NEWCASTLE-based builder Surgo Construction has landed £20m worth of work in recent months, including a new contract to rebuild a medical centre in Spennymoor.
Despite the challenging construction market, the firm has continued to attract new work and will now rebuild Adan House, home to St Andrew’s Medical Practice, after the original surgery was badly fire damaged last year.
The fire destroyed so much of the original building that the decision was taken to rebuild the surgery, which provides health care services for about 10,000 patients in and around the town.
The 900sq m surgery, which was designed by architects Howarth Litchfield Partnership of Durham and will take 29 weeks to complete, will be built over two floors and will provide full primary care premises for GPs and GP training, accommodation for meetings and patient user groups as well as a pharmacy which will be operated by the Co-operative pharmacy.
Dr Andrew Sanderson, retired partner and project manager on behalf of St Andrew’s Medical Practice, said: “We interviewed 20 potential contractors, but Surgo really presented their proposal well and we were impressed with their approach, the calibre of their team and the fact that they had recently completed another local primary care facility.
“We are very happy with our choice of contractor and look forward to mid September when we will be fully operational in our new premises.”
This latest contract tops off a series of multi million pound wins over recent months, including a design and build scheme worth £1.7m featuring individual housing and supported dwellings for ISOS Developments in North Tyneside; the £4.9m construction of St Joseph’s Primary School for Sunderland City Council, the refurbishment of South Tyneside College and the construction of Redcar Digital Hub.
The firm has been appointed to manage the restoration of Newcastle Theatre Royal, with the project set to continue until September ahead of the theatre’s 175th birthday in 2012.
Speaking about the new medical centre contract, Surgo director Jeff Alexander said: “We are pleased to have been awarded this contract which enables us to further develop our experience in the health care sector on what is a key primary care facility within County Durham serving the needs of a great many local people.
“We are continuing to work closely with Dr Sanderson and the rest of the medical staff to ensure that the contract runs smoothly up to handover.”
Surgo, which employs 120 staff, saw its turnover drop from £43.8m to £36.2m in the year ending August 31, 2010, but it largely held on to its pre-tax profits which dipped slightly from £6m to £5.8m.
The firm believes it is in a strong position to attract new work after refraining from any large-scale investments and maintaining a healthy balance sheet, with the value of shareholders’ funds actually increasing from £3m to £3.2m during the accountancy period.
