Improved trading at the Belfast-based contractor saw operating margin restored to 1.6% from just 0.43% in 2023.

Gilbert-Ash managing director, Ray Hutchinson, said that the shift to an employee ownership trust last year was designed to lock in long-term performance while keeping investment focused on people and delivery.

“The recent success of Gilbert-Ash has, in many ways, been built upon the fact that we have been an employee-owned company for more than 50 years.

“Moving to an Employee Ownership Trust embraces that fact further and replaces the existing narrow shareholding with a structure that is designed to benefit all employees in perpetuity,” he said.

Net assets edged up to £30m with £43m cash on hand at year-end. Headcount eased to 187 from around 200 in the prior year.

The firm continued to target education, arts and culture, hotels/leisure and workplace schemes, while flagging familiar sector risks around labour supply, materials and inflation. Management said the pipeline remains healthy heading into 2025.