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Morrisroe has admitted turnover this year will drop as the firm says it is being more selective about the projects it takes on after being caught out by a series of fixed price jobs.

And Brian Morrisroe used his chief executive鈥檚 statement in the contractor鈥檚 latest accounts to call for improved margins, saying they were needed for 鈥渢he health and sustainable growth of the UK construction supply chain鈥�.

In a note accompanying the Hertfordshire-based concrete and piling specialist鈥檚 2023 numbers, Morrisroe said its 拢60m balance sheet had helped it 鈥渁bsorb the ongoing inflationary impacts brought about by fixed price contracts鈥�.

He added: 鈥淸Commodity] prices have remained relatively high and continued to negatively impact margins in the main structures business due to ongoing commitments under some legacy fixed price contracts entered into in previous periods.鈥�

Morrisroe said the firm was now being 鈥渕ore selective about future projects which will result in a drop in sales in 2024鈥�. But he added: 鈥淲e do feel that our reduced exposure will enable us to continue on our positive trajectory.鈥�

And he said: 鈥淲e remain focused on the long term and securing the right opportunities to deliver value to clients for a price that reflects what our market can expect from a contractor like us.

鈥淚n practice, this means operating sustainably at a reasonable margin, an approach which we feel supports our own vision for the future as well as the health and sustainable growth of the UK construction supply chain.鈥�

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He said the firm, whose schemes include work for Multiplex at the Elephant & Castle town centre scheme in south London and Sir Robert McAlpine鈥檚 2 Finsbury Avenue tower in the City of London, had carried out a review of legacy projects and found that three, including a concrete frame job, would cost more than expected.

This meant that its pre-tax loss for the year to October 2022 was now 拢11.4m rather than the previously stated 拢6.9m.

But the firm said it had narrowed pre-tax losses for the year to October 2023 to 拢1.3m on turnover up 7% to 拢219m.

Morrisroe added: 鈥淎lthough it is disappointing to report a further trading loss as a group, it is a substantially improved position.鈥�

He admitted that some jobs had also been stalled by second staircase rules and wider 黑洞社区 Safety Act legislation, saying the firm had invested to support clients in these areas including a dedicated website for its structural design practice.

Morrisroe said its order book was down to 拢240m from 拢388m last time which, the firm said, 鈥渞eflected the focus the group has on de-risking future workloads鈥�.