Rok sees solid growth
ROK, the building firm which has made a number of acquisitions in Yorkshire, today said it expected trading for the past 12 months to meet market expectations.
The company, which brands itself “The Nation's Local Builder”, said trading for the year to December 31 would be ahead of the previous year, which saw revenues hit almost £700m and pre-tax profits increase to £22.4m.
Today's trading statement is in contrast to a warning made by the group in November, when it said problems in the credit market were harming its development division.
Rok said the division had completed a number of transactions in the last quarter of the year, despite it trading in a difficult investment market as yields continued to soften in the second half of 2007 despite strong tenant demand.
However, the group said it would continue to reduce its exposure to commercial property as it claimed it had become difficult to achieve adequate returns. Rok said it believed the sector would remain under pressure for the next few years.
Instead Rok said it was planning to redirect investment through acquisitions in its building and maintenance businesses and announced it had bought plumbing and heating services company Pitkerro, based in Tayside, Scotland, for £3m.
Rok followed an acquisitive strategy in Yorkshire last year. It acquired plumbing,heating and electrical services business Avonside Services Group, based in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, for £16.5m in October, while it also snapped up Malton-based family-owned development and construction company S Harrison Group's construction arm for £3.2m.
It also bought Rotherham-based EMB Services, which had worked for Rok, supplying plumbing, gas fitting, plastering and joinery work, for an undisclosed sum last February.
Rok already had a significant building and maintenance business in Wakefield following the 2005 acquisition of Lemmeleg, the construction business co-founded by Yorkshire Forward chairman Terry Hodgkinson.
It recently opened a development office in Leeds which has clinched deals for out-of-town schemes valued at around £25m. These include Firstpoint Business Park, in Doncaster, the St James Business Park, in Knaresborough, and a town centre retail development in Gateford Road, Worksop.
Rok is also a major provider of services in the social housing sector in the region.
Rok will announce its preliminary results on March 5.
