Galliford Try in £2.5bn flood deal

The construction group Galliford Try has grabbed a place on a £2.5bn flood defence contract that has suffered from flaws similar to the West Coast rail fiasco.

Bidding on the Environment Agency deal was suspended in January when the process was reviewed after problems with the West Coast franchise. The process was altered and relaunched at the end of February.

Galliford Try, which built the retractable roof at Wimbledon's Centre Court, is one of six groups to win a place on the project. The company is in a joint venture with the Kansas-based engineer Black & Veatch, and will start work on the four-year deal next month.

Although the deal will also involve tackling coastal erosion, its main aim is to protect the UK from floods.