Henry Brothers has opened a new Edinburgh office, its sixth UK location, giving the Northern Ireland-headquartered contractor an east coast base to support a Scottish project pipeline increasingly weighted toward major defence infrastructure work.

Henry Brothers, headquartered in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, is a family-run construction and civil engineering contractor founded in 1976, marking its 50th anniversary this year, with turnover in excess of £70m and offices across Northern Ireland, England and Scotland.

The new office complements Henry Brothers' existing Glasgow base and presence in Scotland since 1997, supporting current projects including two primary schools, work at HM Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport, RAF Lossiemouth and the Army Reserve Centre in Dunfermline.

Regional Director for Scotland Nick McKeown said the move reflects the firm's ambition for its next chapter of growth as it approaches its 50th anniversary, while Managing Director Jody Wilkinson said the Edinburgh base positions Henry Brothers at the heart of Scotland's construction landscape.

The timing lines up with a decade-long naval infrastructure programme that is about to turn HMNB Clyde into one of the largest live construction sites in Scotland.

The UK Government confirmed £26bn for Project Royal Oak in July 2026, the largest naval infrastructure programme since the Cold War, with £15.1bn earmarked for HMNB Clyde over ten years as part of the wider £298bn Defence Investment Plan.

For the sector, contractors with existing security clearances and a track record on sites handling the UK's nuclear deterrent, such as Henry Brothers' work at Faslane and Coulport, are positioned to compete for a decade-long defence estate pipeline that carries a high barrier to entry for new entrants.

The wider naval investment programme is expected to support more than half a million jobs across the UK by the end of the decade, with £20m separately committed to Inchgreen Marine Park on the Clyde creating 350 direct jobs and a new skills centre, underlining construction demand building across the west of Scotland.

Regional office openings timed to major public infrastructure programmes are likely to become more common as contractors position ahead of formal tender announcements.

Source: Construction UK Magazine / GOV.UK / Helensburgh Advertiser