Wates to take on 300 new staff

Wates has recorded a 4% growth in turnover and a 12% jump in profits for 2010.

In results announced yesterday, the contractor said its pre-tax profits for 2010 stood at £43.5m, up from £38.9m in 2009.

Turnover was £985m, but has still not topped £1bn as it did in 2008.

Paul Drechsler, chairman and chief executive, said he was “confident” employment would rise 5-10% at Wates during 2011.

“From what we can see at the moment, then I’d be hopeful we’d be looking at job growth,” he said.

Wates has around 2,000 employees, so such a rise would boost job numbers by 100-200.

The company later said that it intends to create around 300 new jobs over the year.

Drechsler said: “Our long-term aim is to be one of the UK’s leading providers to the built environment. We believe we have the financial strength, the strategy, the talented people ,the customer relationships and strong supply chain partnerships to realise our goal.”