Firm turns corner after racking up 拢3.5m redundancy bill in previous three years

Byrne Group has put three years of restructuring behind it with the firm turning in an improved set of annual numbers last year, its latest accounts reveal.

The firm, which includes the Byrne Bros concrete arm and its building and fit-out business Ellmer, had racked up more than 拢3.5m in exceptional items over a three year period to June 2021 which included a slew of redundancy payments.

Byrne

Byrne said its concrete frame arm continued to be hit by the impact of the pandemic and rising materials costs

But in its accounts for the year to June 2022, the business stayed free from exceptional costs improving pre-tax profit by a quarter to 拢6.2m on turnover up 7% to 拢153m.

The average number of monthly staff at the business during the year dropped from 244 to 219, a fall of 10%.

Byrne, which has been owned by South African builder Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon since 2017, said its concrete arm had been hit by 鈥渢he ongoing effects of the pandemic and rapidly rising inflation caused serious delays to project starts鈥�.

It said turnover at the division, which has been working on Multiplex鈥檚 delayed One Nine Elms scheme along with HS2 schemes for Costain and Balfour Beatty teams, slipped 56% to 拢73m although operating profit was off by just 拢300,000 from the previous year鈥檚 number of 拢5m.

But Ellmer, which is carrying out work on the new Google headquarters at King鈥檚 Cross and an apartments complex at the Peninsula hotel in Belgravia, saw turnover jump from 拢29m to 拢80m although operating profit was down 18% to 拢1.4m.

The group said cash rose from 拢31.5m to 拢48.6m.

Byrne鈥檚 accounts also show that it paid 拢7.9m to the administrators of civils firm O鈥橩eefe Group which collapsed over the summer. The deal, which saved around 150 jobs, comprised the properties and plant of O鈥橩eefe after it defaulted on a company voluntary agreement that was set up last year.

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