A PAISLEY-based construction company has secured £60 million of new orders as it underlined the industry’s resilience in the face of macroeconomic headwinds.

Clark Contracts highlighted a raft of new work, including the construction of three bonded warehouses, office refurbishments in Edinburgh and Dundee, and a £7m contract from Waverley Housing to design and build 25 homes in Galashiels in a strong opening half to its current financial year.

It puts the company on track to turn over £100m for just the second time in its 46-year history, with Clark also moving back towards pre-pandemic levels of profitability.

Managing director Gordon Cunningham said: “Having celebrated our 45th year in business last year, it is fantastic to have recorded such a strong start to the year, across numerous sectors and geographical areas, which will support our continued growth. We are looking forward to working with both our new and existing customers throughout the coming year.”

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Privately-owned Clark said its current workload includes a £2m contract from Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park to complete the first phase of an overall masterplan to improve the Tarbet Visitor Centre site, and a “major” contract for a 155-bed student accommodation development in Edinburgh.

The company also highlighted a number of awards from repeat customers, including two research laboratory refurbishments or the University of Glasgow, the refurbishment of a medical centre and medical student accommodation for NHS Ayrshire & Arran, and alterations to the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service Blood Donation Centre in Aberdeen.

Asked to comment on general trading conditions in the construction sector, Mr Cunningham said the industry has shown “strong resilience” since 2020 “in responding to the challenges of the pandemic, Brexit, Suez [shipping crisis], inflation and now recession”. He added that “whilst there have been some corporate casualties the industry does tend to always be cautiously optimistic that some semblance of stability will return”.

Mr Cunningham said: “From a building cost perspective, stability of prices is returning after the hyperinflation the industry had to deal with in recent years. Student accommodation, research and life sciences and industrial sectors are still strong.”

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But while Mr Cunningham talked positively about the firm’s pipeline of work, he declared that a “skills shortage remains the biggest challenge within the industry, with many reports recognising that construction is failing to attract new talent”.

He said: “Whilst we, along with some others, are working hard on this, it is a very difficult challenge to change the perception of a whole industry. We are committed to tackling this, and we were heartened by the 140 people who came along to our eighth annual careers evening last week to speak to our team about potential opportunities, both with us and in the wider industry.”

Clark achieved the £100m turnover landmark for the first time in the year ended October 2022 as it bounced back from the disruption arising from the pandemic. It reported pre-tax profits of £1.34m, up from £927,711, as revenue climbed £101.6m from £82.6m that year.

Last April Clark unveiled a major move in the housing market, launching Nova Homes to target the market for “family starter homes” and complement its work in the affordable homes and student accommodation sectors.

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To support the new business, the company appointed Ed Monaghan, who had spent more than 40 years with Glasgow housebuilder Mactaggart & Mickel, as a director.

Clark said yesterday that Nova was in the processing of securing its first two residential sites for private sale, and hopes to begin construction in the fourth quarter.

Asked for his views on the housing market in Scotland, where an ongoing shortage is causing increasing concern, Mr Cunningham said: “The housing needs are currently much higher than is being accounted for, but the government have announced major funding cuts in housing.

“We see opportunities in this sector in the long term, to respond to the various housing emergencies that continue to be declared. We believe the stability of interest rates will lead to a stronger market for sales in early 2025.”