THE Scottish construction division of contracting giant Kier Group has highlighted its growing presence in the heritage sector as it maintained turnover levels in the first six months of its current financial year.
Kier Construction Scotland said turnover was steady at around £150 million in the six months ended December 31, a period which saw it continue restoration work at Glasgow School of Art’s historic Mackintosh Library.
Work to restore the library’s famous hen run, which connects two parts of the Mackintosh Building and provides artists with an area of natural light and shade, and loggia was completed over the period, with the overall project on course to be handed over to the school early next year.
The library, one of Scotland’s most prized architectural assets, was devastated by fire in 2014.
Kier’s involvement at the art school is one of several heritage projects its Scottish business has been contracted to work on, with the company recently being appointed to the £66 million refurbishment of The Burrell Collection in Glasgow.
Work at The Burrell, located in Pollok Country Park, is due commence this summer and is scheduled for completion in 2020. The company said a major priority will be to ensure people keep visiting the park while the work takes place, noting that events such as farmers’ markets will be held to encourage visitors.
Further heritage work was carried out by Kier over the period with the refurbishment of Aberdeen Music Hall on the city’s Union Street, and at Edinburgh College of Art.
Meanwhile, Kier joined a further public sector procurement framework, having been appointed as a tier one contractor to hub West. It paves the way for it to bid for a range of public sector capital works throughout the west of Scotland.
The Scottish operation, which employs around 200 staff, is now on 14 national frameworks across Scotland.
Recent developments have also seen it become a principal supply chain partner under Frameworks Scotland 2 to build a £34.5m elective care facility at Golden Jubilee National Hospital Clydebank.
Brian McQuade, managing director of Kier Construction Scotland, said the division has a “robust pipeline of activity” north of the Border.
He added: "We have added to our strong education portfolio with a number of contract wins, including our appointment by the University of Edinburgh to carry out the £7.7m transformation of Murchison House into a dynamic, multi-functional teaching and study hub, and our appointment to the University of Strathclyde’s £250m Framework for Major Building Construction to support the delivery of its ongoing capital investment plan.
“Our unique expertise in the heritage sector continues to flourish as we have been appointed as the contractor to support Glasgow Life in their £66m refurbishment of one of Scotland’s national treasures - The Burrell Collection. This is an exciting addition to the work we are currently carrying out in this specialist area, including the restoration of the Mackintosh Building for Glasgow School of Art and the refurbishment of listed buildings at Edinburgh College of Art and Aberdeen Music Hall.”
The update for Kier’s operations north of the Border, which aims to lift turnover to £200m by 2020, came as the contracting giant said statutory profits dipped by six per cent to £33.7m for the half year.
It grew turnover by 8% to £2.15 billion, despite a 7% cent slide in revenue at its dominant construction division to £949m due to delays in certain projects starting.
Operating profits from construction, which includes Kier’s UK building, civil engineering and Middle East operations, plunged by 20% to £16.7m. That came as it booked £7.7m of costs relating to the closure of its Caribbean and Hong Kong businesses.
On the infrastructure side, the period saw Kier pick up work from the collapsed public-sector contractor Carillion. It assumed full responsibility for the Smart Motorway schemes on which it had been working alongside Carillion as a joint venture partner, following talks with the UK Government and Highways England in February. All staff working on the schemes, including apprentices, transferred to Kier.
Last year saw Kier complete the acquisition of McNicholas, an infrastructure services provider, with the deal doubling its overall headcount in Scotland to 1,200 from 600.
Shares in Kier closed down 3.7% at 1,038p.
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