Heathrow’s Terminal 5, the futuristic Selfridges store in Birmingham and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to London are all projects Laing O’Rourke is involved in. The company was founded in 1978 and has become one of Britain’s largest private construction firms, operating in most markets, including retail, health and defence. Profits have grown 102% a year from £7m in 2001 to £57.3m in 2004. In September 2001 it acquired loss-making Laing Construction for a token £1.