Livingston reports significant growth with turnover increasing by 19%

Morris & Spottiswood, one of the UK’s leading construction sector firms, has reported the highest turnover in its almost 100-year history, rising 25% to £128m in 2023 from £103m the year before.

Part of the Morris & Spottiswood Group, which specialises in end to end construction services including design, fit-out, housing and mechanical & electrical services (M&E), its founding business, Morris & Spottiswood Ltd, also achieved an operating profit of £2.5m for the year ending 31 December 2023, up 9% from 2022.

Alongside the increase of turnover and profit, the accounts highlight the robust financial health of the business, with a strong balance sheet, healthy EBITDA, low debt, a high percentage of secured workload, and good pipeline visibility for the year ahead.

Growth was driven by a number of factors, including further expansion of the group sector strategy, a strong performance in the public sector, increased business across England and the success of Livingston Building Services Limited, the group’s mechanical and electrical business, which was acquired in February 2022.

Across the Group, results were strong. Livingston Building Services in particular saw significant growth, with turnover increasing by 19% to £54m, from £46m in 2022, and operating profit strong at £3.2m. The turnover growth was driven by increased demand for large infrastructure projects and Critical Engineering, the introduction of new service offerings including Data and Fibre and High Voltage (HV) Services, and the recent opening of its office in London.

Livingston Building Services Ltd continues to be in very good financial health with no external debt and very strong liquidity. This allows the Directors to retain the ability to make decisions which are appropriate for the development of the business in the medium to long term, without being pressured into short term targets.

Jon Dunwell, Chief Executive Officer at Morris & Spottiswood, comments: “Despite a challenging external landscape, we have reported our highest ever turnover for the year to December 2023. Over the last twelve months, we have continued to invest in business growth and client relationships, which has served us very well.

“Our sector strategy, to both grow and expand across a diverse range of sectors, has proven highly effective and has returned positive results. In addition, we’ve been appointed to a number of public sector frameworks, which have generated a healthy pipeline of opportunities supporting future profitability and stability.

“We have also continued to develop our portfolio of end-to-end services through our group of companies with a focus on providing flexible, efficient and bespoke solutions for our clients.

“Our prudent fiscal management and long-term strategy continues to provide an exceptionally strong platform for sustainable growth. Agile and ambitious, we have recently been able to support our clients and industry through turbulent changes in the major supply chain which will further accelerate our growth in 2025. The market continues to fluctuate, but we are in a strong position to navigate changes and we’re looking forward to continuing our growth performance in our 100^th year.”

Founded in Glasgow in 1925, the Morris & Spottiswood Group has a portfolio of eight businesses, operating across the UK, with offices in Glasgow, Livingston, Warrington, London, Carlisle and Leeds. The Group offers end to end services for clients including construction, fit-out, retro-fit, refurbishment services, and M&E services, they also offer in-house architectural services; maintenance, space development and furnishing and a full range of carbon reduction solutions.

Client partnerships include Department of Work and Pensions, The Government Property Agency, Britvic, University of Glasgow, Circle Health Group, The Phoenix Group and other leading financial institutions across the UK.

Livingston Building Services operates across the UK from sites in Livingston, Leeds, and London.

For further details about Morris & Spottiswood visit www.morrisandspottiswood.co.uk