THE family-owned holding company of south Derry civil engineering BSG has reported reduced sales and profits after a major restructure of its major subsidiary at the start of its last financial year.
BSG Holdco Ltd was only incorporated in November 2019 to effect a group restructuring involving BSG Civil Engineering and South Bank Square (SBS).
In January last year, it acquired the share capital of the civil engineering firm, which in turn disposed of its investment in SBS.
The controlling interesting in all the companies are husband and wife Seamus Gillan (68) and Bernadette Gillan (66), who are the Maghera-based holding firm's two main directors.
At the end of 2020, BSG Holdco saw its turnover decline from £33.2 million to £21.7 million, while its profits halved from £5.65m to £2.54m.
The accounts, filed at Companies House, reveal that BSG paid an interim dividend during the year of £30.1 million, compared to just £300,000 in 2019.
As a result of the financial restructuring, the holding company ended 2020 with net assets of £17.4m, a fraction of the previous year-end total of £44.8m.
At the end of last year, the Gillans' property development firm South Bank Square announced plans for a £45 million ‘build-to-rent’ apartment tower on Belfast’s Great Victoria Street.
It had originally proposed a 14-storey Novotel Hotel on the Fanum House site but shelved it back in favour of the build-to-rent scheme involving 210 apartments.
Last year South Bank Square also bought the former Tyrone County Hospital site in Omagh and it also proceeding with a £100m residential investment in the Waterside area of Derry.
BSG Civil Engineering was established in Maghera in 2004 as the result of an amalgamation of Seamus Gillan Civil Engineering and BSG Piling Ltd.
It is involved with a number of longstanding frameworks for both NI Water and Irish Water, building on its specialisms within the water and wastewater industry.
It has also completed a number of schemes within various alternative markets including flood alleviation, anaerobic digester plants, environmental improvement/public realm, marine and industrial/commercial.
