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John Simpson Top 100|23
been sharply reduced.
In the overall assessment
of the contribution of the
construction sector, the official
Stormont index shows that
construction output fell by 49%
from mid-2007 to late 2013.
From late 2013, construction
activity has recovered, from the
very low point, by 19%. It is still
38% below the peak in 2007.
The construction sector is,
therefore, in survival and
revival mode. There have
been conspicuous casualties
and now there are new
leaders emerging in a search
for expanding and profitable
market opportunities. Several
large firms acknowledge
that, whilst headquartered in
Northern Ireland, contracts
have been secured in Great
Britain or in the Irish Republic.
There are welcome signs of
a strengthening and viable
construction sector evidenced
in the latest publication by the
Belfast Telegraph of the Top
100, identifying the leading
local businesses, assessing them
initially on the recent record of
profitable trading.
In the Top 100, there are eight
construction companies that
qualify for inclusion since their
latest registered pre-tax profits
are over £2.2m. They are listed
in Table 1.
Since this group of eight were
identified in the Top 100, later
registered results for McAleer
and Rushe have been lodged
and, retrospectively, it should
be added with pre-tax profits
of £5,060,000. Also, the results
for Carnbane House should be
updated for the 2014 results
which show lower pre-tax
profits of £4,463,000.
There is another group whose
recent profits have exceeded
£1m including Heron Brothers,
Management and
Construction,
John
McQuillan,
Termon
Holdings,
Henry
Group, and
Acheson
Holdings (the
successor to
Acheson and
Glover).
The changing
fortunes
in the
construction sector mean that
the sector has lost Carvill, H&J
Martin (now taken-over by
Lagan) and Pattons, three big
casualties of the recession
In addition to the group which
are essentially main contractors,
there is another group of
leading businesses which are,
in different ways, in the supply
chain. Table 2 lists 11 profit
making companies which
depend on construction and
civil engineering.
Closely following the supply
companies in Table 2 can be
added businesses such as
Keystone Holdings, McAvoy
Group, Stothers (M&E), and
Walker Watson whose latest
results show pre-tax profits of
over £1m.
Because of
the differing
organisational
arrangements
for many
businesses
in the
construction
sector ranging
from some
who rely
heavily on subcontracting
arrangements
to others
where nearly
all work is
conducted
in-house, the
businesses
Table 1. Construction companies in Top 100
Pre-tax profits £’000
23. F.P.McCann £12,340
31. Carnbane House £10,578
42. John Graham £ 7,435
57 H&A Holdings NI £ 5,095
62. Lagan Construction Gp £ 4,568
63. BSG Civil engineering. £ 4,373
67. Northstone (NI) £ 4,168
79. Western Building Systems £ 3,362
identified in the Top 100 do not
all add in similar proportions to
the Northern Ireland GDP.
Some of the larger firms have
wage bills of tens of million,
others
have
much
lower
direct
in-house
costs.
The
largest
annual
turnover
figures
recorded
include
£490m
by John
Graham,
Eoin McCann, MD of FP McCann
who were the top ranked construction
company.
over £300m by Northstone
(formerly known as Farrans)
and over £150m at FP McCann,
Lagan Construction, McLaughlin
and Harvey, and McAleer and
Rushe.
Table 2. Companies supplying construction
businesses
Pre-tax profits £’000
52. Brett Martin £ 5,759
58. Lagan: White Mountain £ 5,041
66. Tobermore Concrete £ 4,208
69. BI Electrical Services £ 4,046
75. Severfield (NI) £ 3,486
77. BHC £ 3,431
81. Creagh Concrete £ 3,087
86. Macnaughton Blair £ 2,796
88. Haldane Sheills £ 2,749
95. MJM Marine £ 2,387
99. BA Kitchen Components £ 2,280