Byrne Group in the red after further Chorus losses

Byrne Group has suffered an £11.9m pre-tax loss after being hit by problem jobs completing at its fit-out arm Chorus.

In its full-year results to May this year, Byrne Group’s main concrete frame business Byrne Bros trebled its profit to £6m, but Chorus slumped to a £13.9m loss.

The firm said the remainder of Chorus’ contracts are profitable and will complete in this financial year to May 2017.

Its Ellmer subsidiary also suffered a £2.5m pre-tax loss after being hit by two problem jobs.

The overall pre-tax loss for 2016 was up from £4m the previous year.

Despite the loss, Byrne Group chief executive Michael Byrne said the performance of the underlying business demonstrated the operating profitability of the group moving forward.

He said: As part of the recovery strategy we strengthened our commercial procedures and established a dedicated team to manage-out the legacy contracts within the Chorus business.

“Non-core businesses have been disposed of and the sale and lease back of our corporate headquarters was completed.

“These moves have given the Group a strong base to move forward from, reducing debt and strengthening the balance sheet.”

Turnover at the group was £329m, up from £299m the previous year, as Byrne Bros secured a steady flow of new work with new contracts starting on-site including a new extension for Westfields at Shephards Bush and the redevelopment of the BBC Television Centre for developer Stanhope.