{"id":882711,"date":"2026-01-03T02:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T08:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/03\/bedford-contractor-lifts-profit-despite-tough-market-conditions\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T02:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T08:11:49","slug":"bedford-contractor-lifts-profit-despite-tough-market-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/03\/bedford-contractor-lifts-profit-despite-tough-market-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Bedford contractor lifts profit despite tough market conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bedford-based contractor SDC Holdings has improved its profit margin despite falling turnover amid difficult market conditions.<\/p>\n

Pre-tax profit rose by a third from \u00a35.4m to \u00a37m in its latest accounts for the year to 30 September 2025, although revenue dipped by 4 per cent from \u00a3247.7m to \u00a3238m.<\/p>\n

Higher profit and lower revenue meant the firm\u2019s margin broadened from 2.2 per cent to 2.9 per cent.<\/p>\n

The accounts showed three sectors each contributed more than \u00a350m to SDC\u2019s latest turnover figures: education and technical facilities; commercial and leisure; and student accommodation.<\/p>\n

But \u201cthe level of enquiries has reduced considerably over the past few months\u201d, director Andrew Mitchell said in his strategic report with the accounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most notable decline is in developer-led schemes, which we believe reflects the wider economic challenges facing the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he added that SDC continued to benefit from a \u201cloyal\u201d client base and the firm envisages \u201congoing opportunities in both the motor industry and the Oxbridge universities\/colleges\u201d.<\/p>\n

Project completions in the year included the \u00a340m Optic office and laboratory facility at Peterhouse Technology Park in Cambridge, for British Land.<\/p>\n

SDC also completed the \u00a326.5m Brooklands zero-carbon business campus in Cambridge for M&G Real Estate.<\/p>\n

Mitchell said the contractor experienced \u201conly limited inflationary pressure, mainly on certain material elements\u201d in the period covered by its latest accounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the reduced market activity, we expect to see some downward movement in prices over the coming months as suppliers\u2019 workloads fall,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Cash at hand eroded from \u00a341.8m to \u00a338.5m, and the firm held no bank loans or overdrafts.<\/p>\n

No shareholder dividends were paid out. SDC has operated under an employee benefit trust model since 2007.<\/p>\n

The firm was ranked 77th<\/sup> in the latest CN100 table<\/a> of top contractors by turnover.<\/p>\n

Its annual wage bill rose from \u00a323.9m to \u00a324.2m, although SDC Holdings employed a monthly average of 362 staff in the year, down from 373 in its previous accounts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn these challenging times, more of our staff have faced a range of personal and professional difficulties, and we have intensified our efforts to provide them with appropriate support,\u201d the latest accounts stated.<\/p>\n

SDC said it had a strong order book but \u201cthe overall market has weakened\u201d.<\/p>\n

As the group\u2019s construction business and main trading arm, SDC Builders Ltd has secured \u00a3200m of business for the current financial year and \u00a376m for 2026\/27. In its previous accounts, SDC said it had secured orders worth \u00a378.6m for 2025\/26.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, it warned that enquiry levels \u201care currently poor although we are aware of some larger schemes likely to be coming to the market early next year which we will target\u201d.<\/p>\n

Major contractor failures \u201cand the intense competitiveness of the industry continue to put pressure on the supply chain, which in turn presents a risk to SDC\u201d, it added.<\/p>\n

Unless the UK economic outlook improves, \u201cwe consider a reduction in turnover in the following year to be a realistic possibility\u201d, Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we remain vigilant in our selection of suppliers, the potential failure of a key supplier cannot be entirely eliminated.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo minimise this risk, we carefully assess all major orders before appointment and maintain strong, long-term relationships with the subcontractors we employ.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Ben Vogel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bedford-based contractor SDC Holdings has improved its profit margin despite falling turnover amid difficult market conditions. Pre-tax profit rose by a third from \u00a35.4m to \u00a37m in its latest accounts for the year to 30 September 2025, although revenue dipped by 4 per cent from \u00a3247.7m to \u00a3238m. Higher profit and lower revenue meant the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":882712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[145737,26535],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-882711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bedford","8":"category-contractor"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}