Building firm Galliford Try has revealed the growing strength of the construction market in Scotland…
Ken Gillespie, chief operating officer of Galliford Try, said his firm had enjoyed recent success in Scotland due in part to a number of public sector contracts. This includes a £55m contract to build a new high school in Shetland and a £17m school in Moray.
Gillespie said: “The Scottish Government has consistently delivered infrastructure and construction projects to the market and I think that’s fuelling the recovery.
“We see a good pipeline of public sector opportunities.”
Gillespie also said the market had picked up south of the border, with public spending improved greatly, but noted the upcoming central government Spending Review could change the situation.
Business in Scotland is up 25 per cent from a year ago and the firm’s Scottish branch—which includes Morrison Construction—generates around one third of its business in the nation.
Galliford Try’s Executive Chairman Greg Fitzgerald said: “Our Construction division has made excellent progress in closing out older contracts, and won significant new work in an improving market, strongly assisted by the timely acquisition and swift integration of Miller Construction.”
Miller Construction was acquired in July last year.
Growth is expected to continue to increase, with the firm stating to could require more staff in Scotland. It currently employs around 1,500 members of staff, which is an increase of around 100 over the year. However, Gillespie warned a skills storage in the sector could in fact stifle growth.
He said: “The skills agenda is a massive agenda. There’s definitely a skills gap between the resources we will need to service the construction industry and those resources that are in the pipeline.”
He added: “We want to raise the profile across the whole of Scotland about what great job opportunities there are in construction.
“It’s not just about digging holes and being out in all weather.”
The firm made pre-tax profits of £114m in the year to 30 June. This was an increase of 20 per cent on the £95m seen in the previous period.