Beard Managing Director, Mark Beard said: “Looking ahead, we’ve got a strong order book and we’re well positioned to take advantage of improving market conditions.

“2014 is going to be a great year for Beard – the future is bright.”

The bullish comments come on the back of  results for the year ended 31 December 2013 which saw pre-tax profits rise from £1.4m to £1.7m on turnover 12% higher at £77.3m.

Beard’s order book was up £37m to £40m and cash flow during the period remained strong, with cash balances often exceeding £7m.

Mark Beard said:  “We’ve had another great year, beating the construction industry blues by winning high quality work.

“Our success has been driven by a strong focus on prompt and faultless delivery of all our buildings projects, good cost control and being selective about the clients we work with and the projects we take on.

“Our strong commercial results have also enabled us to invest in training and developing our people and improving our customer service.”