In a trading statement this morning covering its first-half trading, chief executive Bill Hocking said the contractor had built up a strong order book of £3.3bn slightly ahead of a year ago.

He said the return to profitability would also see Galliford Try resume dividend payments to shareholders.

Galliford Try, which sold its housebuilding businesses to Bovis Homes a year ago to receive a £300m cash injection, said average month-end cash now stood at £158m.

Hocking said: “We continue to see a strong pipeline of opportunities in our core sectors and in line with our disciplined approach to risk management and contract selection.

“Our strong position in the public and regulated sectors positions the group well to benefit from increasing Government construction and infrastructure spending.”

Notable framework awards include Thames Water’s £590m AMP 7 framework, the £10.5bn NHS Shared Business Services framework and appointment to the £2.1bn Construction West Midlands framework.