Hercules PLC rides the UK infrastructure wave with £500m revenue target

Hercules PLC is positioning itself as a primary beneficiary of Britain's biggest infrastructure push in a generation. With the government signalling £700bn to £750bn of capital expenditure over the next decade, the London-listed labour supplier has set a £500m revenue target for 2029, up from a record £102m in 2024.

The company, founded in 2008 by civil engineer Brusk Korkmaz, provides skilled operatives to major projects including HS2, the Sizewell C nuclear plant and the water industry's £104bn AMP8 investment cycle. Its model combines local recruitment, proprietary technology and a growing training academy network to solve the sector's chronic labour shortage.

Three pillars, one pipeline

Hercules operates across three divisions. The largest supplies skilled labour to construction sites. A second delivers civil engineering solutions for water utilities. The third provides site management and white-collar operational control. Together they give the company visibility across the project lifecycle, from workforce planning to final handover.

Revenue from continuing operations jumped 28 per cent year on year to £79.8m in 2023, with gross margin holding at roughly 18.2 per cent. Headcount has grown from a dozen employees a decade ago to more than 1,200 today.

Anchored by mega-projects

The order book reads like a roll-call of national priorities. On HS2 Phase 1 North, Hercules now deploys more than 650 operatives, up from 400 in 2023. At Sizewell C, the company secured its first nuclear contract on a programme expected to span 20 years and cost upwards of £30bn. In water, Ofwat's approval of £104bn for AMP8 (2025-2030) nearly quadruples the previous spending cycle, creating a deep well of recurring work.

"It's a more sustainable approach to find local people for local projects. There's less attrition, they have to travel less and they tend to be happier employees."

Korkmaz argues that local recruitment reduces churn and travel costs while creating upskilling opportunities in communities adjacent to major sites. The company's Hercules Construction Academy in Nuneaton, strategically placed near the Midlands project cluster, trains new entrants and cross-skills existing workers for digital-era construction roles.

Technology as a differentiator

Two proprietary platforms underpin the model. Hercules Construction Jobs, developed over three and a half years, has 17,000 registered users and handles vetting, qualification checks and right-to-work verification. OneTeam manages compliance, shift scheduling and timesheets post-hire, giving clients real-time workforce data. Together they cut administrative overhead and improve project predictability.

Acquisition-fuelled growth plan

The "Road to 500" strategy targets £500m turnover by 2029, with acquisitions expected to contribute £300m of that figure. Hercules listed on AIM in 2022 to build an acquisition currency. In September 2024 it raised £8m from institutional investors and sold its non-core suction excavator business for £2.4m, reducing debt and lease liabilities by approximately £9m. The company is actively scouting targets in power, energy, rail and aviation.

For investors, the proposition is a pure-play on UK infrastructure delivery without the balance-sheet risk of principal contractors. Hercules (AIM: HERC) trades as a services compounder with visible, long-dated revenue streams tied to nationally significant programmes.

As Korkmaz puts it: "Construction and infrastructure are exciting industries to be in, and there are so many opportunities coming up for the future workforce, for the long-term."