Hub performance Across our international businesses, our robust performance was reflected throughout our core operations. The European hub posted a record performance with £ 3.2 billion of managed revenue, driven by our core construction activities, offsetting the predicted downturn in performance of our Explore Capital business. Earnings before exceptional items reached £ 54 million. This figure masks an even stronger underlying construction performance, benefiting from the impact of our greater focus on project delivery performance through the introduction of new control systems. In the Middle East and South Asia, managed revenue more than doubled to £ 903 million. This result was delivered in spite of the sharp deterioration in trading conditions in the second half of the year and significant price pressure in the region. Our success in this regard has come from Laing O'Rourke's established strategy to focus our end- to- end capabilities on high- quality, complex projects, collaborating with reputable, well-capitalised investment partners and clients. This assures cash collection and mitigates our credit risk exposure in the region. We do not expect to maintain these levels of revenue during the financial year 2009/ 2010. Our focus is on right- sizing the business to meet current levels of demand, working with our clients to deliver existing projects and positioning ourselves so we can move quickly when better economic conditions prevail. Australasia posted managed revenue of £ 852 million, reflecting the region's delayed and milder exposure to the current economic cycle, combined with our focus on targeted infrastructure markets in rail, mining, energy and utilities. Greater productivity in project delivery operations was offset by investment in expanding the capabilities of the business. Notwithstanding this investment, the 12- month profitability targets were exceeded and earnings grew 25 per cent. These are a good set of results and mark a significant milestone since the acquisition of Barclay Mowlem, with the business having trebled in size since 2006. 01 Lifestyle Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE 02 Business 123 Albert Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 03 Social Infrastructure Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, UK 04 Transport and Mining M62, Junction 6, Merseyside, UK 05 Energy, Utilities and Waste Darling Downs Power Station, Queensland, Australia 01 03 02 04 05

Laing O'Rourke Annual Review 2009 Operational overview We had another year of notable achievements, with our portfolio of projects continuing to make good progress. A selection of our projects are described in detail as case studies on pages 14 to 33. Additionally, during the year we completed or worked on: Lifestyle - Housing projects including the large Jumeirah Golf Estates and MotorCity in Dubai, Hemisphere in Birmingham and Elysee Apartments on Australia's Gold Coast. - Shopping, leisure and entertainment complexes including Westpoint Blacktown in New South Wales, Australia, where the original contractor reneged on the contract and we successfully dealt with 19,000 defects. Business - Office complexes, including a new high- rise office building in Brisbane which will be the new headquarters for a major global mining group. - An extension to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and a brand new convention centre in Darwin which was delivered months ahead of schedule as our innovative design and construction methodologies allowed work to continue during wet weather, a critical capability in a tropical environment with significant annual rainfall. Social Infrastructure - Healthcare facilities including Bristol Heart Institute, Freeman Hospital and National Blood Centre in the UK, University College in Dubai and Weipa in the far north of Queensland where we successfully overcame many logistical challenges caused by the remote location. - Educational facilities including Broughton High School, Bonaly Primary and Juniper Green Primary in Edinburgh. Transport and Mining - Major road infrastructure including Junction 6 on the M62, Junction 11 on the M4 and sections of the A590 in the UK. - Rail track construction and upgrades including work for the Australian Rail Track Corporation and rail stations including Hornsby Station in Sydney - Maintenance of elements of the Hong Kong Metro system and the BHP heavy haul mining railways in Western Australia. - Manchester Airport's Terminals 1 and 2. - Chatswood Transport Interchange, a major rail, bus, retail and commercial development in Sydney. - Construction of a new wharf for loading coal onto ships at Newcastle, north of Sydney. - Since the year end, commenced track laying on the North- South railway in Saudi Arabia. Energy, Utilities and Waste - Major power generation infrastructure including the Darling Downs Power Station in Queensland and the NewGen Kwinana Power Station in Western Australia. - Utilities and waste management infrastructure and water treatment plants. We now have capabilities covering the whole project lifecycle - from feasibility, programme management, design, engineering, manufacturing, construction to operations, maintenance and decommissioning. A key challenge going forward will be for us to grow our capabilities and convert the opportunities we see into substantial businesses. Outlook Notwithstanding the testing economic conditions, the outlook for Laing O'Rourke remains favourable. We have been effective at managing costs and cash flow, and will maintain our focus in these areas. At any time, but particularly in the current financial environment, our capabilities in work- winning will be critical in securing and growing our market presence. Our positioning as an engineering- led construction solutions provider increases the number of tenders available to us in targeted markets. Over time, this should result in the Group securing an increased level of profitable and cash- generating new work. Across the businesses, our ' One Team' approach to vertical integration is increasingly being embedded, and the Group is beginning to realise the benefits of this united thinking in improved earnings margins at the individual project delivery level. Prior sector experience, regardless of where it is domiciled, is becoming increasingly important in the tender process. Our ability to quickly and seamlessly transfer expertise between our three international hubs represents a key differentiator for the business. The order book comprises a strong mix of publicly and privately funded projects across our core sectors. In Europe alone we have identified an additional £ 9.5 billion of opportunity, with an increasing amount of infrastructure work as various government offices continue with capital investment programmes to replace ageing infrastructure, while providing an important stimulus to the wider economy. Overall, the Group's order book stands at £ 10.0 billion. This figure compares favourably to previous years and has been secured under tightening market conditions. We are leading the industry in our ability to deliver projects using Modern Methods of Construction. The benefits that our Design for Manufacture and Assembly ( DfMA) approach brings are considerable. By working in a controlled factory environment, we can deliver projects faster, cost effectively and to greater quality than traditional on- site methods. This automated approach is already standard practice in other industries but, in our view, is significantly under- utilised in commercial and residential construction. We plan to significantly expand the percentage of projects delivered in this way. We have ambitions to achieve 75 per cent of the total project delivery under our direct management through DfMA. We are investing significant sums in our major manufacturing facility, Explore Industrial Park, at Steetley in the UK, as well as in our other internationally based modular operations. Laing O'Rourke has always led the industry in its approach to investing in people. Our continuing focus on human capital management is an important pillar of our strategy and is positioning us well for the future. Our engineering heritage and relentless pursuit of a better way in everything we do will continue to deliver superior results through the practical application of innovative and creative thinking. We believe our systematic approach to project delivery - ' Complete Thinking', will deliver exemplary performance and value creation, as we continue to be regarded as the company of choice by forward-thinking clients. 36- 37Operating and financial review