McLaren Construction’s Midlands and North arm is reflecting on a year of record turnover and growth, with ambitions plans set for 2023 and beyond.
Alongside achieving £142m turnover for the financial year ending July 2022, the company has achieved 75 percent repeat business, winning multiple awards for its developments and expanding its team and portfolio into new sectors.
Projected turnover for the present financial year is £258m, an increase of 80 percent on 2022, and the Midlands and North division has already secured projects exceeding £100m into 2024.
McLaren’s strategy in 2022 was to focus on nurturing key client relationships, supporting valued customers through the delivery of quality developments, whilst enhancing social value through its sustainability and charitable efforts.
Notable projects delivered this year include the West Midlands Ambulance Service site – home of the UK’s first electric ambulance fleet, as well as the Cadent Ansty development – which won commercial development of the year at the Insider West Midlands Property Awards. The Midlands and North team also received the prestigious UKREiiF Contractor of the Year award this spring.
Working towards the company’s sustainability targets to reach net zero Scope 1 and 2 by 2025, and Scope 3 by 2045, the team have worked to ensure projects in the region are meeting government green targets through the reduction of embodied carbon in construction.
With many construction firm’s removing diesel generators from sites in a bid to hit net zero targets, the West Midlands Ambulance Service site was the first McLaren Construction site of its kind to use hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), an industry-leading sustainable fuel alternative. The build of a logistics development in Sherburn, Leeds for the Firethorn Trust, was also the first net zero carbon industrial and logistics project for the Midlands and North region.
Giving back to the communities in which its developments are based, the division has also concentrated its charitable efforts on a wide range of causes this year, including theorganisation of raffles for the Ukraine Appeal and the Lighthouse Construction Charity, regular donations to the St Helen’s Food Bank and assistance with hosting a Christmas party with the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust (CAFT), to create magical memories for terminally ill and disadvantaged children in Cheshire.
McLaren Construction as a whole, finished its financial year on 31 July 2022 with a turnover for the previous 12 months of £726.2m, exceeding pre-pandemic levels with an increase of £184.1m on the previous year. Turnover for the year ending July 2023 is currently forecast at over £850m, with 80 percent business already secured.
Reflecting on a year of exceptional growth for the Midlands and North division, Gary Cramp, managing director, said: “We are extremely proud of our success in the last year, and this is all down to the amazing work of our team and our consistent approach to planning.
“The challenges following Covid have presented themselves during a busy construction market in 2022, and the industry has been presented with inflationary pressure on materials and labour resource to carry out projects.
“Despite these pressures, our solid preparation has allowed us to secure early procurement to mitigate risks to the business and we are excited by the value and rich variety of projects we have in the pipeline next year, and into 2024.
“While there are lots of positives to look forward to in 2023, we are prepared for the emergence of a tougher market, but our focus will remain on key relationships and supporting our valued customers, whilst investing centrally to enhance our social value, diversity and sustainability offering.”
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