over 100,000 homes in this way, all over the UK.

Welcoming in the

1920s

A period of prosperity follows the austerity of the war.

1926

The firm moves its headquarters from Carlisle to Mill Hill in North West London.

Welcoming in the

1930s

World War Two begins, ravaging Europe.

1931

Building work starts on Shenley Mental Hospital

Welcoming in the

1940s

World War Two continues.

1943

John Laing builds artificial harbours for Allied armies to land on Normandy.

1945

John Laing builds 54 airfields during World War Two and afterwards helps to rebuild Britain following the damage wrought by bombing.

1947

Health Minister Aneurin Bevan opens the first Easiform house on the Coldharbour Farm estate in Greenwich.

Welcoming in the

1950s

Life remains difficult after the war, with rationing and shortages continuing.

1953

John Laing & Sons (Holdings) Ltd first listed on the London Stock Exchange. The firm has 10,000 employees.

1959

John Laing builds four of the first five sections of the M1.

Welcoming in the

1960s

The Swinging Sixties: a cultural revolution.

1962

The Queen attends a consecration service for Coventry cathedral.

1964

Tthe Duke of Edinburgh opens the Birmingham Bull Ring shopping centre on 29 May 1964.

1966

John Laing wins the contract to build the Westway overpass in London.

Welcoming in the

1970s

The Six-Day War triggers an energy crisis.

1976

John Laing begins work on Wood Green Shopping City.

1978

Sir John Laing passes away.

Welcoming in the

1980s

Saddam Hussein's Iraq attacks Iran.

1982

The Queen opens the Barbican Centre in London.

1984

John Laing helps to build the M25.

Welcoming in the

1990s

The rise of the internet.

1992

Construction starts on the Second Severn Crossing (now known as Prince of Wales Bridge).

1994

John Laing manages the building work on Ashford international train station, Kent.

1998

The company celebrated its 150th anniversary with events at Coventry and Carlisle Cathedrals.

1999

John Laing wins contract for the A130 bypass in the UK.

Welcoming in the

2000s

The dotcom boom and 9/11.

John Laing is announced as the preferred bidder for the InterCity Express Programme - 122 Super Express trains for the Great Western Main Line and East Coast Main Line.

Welcoming in the

2010s

Strong economic growth and increased investment in infrastructure.

The investment in Denver Eagle, three new commuter rail lines to expand transit across the Denver Metropolitan area, marks John Laing's entry into the US P3 market and was the country's first public-private partnership transit project.

John Laing invests in the New Royal Adelaide Hospital, marking the Group's entry into the Australian PPP market.

John Laing acquires an initial stake in I-77 Mobility Partners, a PPP to increase capacity and reduce congestion by widening 26 miles of highway and adding managed lanes in Charlotte, North Carolina.

John Laing's Cross Yarra Partnership wins a tender for the tunnels and stations works in the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project, one of the largest transport infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Australia.

John Laing's Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia opens.

John Laing acquires a stake in the Ruta del Cacao road project, marking its entry into the Colombia market.

Welcoming in the

2020s

Covid-19 dominates the beginning of the decade.

John Laing is acquired by funds managed by KKR.

John Laing acquires a portfolio of three assets from AMP Capital, the infrastructure manager of the Irish Infrastructure Fund (IIF).

John Laing enters a partnership arrangement to acquire an indirect majority interest from Macquarie Capital in the consortium delivering Norway’s Rv555 Sotra Connection public-private partnership (PPP), the largest PPP in Norway to date.

1848 photo min smaller

A Brief History

The John Laing building company began in 1848 when James Laing (born 1816), his wife Ann and a few employees built a house in Carlisle. They sold it for £175 (around £17,000 today), allowing them to build two more houses.

Before the Second World War the now formed John Laing building company built more homes and won major government contracts. The business expanded to include ventures in Britain and overseas in investments, technology and even mining.

By the Second World War the fifth generation of Laings were with the company. John Laing remained a family business until 2001 when the construction side that started it all was sold after 156 years of building.

Queen Coventry model

Constructing post-war Britain

John Laing pioneered Easiform, an innovative form of house construction enabling thousands of new homes to be built quickly.

The company was responsible for building much of the new town Milton Keynes; power stations like Sizewell B; the Second Severn Crossing; hospitals and schools all across England; the British Library; modern office blocks like the CIS Tower in Manchester (then the tallest inhabited building in Europe).

As well as rebuilding the Coventry Cathedral, it also built a Mormon temple, a mosque and redeveloped a synagogue.

Everyone’s lives were touched in some way by John Laing’s work. Some of the less famous, but no less important, undertakings of the company were the multiple car parks, sewage works, shopping malls and holiday villages constructed after the 1950s.

Family outing

Family Outings

During a period of incredible growth for the company, the business focused on the care of their staff. There were welfare officers, site nurses on big projects and pioneering changes in health and safety that they supported, from flat-caps to hard hats.

Influenced by the religious attitudes of its founder, Sir John Laing, who was part of the Plymouth Brethren, the company had enlightened attitudes towards its staff for the time, with a strong focus on family values.

It arranged company away days, events and trips to the seaside for the families of its workers. Photographs were taken to record these events for the company’s ‘Team Spirit’ in-house newsletter, published from 1946-2001.