Strabag UK appoints head of water operations
Written by admin on October 19, 2025
Strabag UK has appointed Matthew Sutton as technical project director for its water sector operations, as the contractor seeks to deepen its presence in the UK infrastructure market.
Sutton joined the business in October after more than 20 years in the water industry, the firm announced in a LinkedIn post.
It said the appointment “will help to strengthen our UK Infrastructure team; develop Strabag’s global water expertise in the UK; support our involvement in [water regulator] Ofwat’s Strategic Recourse Options (SRO) schemes; [and] drive our entry into the UK capital works market”.
Sutton was previously programme director at Jacobs from April 2024 to October 2025, where he worked in the consultancy’s water division.
Before that, he spent nearly three years at Galliford Try, where he served as operations director from April 2023 to April 2024, and as regional director for the South East from October 2021.
Earlier in his career, Sutton was regional director at NMCN from January 2020 to October 2021.
He spent a decade at Nomenca, holding roles including framework delivery manager and project manager on capital delivery frameworks for United Utilities.
Sutton’s arrival comes as Strabag is delivering the £2.9bn Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme for United Utilities.
The contract was awarded in August and is being delivered through Cascade Infrastructure – a joint venture between Strabag, infrastructure investor Equitix and GLIL Infrastructure.
Work involves replacing six tunnel sections of the 110km pipeline carrying drinking water from the Lake District to Greater Manchester.
The eight to nine-year construction phase will be the first major UK infrastructure scheme delivered under the Direct Procurement for Customers model, according to United Utilities.
Strabag was named preferred bidder in January 2025, by which point the scheme’s cost had increased to £2.9bn – up from £1.75bn when first tendered in 2022.
