WBHO
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 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| JSE: WBO | |
| ISIN | ZAE000009932 |
| Industry | Construction |
| Founded | 1970[1] |
| Founder | John Wilson Brian Holmes[1] |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Africa United Kingdom[2] |
Key people | Louwtjie Nel (Chairman Wolfgang Neff (CEO)[3] Charles Henwood (CFO)[4] |
| Services | Building construction Civil engineering Roadworks Earthworks[2] |
| Revenue |  R27.52 billion (2024)[5] |
| R1.24 billion (2024)[5] | |
| R1.04 billion (2024)[5] | |
| Total assets | R15.36 billion (2024)[5] |
| Total equity | R4.67 billion (2024)[5] |
Number of employees | 9,498 (2024)[5] |
| Divisions | Building and Civil Engineering Roads and Earthworks Projects Construction Materials[5] |
| Subsidiaries | The Byrne Group Russell-WBHO |
| Website | www |
WBHO (officially Wilson Bayly Holmes - Ovcon Limited) is the largest construction company in South Africa, one of the largest in Southern Africa, and one of South Africa's largest companies by annual revenue.[1][6]
The company focuses mainly on building construction, civil engineering, roads, and earthworks.[2]
Founded in 1970, WBHO is headquartered in Sandton, and listed on the JSE Limited. It has operations in 12 countries,[5] throughout Africa and in the United Kingdom, and employs around 10,000 people.[2] WBHO is a Level 1 BBBEE contributor.[1]
WBHO was founded in 1970, by John Wilson and Brian Holmes, as Wilson-Holmes (Pty) Ltd. A number of mergers resulted in the name changing first to Wilson Bayly Holmes (Pty) Ltd, and then in 1996 to WBHO Construction.[1]
In 2017, the company entered the UK market after it acquired a stake in the Byrne Group from the Byrne family.[7] WBHO subsequently increased this to a majority shareholding in 2018.[1]
Also in 2018, WBHO expanded into northern UK, through the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Russell Construction. Russell-WBHO, as the business is now known, is a Manchester-based building contractor that continues to be managed by the founding brothers; Gareth and Andrew Russell.[1]
In October 2024, it was announced that WBHO's Chairman, Louwtjie Nel, would resign. He had been at the company since 1987. Charles Henwood, who served as WBHO's CFO, will become its new Chair.[8]
In March 2025, WBHO stated that it was completing around R2.5 billion worth of work per month.[9]
Operations
WBHO operates across numerous construction and infrastructure maintenance sectors, under a number of brands, including:[1]
- WBHO (construction in South Africa)
- Byrne Bros. (UK concrete frame contractor)
- Ellmer Construction (construction)
- O’Keefe (civil engineering)
- Russell WBHO (construction)
- Roadspan (roads surfacing in South Africa)
- Kalcon (construction, roads, and civil engineering in Botswana)
- Reinforcing & Mesh Solutions (reinforced steel and welded mesh supplier in Southern Africa)
- VSL Construction Solutions (post-tensioning, retained earth, and heavy lifting works)
- iKusasa Rail (rail track construction, electrification, and maintenance across Africa)
- The Gigajoule Group (investment in, development of, and operation of clean energy projects)
The company has offices in Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha, Johannesburg, Gaborone, Accra, and Maputo.[1] The majority of its revenue comes from Africa.[5]
Its subsidiary, the Byrne Group, has its offices in London, and Russell-WBHO has offices in Manchester.[1]
Major projects
WBHO's flagship projects include:[6][10][11]
- Mall of Africa
- Cape Town Stadium
- Port of Cape Town container berth deepening and quay refurbishment
- Moses Mabhida Stadium
- King Shaka International Airport
- Berg River Dam
- Kathu Solar Park
- Merak 2 and 3 Solar Projects
- Karusa and Soetwater Wind Farms
- Alice Lane Precinct
- Sasol Fine Ash Dam 6
- Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project
- Discovery headquarters in Sandton
- PwC headquarters (PwC Tower) in Midrand
- Ressano Garcia Gas Power Station
- Mbabane Bypass in eSwatini
- OR Tambo International Airport Central Terminal Building
Other WBHO projects include:[5][11]
- Oceans Residential North Tower in uMhlanga
- Upgrading and realignment of the N3 freeway at the Key Ridge interchange in KwaZulu-Natal, for SANRAL
- Trilogy Apartments (Lizcobiz) in Tshwane
- 19 on Loop (Rubik) residential development in Cape Town
- JNB 11 Data Center
- Steyn City Center
- Pick n Pay Inland Distribution Center
- Menlyn Maine Central Square in Pretoria
- Oceans Mall in uMhlanga