The revenue jump was helped by a focus on larger projects at the main construction division where the average project size hit its highest ever level of £43m.

The year also saw Wates sign its largest ever construction deal at the £500m Envision AESC Gigafactory in Sunderland which will make batteries to meet the growth in demand for electric vehicles.

Construction Managing Director Mark Tant said: “The past year has cemented our business’ shift in scale, in both project value and complexity.”

Construction saw turnover jump 24% to £958m and the division now employs 1,722 staff.

Turnover in the group’s residential business increased by £42m, taking it to £310m during 2022, a rise of 16% while Wates’ property services division increased turnover across its three businesses to £499m.

The group secured £2.8bn of new work during 2022 with a record forward order book of £8.35bn, up 17% from 2021.

Philip Wainwright, the Group’s Chief Financial Officer, was appointed Interim Chief Executive last July 2022, following the departure of former Chief Executive David Allen who has joined Mace.

Wainwright reverted to his current position as CFO following the arrival of the Group’ new Chief Executive, Eoghan O’Lionaird, who joined Wates last month.

O’Lionaird said: “2022 saw us continue our upward trajectory on turnover, reaching £1.89bn – the highest in our history.

“This high figure reflects the strong and stable family governance, hard work of people across the business, the scale of our ambition, our proven capability to manage large scale projects of strategic national significance, and our customers’ confidence in our ability to deliver for them, particularly in the public sector.

“We are in a strong, resilient position, with profitability across all our divisions, another record forward order book, and a solid cash balance.

“These results are a testament to the efforts of everyone at Wates, and my particular thanks go to Philip Wainwright for his sterling performance as Interim Chief Executive. He has left a firm foundation from which I hope to continue growing this remarkable business.”