John Turner’s Wright Build deal pays off
NORTH West construction group John Turner saw like-for-like sales fall 18% last year but the firm was buoyed by a £50m order book in 2010-11.
In the 12 months to March 31 sales fell to £40.2m from £49m at the business which has offices in Preston, Manchester and Liverpool.
Its acquisition of Manchester-based Wright Build in April 2009 added £3.4m to turnover and lower costs left it with a 47% rise in pre-tax profits to £753,954.
It paid £634,244 for Wright Build with a further £150,000 due if the business hits performance targets.
Privately-owned John Turner is controlled by chairman and managing director John Clarke. It was founded in 1907 and employed 295 staff during the period.
In his report Mr Clarke said trading conditions were influenced by the uncertain economic climate. Some jobs, particularly in the public sector, were put on hold and pushed into 2010-11 due to the May General Election.
The board took a number of “strategic actions” in response to the difficult construction market which included buying public sector-focused Wright Build, which contributed £200,000 to pre-tax profits, and opening an office in Liverpool.
During the year the company carried out work on an accommodation block at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, the School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool and the Royal Bolton and Royal Preston Hospitals. It has already secured £50m of work in the current trading year and £14m for 2012.
Mr Clarke said: “As the construction industry braces itself for change and challenges ahead, I believe that by implementing the strategic decisions listed above, in terms of diversity and areas of work, coupled with a focused drive to improve efficiency, the group will be in a better position than most, to successfully see our way through these difficult times for the industry.”
