The company which has its AGM today said that revenue in April-June was up 36.4% compared to last year – although this included a contribution from last August’s acquisition of Hewden Tools.

The company acknowledged that it expected house building, commercial office development and non-food retailing to “remain weak for the foreseeable future”. House building accounts just five per cent of its revenues.

Chairman David Wallis in a statement to the stock exchange, prior to the meeting, this morning, said that public sector spending on schools, health, prisons and defence remains resilient, with many projects being funded through committed PPP or PFI schemes.

Wallis said the company was confident of another year of growth.