Co Tyrone construction group McAleer & Rushe said its design and build division is expected to hit half a billion pounds in turnover next year.
The construction arm of the business recorded an 8% uplift in turnover to £436.4 million in 2023, new accounts show.
The Cookstown-headquartered business is split between its design and build contracting division and its investment and development wing, known as MRP.
The most recent accounts available for MRP show it recorded a pre-tax profit of £31.8m on a turnover of £100m for the year ending September 30 2022.
Accounts published by Companies House this week for its building division, show it posted a pre-tax profit of £11m for the year ending December 31 2023.
That was around 9% down on the £12m recorded in 2022, reflecting the higher cost environment across the construction sector.
While the contracting end of its business took in an extra £32m in 2023, the accounts for McAleer & Rushe Construction Contracts UK show costs soared by £55m last year to £409m.
In a report published with the accounts, the group’s directors said: “Building on contracts secured in 2023, turnover for 2024 will increased to reach £450m.
“The company has also secured site starts on over £350m of contracts to date in 2024.
“These new contracts are majority residential and of above average size and will contribute to further growth in turnover to £500m+ in 2025.”
Major contracts completed by the company in 2023 included the new Vita Student accommodation scheme in Belfast, a new Premier Inn Hotel in Birmingham, a build-to-rent scheme in Brighton and another student scheme in Norwich.
The accounts for McAleer & Rushe Construction Contracts UK Ltd show it had 358 employees on its books in 2023, slightly down on the 372 from 2022.
As such, its total wage bill actually fell by 3.75% year-on-year to £23m.
The highest paid director received remuneration of £350,000 last year according to the accounts, slightly down on the £355,000 paid to the top director in 2022.
The report indicates a £6m dividend was paid to the company’s shareholders in 2023.
Swiss Centre Corporate Capital Trust, which includes both members of the McAleer and Laverty families, controls the majority of the share capital in both divisions of McAleer & Rushe.
