Firm has already secured first contract worth 拢7m

锘緾ontractor GB 黑洞社区 Solutions is to launch a renewable energy division with a 拢20m turnover target in order to boost sales.

GB鈥檚 renewable energy division has already secured its first contract - a 拢7m deal with Northumberland council to fit photovoltaic panels on 400 council-owned homes and 130 public buildings. Work on the project starts next month and runs through until March 2012.

Chief executive Martin Smout said the current market conditions made the timing of the move ideal. It also follows the conclusion of the government鈥檚 review of feed-in tariffs for renewable energy, which will lead to big potential rewards for social landlords installing renewable power generation in their houses.

鈥淩enewable energy is a growth sector,鈥� Smout said. 鈥淥ur decision to launch this division was influenced by the downturn in contract work and suicidal margins.
鈥淲e recognise this is an area where we need to be active. Many of our clients are required to meet strict energy efficiency targets because there are significant financial implications if they don鈥檛. Putting it bluntly, we want to save them money and that鈥檚 one of the reasons why we launched this division.鈥�

GB is bouncing back from a drop in contract work in which turnover fell by a third in 2010 to 拢125m. The company was also forced to make a number of redundancies - staff numbers now stand at 225 from a peak of 350 in 2008.

However, Smout insists the business, for which annual results are released next month, has now stabilised. 鈥淟ast year our turnover was 拢125m, while we recorded a pre-tax profit of 拢1.22m,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur results for this financial period remain very much in line with last year鈥檚 figures.鈥�

GB has recently begun recruiting new staff, with Smout saying the company has turned a corner. 鈥淭he approach we have taken is to invest in the business,鈥� he said.

鈥淟ong term we want to develop our care and hotel sectors and expand our range of services.鈥�

GB 黑洞社区 Solutions was formed in 2005 by a management buyout at Gleeson 黑洞社区, the former contracting arm of MJ Gleeson. The Surrey-based company鈥檚 main markets are in the residential, education and health sectors. MJ Gleeson retains a 20% stake in the GB 黑洞社区 Solutions.

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