Profit and turnover have remained steady at family-run groundworks and concrete frame specialist OHOB Group.
The south-west London-based firm’s pre-tax profit edged up by 4 per cent to £21m for the year ending 31 March 2024, while turnover dipped 10 per cent from £348.2m to £313m.
Chairman Tom O’Brien praised the firm’s “strong and liquid balance sheet” and “steady order book”, although he added that continuing price increases and high interest rates have made caution “the order of the day”.
“We live in uncertain times where profit margins remain challenging,” he wrote.
The firm reported £70m cash reserves, £8m less than the previous year. Employee numbers remained steady, with an average of 211 each month, down two from the year before.
The bulk of OHOB Group’s activity came from its groundworks and concrete frame specialist business O’Halloran and O’Brien, where profit surged by 52 per cent to £13.3m.
The group’s plant hire division B&T also reported little change from the previous year, with turnover up by £150,000 to £24.2m and profit down £500,000 to £4m. O’Brien wrote that while profit margins were “demanding”, B&T benefitted from repeat business.
O’Halloran and O’Brien Ltd started as a subcontractor in 1972, adding plant hire and residential divisions over more than 50 years in business to become the 54th largest contractor in Construction News’ annual table.
The firm works on many high-rise residential developments in London, counting most major housebuilders as clients. Recently, the firm provided foundations and concrete frames for Mount Anvil’s £300m Whitechapel development and pile caps and drainage for Telford Homes’ Capital Interchange in Brentford.
