John Murphy (contractor) facts for kids

John Murphy (5 October 1913 – 7 May 2009) was a smart Irish businessman. He started a big building company called J. Murphy & Sons. This company, known for its green vans and lorries, builds things all over the UK and Ireland. His brother Joe also had a building company in London, but it later closed down.

John Murphy's Early Life and Business

John Murphy was born in a place called Loughmark, near Cahersiveen in County Kerry, Ireland. He finished school when he was 15 years old. It was hard to find work back then. So, he moved to London to find a job.

He started working as a helper in the building business. A big chance came during the Second World War. New airfields (places for planes to land) were needed very quickly. Later, runways also needed fixing. John Murphy was good at this work.

After the war, he was ready to help rebuild many things. His company also worked on installing electricity cables. They built water pipes and new roads too.

When John Murphy passed away in 2009, he was very wealthy. But he liked to keep his life private. He didn't spend much money on fancy things. Instead, he enjoyed spending time with his workers and friends from Ireland.

J. Murphy & Sons: Building Big Projects

In the 1970s, a special part of John Murphy's company worked on natural gas projects. Later, they helped build the Stansted Airport Rail Link. They also worked in the City of London, on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, and at London’s Olympic Park.

In 2007, J. Murphy & Sons earned nearly £500 million. They were chosen to lead a big project. This project was a £125 million water pipeline between Liverpool and Manchester. It was built to carry up to 100 million litres of water every day.

After John Murphy died in May 2009, his daughter Caroline took over the company first. She had been a leader in the group since 2007. She later wanted the company to be owned by its 3,500 employees. But other family members did not agree, and she resigned in 2014.

After that, Steve Hollingshead led the company. Then, in 2017, John Murphy's grandson, John B. Murphy, became the new leader.

In 2017, the company earned £711 million and had almost 3,900 employees. In 2018, the company's growth slowed down. They made some changes to save money.