Byrne improves profit for third year in row

Byrne Group improved its annual results for the third year in a row, the firm’s latest accounts reveal.

The concrete frame specialist, whose businesses also include fit-out firm Ellmer, said pre-tax profit was up 9% to £7.4m on turnover down 10% to £171m in the year to June.

Its concrete business, Byrne Bros, returned to being its biggest division with revenue of £85m, a rise of nearly a quarter on last time, and an improved operating profit of £3.4m with the firm adding that an emphasis on teamwork and collaboration “had been pivotal in driving this success”.

The group, which has been owned by South African builder Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon since 2017, said revenue at its fit-out arm Ellmers was down 26% to £61m but operating profit nudged up £200,000 to £2.6m.

Ellmers’ ongoing projects include the Google headquarters building at King’s Cross and high-rise towers at Nine Elms.

Byrne bought civils firm O’Keefe Group out of administration in summer 2022 and said that turnover in its second full year of trading fell a third to £29m but that the business, which is working on the North London Heat and Power Project, “remained profitable”.

Cash at the bank improved from £24m to £32m while the firm said Byrne Bros was “well-positioned to continue a steady growth trajectory with continued profitability” adding that a “focus on collaboration and partnership will ensure a continuous improvement as well as a superior experience for our clients”.

The firm added that it has recently appointed Lee Horsley as its new managing director at O’Keefe, joining from Sparta Construction.