Royal BAM Group

The company was founded by Adam van der Wal as a joiner's shop in 1869 in Groot-Ammers - a rural village in the Alblasserwaard region to the east of Rotterdam.^[3] At the end of the 19th century, Adam's son, Jan van der Wal, took over the business and worked as a construction contractor not only in the Alblasserwaard region but at further afield locations, including Vlaardingen and The Hague, where he soon opted to relocate to. Jan's son, Joop van der Wal, studied civil engineering in Delft prior to joining his father’s company in 1926.^[4]

During 1927, the business was renamed Bataafsche Aanneming Maatschappij van Bouw- en Betonwerken, in English, Batavian Construction Company for Construction and Concrete Projects plc. ('BAM'); it transitioned from being a family-owned firm into a ‘naamloze vennootschap’ (public limited company).^[4] In the interwar period, BAM undertook several large-scale projects, including the office building of the Batavian Petroleum Company in The Hague, the broadcaster AVRO's Amsterdam headquarters, a KEMA laboratory in Arnhem, the Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam, and the conversion of Soestdijk Palace on behalf of Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard. To support these works, area offices were establish in Arnhem (1933) and Amsterdam (1934).^[4]

During the Second World War BAM's activities were badly harmed by the German occupation of the Netherlands.^[4]

The company was listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1959.^[3] Starting in 1973, the company traded under the name BAM Holding N.V. During 1973, BAM also adopted its iconic cube-shaped logo.^[4]

When the company reached its 125th anniversary on 12 May 1994, it received the right to add 'Royal' to its name. It continued to expand through acquisition, such as its purchase of rival companies Interbuild (in 1998),^[5][6] and Hollandsche Beton Groep ('HBG') (in 2002).^[7][8]

In November 2006 Royal BAM issued a profit warning, and launched an investigation into the incurring of £78m of losses at its German construction subsidiary.^[9] In July 2008, HBG was rebranded as Bam Construct UK.^[10][11] In mid-2010 the company's share price was impacted by a rights issue.^[12][13]

Several times during the 2010s Royal BAM produced poor fiscal results, attributed as the cause of job losses and a restructuring effort being launched in 2014.^[14][15] While performance had reportedly recovered in the UK by 2016,^[16][17] losses in both Germany and the Middle East were stated to have been incurred by the business towards the end of the decade.^[18]

In July 2020, Royal BAM announced that it was winding down its 600-strong BAM International business due to consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[19][20] Up to 150 jobs were also to be cut at BAM Construct UK.^[21] In September 2021 Royal BAM announced the sale of its German interests, which cumulatively produced an annual turnover of €500 million, to the German real estate and construction company Zech Group and the Gustav Zech Foundation.^[22][23] Around this time, the management opted to concentrate on its core businesses in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.^[24][25]

In October 2022, Dutch authorities (the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service and the Public Prosecution Service) visited BAM International bv offices in Gouda, in an investigation relating to potential irregularities at some completed projects; Royal BAM was "fully cooperating" with the investigation.^[26] In July 2024, Royal BAM reported its UK construction business had suffered a £19.5m loss due to problems at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena, and would be cutting further jobs.^[27]

The company's major operations include:^[28]

• BAM Bouw en Techniek - Non-residential construction
• BAM Wonen - Residential construction
• AM - Area development
• BAM Infra - Civil engineering in the Netherlands
• BAM Interbuild - Non-residential and residential (apartments) building in Brussels and Flanders
• BAM Construct UK (comprising BAM Construction and BAM Properties)
• BAM Nuttall - Civil engineering in the UK (comprising BAM Ritchies - geotechnical)
• BAM Contractors Ltd (BAM Ireland) - Building, civil engineering, facilities management, property and rail in Ireland (Formerly Ascon Contractors, Thomas Logan, Rohcon)
• BAM Deutschland - Construction in Germany
• Wayss & Freytag Ingenierbau - Civil engineering in Germany; as tunnelling specialist also active as joint venture partner in BAM's other home markets)
• BAM International - Projects outside of Europe
• BAM PPP - Investment company

Projects completed by the company include the Amsterdam Arena football stadium for AFC Ajax in Amsterdam completed in 1996,^[29] the Antwerp Law Courts completed in 2005^[30] and the Euroborg football stadium for FC Groningen in Groningen completed in 2006.^[31] The company was part of the Infraspeed consortium which handed over the HSL-Zuid high-speed railway line for commercial use in 2009.^[32]

The company is also responsible for the new children's hospital in Dublin which is facing significant time and cost overruns.^[33][34][35]