Contractor targets £100m turnover with ‘substantially full’ order book

Contractor Stepnell has reported a £1.25m profit in its 2021/22 results, showing a controlled performance in a tumultuous year for the industry affected by COVID-19.

Its £90m turnover in 2021/22 was slightly down on what was budgeted due to delayed works on some key projects due to the pandemic.

Stepnell, which has offices in Rugby and Nottingham, said the dip was also as a result of the firm’s continued robust governance, turning away projects that didn’t meet its criteria.

Predicted turnover for 2022/23 will be more than £100m, with Stepnell reporting a substantially full order book for the next financial year.

Tom Wakeford, managing director of Stepnell said “We welcome these results after a challenging year for the construction industry. The market remains mixed with a number of our competitors struggling with a shortage of skills – and rising prices of materials.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that our business model, with a focus on lower risk terms and conditions, will hold us in good stead. Stepnell has a more diversified range of projects than ever before and this will position us to withstand market risks.”

In the summer, Stepnell was announced as one of eight chosen contractors selected to deliver against the next generation SCAPE Regional Construction framework, which is expected to deliver up to £750m of new construction investments across the Midlands and East of England.

“It’s fantastic that our extensive experience and expertise as a complete construction partner, with a strong focus on delivering sustainable projects with high social value, aligns completely with SCAPE’s mission and purpose,” added Wakeford. “We are phenomenally proud to be working with SCAPE and adding real value to projects.

“With 16 per cent of our workforce made up of trainees and graduates – comfortably clear of our internal target of ten per cent – the future of the business looks bright. We will continue to build on the ‘new’ Stepnell model and have several new initiatives we will be developing over the next 12 months – which will drive Stepnell growth even further.”