Trollope & Colls

Trollope & Colls was once one of the United Kingdom's largest construction companies.

History
The Company was formed in 1903, out of the merger of George Trollope & Sons (founded by Joseph Trollope, a wallpaper hanger, in 1778) and Colls & Sons (founded by Benjamin Colls, a painter and decorator, in 1840).

The merged firm started to specialise in civil engineering and during the First World War undertook pioneering work on reinforced concrete. In 1969 the Company was acquired by Trafalgar House. By 1994 it was the largest contractor in the United Kingdom by turnover.

On 18 April 1996 Norwegian shipbuilding and engineering group Kvaerner acquired Trafalgar House Construction, as the business became known, as part of a £904 million offer for Trafalgar House plc.

Major projects
Projects undertaken by the company and its predecessors included: Her Majesty's Theatre completed in 1869, St Philip's Church, Battersea completed in 1870, the Institute of Chartered Accountants completed in 1892, Claridge's completed in 1897, the Baltic Exchange completed in 1903, the Debenhams Headquarters in Wigmore Street completed in 1908, Lloyds Bank in Lombard Street completed in 1931, the Ministry of Defence Main Building completed in 1959, Trawsfynndd power station completed in 1962, Hull Royal Infirmary completed in 1965, Northwick Park Hospital completed in 1970 and the Stock Exchange Tower completed in 1972.