In a first-half trading statement this morning chief executive Bill Hocking said the group’s order book had edged up to £3.5bn providing good visibility of future workload. 

“We continue to see a robust pipeline of new opportunities across our chosen sectors, supported by our strong track record and focus on the public and regulated sectors alongside high-quality private clients.

“Performance in the first half of the financial year has demonstrated good progress against our strategic objectives and provides confidence for the full year.

“We are pleased with our recent acquisition of MCS Control Systems and Ham Baker, complementing our existing operations and affording an enhanced specialist service to our water sector and related clients.”

Recent framework and project wins include the £95m Rye Hill custodial facility for the Ministry of Justice, a £65m manufacturing facility for JDR Cable Systems and two frameworks for Welsh Water, representing the first capital maintenance framework wins for the business since the acquisition of nmcn water.

Average month-end cash for the six months ended 31 December 2022 was £154m  compared with the full year to 30 June 2022 of £174m.