Glasgow contractor plunges to £16m loss

Glaswegian firm City Building made a £16m loss in the year to 31 March 2023, its latest annual accounts have revealed.

This followed an £18.5m deficit in the previous 12 months, although turnover increased marginally from £161.9m in 2022 to £162.2m in the latest period.

The limited liability partnership, a joint venture between Glasgow City Council and Wheatley Housing Group, said increased costs had “impacted” its profitability.

The firm’s accounts, filed with Companies House last Thursday (13 March), noted an “extremely challenging trading environment, primarily driven by inflationary price increases across material and subcontractor costs and unforeseen operational expenses”.

The firm added that it had remained “focused on the delivery of value for money and resolute on serving the needs of customers”.

“The aim has been to balance profit ambition against supporting [the] needs of partners and preventing, where possible, cost pressures [from] being passed onto customers or citizens,” it said.

City Building added in a report alongside its results that it had begun the financial year “with optimism based on hope of an increased awareness of climate change prompting an even greater drive towards sustainable buildings”.

“This positivity was filled with expectation that the wider industry, in recognising the ongoing labour supply issues, would fully embrace apprenticeships to nurture a nation of skilled workers,” it added.

The firm said it had completed the construction of its own college to support the industry and “develop the next generation of tradespeople”.

City Building said it had continued its investment in its workforce in 2022 by recruiting 60 craft apprentices and employing 61 former apprentices as tradespeople.

Cash in hand decreased slightly from £9.5m to £7.1m, although amounts due to creditors within 12 months fell from £40.3m in March 2022 to £26.6m at the end of the latest period.

The firm held no bank loan debt.

It expanded its workforce, growing to an average monthly headcount of 1,724 employees compared with 1,694 the year before.