Historic South West construction firm builds on success with record year
A 10% increase in annual turnover has given family-owned South West construction firm Beard the most successful trading period in its 133-year history.
The group, which has offices in Swindon and Bristol and employs more than 350 people, is now on target to lift its turnover to a record £200m having laid the foundations for ongoing success over recent years.
In the 12 months to 31 December 2024, Beard turned over £198m – 10% up on the previous year – with pre-tax profits reaching £5.2m.
The strong performance was underpinned by the completion of 43 projects across the South West and South East.
During the year it also expanded its office network, opening in Southampton last January and successfully achieved its targets at the new base, which turned over £4.8m.
Major project undertaken by Beard in 2024 included the start of construction work on Bristol Zoo’s new £9.7m African Forest, a £14.6m renovation for St John’s College in Oxford and completing a £16m flagship Porsche dealership for Dick Lovett centre in Newport, South Wales.
Finance director Fraser Johns said: “Having laid the foundations in 2023, we worked hard to continue this momentum into 2024 and are pleased to once again to report strong results.
“We’ve delivered projects for our customers across all our specialist sectors, including education, leisure and commercial. It was also an outstanding year for our special projects teams.”
He said while 2024 had a more favourable trading environment than recent years, a continued focus on the basics of building construction had been a key driver for the firm’s growth.
“We start 2025 with a healthy pipeline of work, supporting our ambitions for further business improvement and growth,” he added.
Beard, which also has bases in Guildford and Oxford, said investing in its people had continued to be a core focus, with new and enhanced training programmes developed and delivered.
This included EmpowerHer, a bespoke training course to support women in construction.
Beard, which opened its Bristol office nine years ago, was also among the first cohort of Fair Payment Code bronze award recipients last year, an achievement it said demonstrated its commitment to supporting supply chain partners.
The firm has significant expertise in building for the healthcare, arts and culture, commerce and industry, education, religious buildings, elderly care, sports and leisure and defence sectors.
