Henry Boot Construction started 2018 with the healthiest order book it has seen in recent years, the company said.
It comes on the back of 2017 revenue increasing 33% to £408.5m (2016: £306.8m). Profit before tax increased 40% to £55.4m (2016: £39.5m).
Revenue was more than double the 2015 result, on the back of projects such the new Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre, the residential conversion of the former Terry's Chocolate Factory in York.
While much of the business is focused on parcelling and preparing land for others to build on – Henry Boot sold 15 strategic land sites in 2017 – it has also seen an upswing in its construction work. In 2017 Henry Boot delivered more than £60m of construction work, £17m of plant hire sales through Banner Plant and almost £25m of new house sales through its joint venture house builder, Stonebridge Homes.
Henry Boot Construction is working on the first phase of the £35m Better Barnsley town centre regeneration scheme, now known as The Glassworks.
Other notable projects in 2017 were the spa facility at Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate and the refurbishment of St George's Hall in Bradford. In the civil engineering sector, Henry Boot Construction has recently completed the regeneration and infrastructure work on the Olympic Legacy Park in Don Valley, Sheffield, and it is working on the Advanced Manufacturing Park for the University of Sheffield.
It has secured a place on the Education & Skills Funding Agency £8bn regional framework and through the new YORcivils2 framework it is carrying out structural works to six tower blocks for Leeds City Council, together with the remodelling of Iverson Primary School in Horsforth.
In the higher education sector, Henry Boot Construction was awarded the Aerothermal Research Building at Loughborough University, the Sports Sciences Building for the University of Hull, Concourse Public Realm works for the University of Sheffield and the School of Earth & Environment expansion at the University of Leeds.
Chairman Jamie Boot said: "We have made a good start to the 2018 financial year, having already concluded a number of land sales. In addition, we have a strong pipeline of construction work, commercial development projects and strategic land sites working through the marketing process, on which to capitalise through the year. Our focus consequently continues to be on the profitable delivery of these schemes and the value they will create for all our stakeholders. I look forward to reporting on our success in doing this through 2018 and beyond."
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