Contractor Multiplex went on a hiring spree over the last year as latest results show the firm had a bumper year, with turnover hitting a record £1bn.
Turnover at the firm, which has been involved in a number of high-profile projects such as Nine Elms, Edinburgh PFI Hospital and London’s White Collar Factory, rose to £1.04bn for the year to 31 December 2016, up 67% from the £620m recorded in its previous financial results, according to accounts filed with Companies House.
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The firm increased its workforce by 32%, with 225 additional staff recruited to bring the total number to 931, up from 706. It also recruited a record number of graduates during the course of 2016.
The company’s order book was up 16% on the previous year at £3.6bn, with the firm contracted to deliver 6.7m sq ft of commercial space for a total value of £2.14bn.
It also has nine high-end residential projects with a construction value of £1.1bn to deliver 1,098 luxury flats.
Despite these good numbers, however, pretax profits fell from around £22m in 2015 to £19m last year.
As a result, operating margins halved from the 2015 high of 3% to industry norms of around 1.5%.
Ross Ballingall, managing director of Multiplex Construction, said the firm was well placed to maintain revenues in excess of £1bn.
“The recent announcements of our involvement in One Nine Elms, together with a number of other projects on which we are engaged prior to signing the full building contract bode well for the company on the immediate future.”
