EE Smith Contracts, celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, has recorded a 31% rise in turnover to £61.5m for the year to 31st March 2022.
Pre-tax profit for the year was £1.2m, after a £22,000 loss the previous year.
The company has been growing strongly over the past decade, except for the year of the first national lockdown and construction site closures. It turned over approximately £20m in the year to March 2015, £40m in 2017, £50m in 2020, dipping to £47m in the Covid-impacted year to March 2021 and now up to £60m in the most recent accounts.
Recent growth has come on the back of working on such prestigious developments as The Peninsula London hotel overlooking Hyde Park Corner and the completion of 15 super-prime apartments in Knightsbridge, London.
EE Smith Contracts began the current financial year with £60m of secured work and 285 staff, including 35 apprentices recruited since the outbreak of Covid-19.
Finance director Neil Simpson said: “The annual results to March 2022 have delivered the highest annual revenue in the company’s history which is due to the hard work and unwavering commitment of our staff.
“We are in advanced discussions regarding a few contracts in the high-end residential and hotel markets which remain stable despite a challenging economic backdrop.
“All this is the best possible way for the business to celebrate its 125-year history which is a history built on employee training and development and investment in cutting-edge technology, and delivering best-in-class craftsmanship.
“EE Smith Contracts has a long history of training youngsters and a significant number of our current employees are former apprenticeships who have stayed with us because it is a family environment. We have established great links with London colleges and have 30 apprentices on our sites in London who are learning from among the finest craftspeople in the country. The London labour market is very dynamic and we’re building the EE Smith Contracts family environment on those sites as well to retain our apprentices and provide a pathway for their career.
“Overall, after evaluating the cost of the pandemic, which we estimate cost the business £3.8m, to reach a stage where profits are now healthier than pre-covid is testament to the high standard of our work and the high calibre of our staff.”
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