Construction group announces record £5.1bn order book

Wellington Place

The construction group appointed to work on Wellington Place in Leeds has announced a record order book of £5.1bn and turnover of £1.62bn; a rise of 90m.

Wates Group, one of the largest family-owned construction, development and property services companies in the UK, also reported a 0.7% rise in pre-tax profits to £35.7m (2016: £35.5m) for the year ended 31 December 2017.

Last year, the group – which has offices in Leeds, Wakefield and York – was appointed to work on 7 & 8 Wellington Place, a 378,000 sq ft Grade A office space for MEPC in Leeds. This follows completion of Wellington Place 10, 5 and 6 and with construction of 3 underway.

The firm also completed the first phase of Number One Kirkstall Forge – CEG’s £400m 57-acre Kirkstall Forge scheme in Leeds. Practical completion of the project was reached in November 2017. The project included the establishment of the Forging Futures Campus, a training facility developed in collaboration with CEG, Leeds College of Building and Leeds City Council.

James Wates, chairman of the Wates Group, has also recently been announced as the chairman of the Government’s corporate governance review.

Wates said: “These are really positive results for the Wates Group, demonstrating our continued success in what has been a challenging year for the sector. They attest to the quality and commitment of our people, the strength of our relationships with customers and partners, and our robust financial management.
“Performance across all areas of the business was very strong. We continued to maintain a balance of public and private sector clients, with notable success in appointments to major public sector frameworks for Scape Procure and the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
“These results reflect our belief that profitability has to be linked to the long-term sustainability, not only of our company, but of the industry and the communities in which we work. In 2017 we continued to invest in social enterprises, spending £2.65m and remaining on course to spend a cumulative £20m by 2020. The Group employed 190 trainees and apprentices as well as providing training and learning opportunities for over 1,500 young people to help build the workforce of the future. Most importantly of all, we improved our industry-leading health and safety record.”

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close