Wates Group marks highest ever operating profit in 125-year history
Construction firm the Wates Group has posted its highest ever operating profit of £40m, thanks to booking new projects last year.
The family-owned firm said it secured £2.3bn of new work during 2021 and ended the year with a record forward order book of £7.1bn – up seven per cent from a previous record in 2020.
Pre-tax profit leaped to £37.4m, up £35.7m from 2020, and ended the year with £228.7m in cash.
Its residential arm boosted turnover 75 per cent to £268m while its developments arm marked a turnover leap of 65 per cent to £107m, generating £5.6m in pre-tax profit.
What’s more, its property services arm boosted turnover 14 per cent across its three divisions to £475.9m,
Wates group boss David Alenn said he felt “enormous gratitude for and pride in what the team achieved.”
“It is incredible that in a year that was frequently – and for extended periods – very challenging, we continued to work safely and produced the highest operating profit in Wates’ 125-year history,” he added.
“Despite the economic and political pressures that are affecting everyone right now, the strength of our performance in 2021; the size of our order book; our proven ability to help customers and partners meet their sustainability goals; the clarity of our strategy; and the quality of our amazing team mean we’re looking forward to the future with confidence and excitement.”