Construction firm building Nottingham City Hub campus reveals record order book

Wates Group, the contractor which is building the new City Hub campus for Nottingham College, has recorded a flat year of results for 2018 – but says 2019 is looking ‘exciting’.

Profits at the firm for the 12 months were up 1% to almost £36m, while turnover dropped slightly to £1.6bn.

Wates said it has secured £120m in finance from banks to support future investment and that it had a record order book of £5.4bn heading into this year.

The firm’s construction division blamed a 9% fall in turnover in its construction division on uncertainty around Brexit.

David Allen, chief executive, the Wates Group, said: “These are really encouraging results. We’ve delivered another year of increased profits by continuing to concentrate on working in the sectors and geographies where we have proven expertise and for customers with whom we enjoy positive, effective relationships.

“Over the past year we’ve been reflecting on what really matters to us and how we want our business to be in the future. We believe we have a responsibility to work together – with our customers, suppliers and everyone involved in or affected by what we do – to inspire better ways of creating the places, communities and businesses of tomorrow.

“We’ve entered 2019 in great shape, with a record order book and significant backing from our banks to support the investments we want to make in our future. So, we’re excited about what lies ahead for the Wates Group, whatever external pressures the next few months might bring.”