The company is planning continued growth throughout the year with a pipeline of bids in excess of over £50m currently under consideration.

Recent new business wins include a contract to deliver the third phase expansion of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) manufacturing centre in Stevenage, further increasing the capacity of the facility which plays a crucial role in bringing advanced cell and gene therapies to patients.

The offsite engineering specialist designs and constructs zero carbon solutions for the bioscience, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, aerospace and nuclear sectors, specialising in complex cleanroom construction and M&E services that require stringent regulatory approvals.

Since the onset of the Coronavirus crisis, Merit has moved quickly to adapt its proven designs to create solutions for mobile Covid-19 testing laboratories, vaccine manufacturing facilities and biocontainment suites that can be constructed in a matter of weeks.

Tony Wells, Managing Director at Merit, said: “The expansion of our manufacturing facility is part of our continued investment in a strategy that puts us at the forefront of innovation in construction.

“Our proprietary technology combines advanced offsite manufacturing with the technical expertise to deliver complex solutions in significantly shorter build schedules.

“We are not constrained by traditional construction models which gives us the agility required to adapt quickly to client needs, which has allowed us to develop a range of solutions to meet the challenges of the current Coronavirus crisis.

“Our design team applies new and existing technologies intelligently to create zero carbon solutions in industrial environments, helping clients address the challenges of climate change.”

Last year the company introduced its Design for Manufacture strategy, manufacturing pre-assembled modules (PAMS) at its factory which are precision engineered and tested in a controlled environment before installation on site.

The process uses modern methods of construction to reduce build time on projects by up to 50% compared to the traditional approach, achieving significant cost savings.