'Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.' is a private
British company headquartered in
London. It carries out engineering and construction for the oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, nuclear, pharmaceutical, defense, chemical, water and mining industries.
Projects undertaken by the Company have included the original
Wembley Stadium completed in
1924, the
Dorchester Hotel in
London completed in
1931, the
Millennium Dome in
Greenwich completed in
1999 which the company also redeveloped to
The O2, the
Millennium Bridge in
London completed in
2000, the
Eden Project in
St Austell completed in
2001, the
Bullring in
Birmingham completed in
2003 and the
Emirates Stadium completed in
2006.
History
The company was founded in 1869 by Sir Robert McAlpine, who was known as "Concrete Bob". In 1934 Sir Robert's son Alfred established a separate construction company
Alfred McAlpine that operated in the north-west of England while Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. operated in the rest of the United Kingdom.
The company constructed the
Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane in London. When the client was unable to pay for the construction works, the company took possession of the completed building and operated it on its own account.
In 2003 Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. sued Alfred McAlpine plc over the use of the family name and won.
[1] The dispute cantered around Alfred McAlpine's intention to trade under the name "McAlpines". There was previously a long standing agreement within the McAlpine family not to make such a change but following the death of Alfred McAlpine the board of Alfred McAlpine sought to make the change in any event. The effect of the judgment was to prevent Alfred McAlpine trading under the name "McAlpines".
References
1. Guardian story on court case between Sir Robert McAlpine and Alfred McAlpine