Mark Lawrence, group chief executive, said the contractor was set on course to become a national building services business and would open more regional bases in coming months.

He said: “Going forward, in the short term we believe future growth will be best achieved by building upon the existing group structure and the improved service offering and by expanding our existing businesses into areas where we do not have a local presence.

“In particular we believe there are opportunities in and around Inverness, Plymouth and the West Midlands. In early 2011 we opened an office in Cardiff serving South Wales as a branch office of our Bristol operations.”

But he also warned that the difficult conditions which Clarke has faced during the last two years “show little sign of immediate easing”.

This impacted on pre-tax profits for the year which fell 20% to £5.7m on turnover broadly flat at £179m.

Over the year the group was restructured into three new operating regions with a new management board structure designed to let the business respond more quickly to opportunities.

Lawrence said longer-term prospects for Clarke were much brighter.

“A number of large scale commercial developments in London have been started and this bodes well for the future.

“However, in the short-term, 2011 will be challenging not only for T.Clarke but for the wider construction sector.”