CN Specialists Index 2024: top 10 fit-out contractors
10 Dec 2024 By Ben Vogel
In the first-ever CN fit-out index, Morgan Sindall subsidiary Overbury leads the pack with turnover of £1.01bn for the year to 30 March 2024, marking a 15 per cent year-on-year increase. Its revenue surge generated a pre-tax profit of £71.2m and a pre-tax margin of 7.1 per cent – healthy by the standards of the construction sector.
Second-place BW Interiors delivered a 1 per cent margin in its most recent accounts, despite a 49 per cent turnover increase to £216.3m and healthier pre-tax profit of £2.2m. The firm said it improved its financial performance partly through “an increasing number of frameworks”, but its cost of sales soared from £134m to £202.9m.
Structure Tone finished third with 11 per cent year-on-year revenue growth as it turned a £130,000 loss into a £1.3m profit. It was one of two firms to bounce back into the black, alongside seventh-placed 8Build.
Eight firms saw higher turnover compared with their previous financial years and all bar one posted a profit.
In its latest accounts, Willmott Dixon Interiors described 2023 as “an enormously difficult year”, as insolvencies and inflationary pressures led to higher project costs. The firm’s revenue only decreased by 2 per cent to £130.9m but it tumbled into a £25.7m loss, which included £5.8m attributable to the collapse of a single unnamed supply-chain partner.
Speaking to Construction News, Iain McIlwee, chief executive of trade body the Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) notes that fit-out demand, especially in refurbishment projects, “has surged”. He says clients in the offices sector are focusing on upgrading spaces to meet evolving tenant expectations. “People want to attract workers back to the office, which means investing more in less space,” he says.