Severfield: Yorkshire steel firm hails momentum after international data centre project wins
Thirsk-based structural steelwork group Severfield says it has secured a number of “significant project wins” relating to the building of data centres across Europe and India.
The company has issued a trading update which said its order book stands at £534m, of which £375m is scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months.
The update said Severfield has made a “positive start” to its latest financial year, which is running until March 27 2027, with trading in line with expectations and guidance for underlying profit before tax of between £12m and £15m remaining unchanged.
It said: “The Group has continued to build momentum in its UK and Europe operations, securing a number of significant project wins, principally in the data centre sector in the UK, Germany and Sweden.
"These awards further strengthen the order book and support the group’s confidence in activity levels for FY27 and beyond.
"Continental Europe (including the Republic of Ireland) now represents 32 per cent of the UK and Europe order book (June 1 2026: 28 per cent), reflecting recent contract awards and the continued expansion of the group's activities across continental Europe.
"Recent awards include an increasing proportion of higher-quality work, which is expected to support future margin progression as these projects move through delivery.
"First-half profitability will continue to reflect lower‑margin work secured in a competitive pricing environment. Larger, higher-quality projects are expected to commence later in FY27, with profit from a number of these contracts expected to be recognised predominantly in FY28. This phasing is fully reflected in the group's unchanged expectations for FY27.”
The company also has an established presence in the growing Indian structural steel market through its joint venture with JSW Steel, India's largest steel producer. The joint venture operates two fabrication facilities and is expected to have a combined fabrication capacity of over 224,000 tonnes per annum by the end of FY2027.
It said its ordfer book in India has increased to £327m from a previous £267m “reflecting successful awards on a number of data centre projects and new orders from our partner, JSW”.
Paul McNerney, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have made a positive start to FY27, with trading in line with expectations and guidance unchanged. Recent project wins, particularly in data centres, have strengthened our UK and Europe and Indian order books, which provides good visibility for FY27 and beyond.
“FY27 remains a transition year as we complete lower-margin work, but the improving quality of our order book and progress with our transformation programmes support our confidence in medium-term margin recovery. We look forward to updating the market further with our half-year results in November.”