Firm is seeking more work overseas and believes Iraq holds opportunities

Contractor Kier is looking at working in Iraq as it seeks to increase the amount of work it does overseas.

The firm has worked abroad for more than 70 years, including in Iraq, but has tended to concentrate on the Caribbean, Hong Kong and the Middle East in recent years.

Chief executive Paul Sheffield said its overseas workload was about £20m but that he was aiming for £100-£200m

“There will be opportunities in Iraq. They’ve got to rebuild,” he said. But he added that it would hold off working there for the moment because of security issues. “It’s better than it was but it’s not right to put people there yet.”

Any Iraq work would be carried out in an office in the country, Sheffield added. Kier was one of a number of UK firms on a trade mission that visited the Kurdistan region of Iraq this year.

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