Number up by half on 2018 figure

The country鈥檚 second biggest steelwork contractor saw profit jump 50% last year, its latest accounts have revealed.

William Hare posted a pre-tax profit of 拢5.3m on turnover down 8% to 拢203m.

william hare

The firm, which is working on architect OMA鈥檚 Factory arts complex (pictured) in Manchester which is being built by Laing O鈥橰ourke, said the covid-19 pandemic had not yet hit upcoming workloads.

The accounts, which were signed off at the beginning of August, said: 鈥淲hilst the impact of the covid-19 pandemic is being closely monitored, it is encouraging to note that quality projects continue to come to market and the pipeline of opportunities remain healthy.鈥

Hare said it had 拢24m of cash in the bank, down from 拢28.6m in 2018, with the number of employees during the period rising 4% to 1,849.

Earlier this year, the firm鈥檚 chief executive David Hodgkiss died from coronavirus. He was 71.