Sister building contractor BAM Construction saw pre-tax profits slide by a similar amount as it was also hit by a fall in turnover.

Graham Cash, chief executive of Bam Construct, which includes property and FM as well as building contracting, said: “Market conditions and the competition for new work remain challenging, however BAM Construction’s innovative and collaborative approach continues to provide positive results.”

During the year BAM Construct maintained its headcount at around 2,233 as part of a conscious decision to maintain capacity.

Cash added there were now encouraging signs of recovery but developers remained cautious outside the south east.

He said: “There are scant signs of private developers returning to the market especially as one goes North.

“The demand from manufacturing industry and tertiary education institutions is more encouraging.”

Cash said he hoped to see BAM Construct’s FM business grow from a turnover of £43m in 2013 to £100m by 2017.

Civil engineering contractor BAM Nuttall maintained turnover levels despite falling profits.

The firm’s head count edged up past 3,000, as it bagged new orders over the year, including the Southern Multifunctional framework and the Ordsall Chord scheme for Network Rail.

It also secured a five-year highways maintenance deal with Wirrall Council and framework places for SSE’s substations programme and Transport for London’s  structures maintenance.

Forward orders remained healthy despite slipping back a little to £943m from £1bn last time.

Bam Nuttall operates with several other key performance indicators.

Its construction waste reduced by 6% to 21,333 tonnes. This equates to 28.3 tonnes for each million pounds in turnover.