Construction firm Beard saw its turnover rose above pre-pandemic levels, as it benefited from a “release of pent-up demand” from the previous two years.
The 130-year-old business, which is headquartered in Swindon, raked in £165m as it completed 45 projects throughout last year. This was up from £144m in its previous financial year and also above the £158m recorded pre-Covid in 2019.
Pre-tax profits slipped back to £3.5m from £4.2m in 2021, further down on 2019’s figure of £4.4m.
Finance director Fraser Johns said the company’s performance was in line with its budget, demonstrating its ability to navigate the “challenging economic environment”.
Mr Johns said: “We maintained focus on our core objective - ensuring the safety of all those who came into contact with our activities. Our safety objectives achieved a significant reduction in slips, trips, and falls and ultimately in our accident rate in 2022.
“We would like to thank our people and supply chain partners for helping to ensure that our projects were delivered successfully last year, and we look forward to their continued support as we move into 2023 with a healthy project pipeline.”
Last year Beard, which as well as its Wiltshire HQ has offices in Bristol, Guildford and Oxford, completed the £9.3m restoration of the UK’s oldest lido, Cleveland Pools in Bath, and a £4.5m revamp of Bristol’s oldest art gallery, the Grade II-listed Royal West of England Academy.
Projects begun last year by Beard include the construction of the huge £17m Aztec 1000 office development in Aztec West business park to the north of Bristol. The scheme is set to be the South West’s first net zero carbon in-operation office development, with completion scheduled for this summer.
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