London office market recovery lifts Morgan Sindall’s order book
Construction group Morgan Sindall said yesterday a pick-up in the London office market has helped to boost the value of its order book, despite reported a decline in first-half profits.
The company, which builds houses, refurbishes offices and carries out redevelopment projects, said its forward order book rose by 14 per cent to £2.7bn in the six months to 30 June compared with the same time last year.
The rise in value was driven by a 57 per cent jump at its Fit Out business, after winning a £30m refurbishment project for the Canadian High Commission and securing a contract with KPMG to fit out 215,000 sq ft of offices in Canary Wharf.
Adjusted pre-tax profits fell eight per cent in the period to £14.2m from £15.4m last year, which it blamed on lower profit from the sale of investments. However the company said it was still on track to meet full-year expectations.
Its Urban Regeneration also improved, with operating profits rising to £3.5m compared with £0.4m in the first half of last year.