Buildingfirm’s £28msuccess
A CIVIL engineering and building firm in Guisborough has doubled turnover to £28m following a successful bid to upgrade Britain’s prisons.
Business has been booming since family firm Henderson Campbell became a preferred supplier to the Home Office in 2006 to undertake construction projects in prisons.
The company was commissioned to expand 15 prisons across the UK in partnership with Newark-based Caledonian Building Systems, a specialist in pre-engineered buildings.
The work has boosted Henderson’s turnover from £14m in 2007 to £28m last year and further growth is expected on the back of surging demand for modular buildings.
MD Antony Henderson, who joined the firm in 1987, said modular construction was proving popular due to the financial and environmental benefits of utilising off-site construction techniques.
He said: “Construction time on site is typically half that of traditional construction schemes. Normally, 75% of the project’s value is constructed off site, reducing labour and site costs to as little as 25% of that required for a traditional project.
“Modular buildings normally attain the highest standards in environmental performance, both in construction and operation.”
Mr Henderson said he was not looking to float or sell the company but would instead seek new business from public sector organisations and local multinationals.
The Home Office work, a fixed-term contract running to 2012, accounts for around 90% of the company’s overall revenues and Mr Henderson said he was keen to broaden his client base by targeting work in hotel and police station construction, telecommunications and utilities.
Established in 1975, the company employs around 100 staff - almost double the number in May 2007 - and specialises in the construction of modular or pre-engineered buildings.
