Connecting people, purpose and progress
“The Board believes that with strong foundations in place, a high-quality order book, sustainable cash performance, committed colleagues and the right capabilities, Kier will continue to thrive and deliver for all our stakeholders for the long term.”
Matthew Lester, Chairman
The past year has been particularly important for Kier. The Group has delivered another strong performance, raised its financial targets, increased its dividend and applied its succession planning processes. Before I go any further, following Andrew Davies’ decision to retire from Kier in October 2025, I would like to express gratitude on behalf of the Board for everything he has achieved in the past six years.
Our focus on cash-backed profit generation has allowed us to recapitalise our Property business, as well as announce a material increase in the dividend and a share buyback of £20m. Following the 2021 capital raise, our average net debt in FY22 was £216m, capital employed in our Property business was £122m at FY22, and there was no return of capital to shareholders. After just three years, average net debt in FY25 was £49m, the Property business has £198m capital employed and we have returned a total of £38m in dividends and share buybacks.
The Board’s objectives include oversight of the Group’s strategy, ensuring it continues to be aligned to our customers’ needs, as well as the development of our people, ESG priorities and culture. Our work on these objectives is explained further below.
