Hadden Construction has started work on a £500,000 extension of its Perthshire headquarters as it seeks to kick-start fresh growth amid an improving picture for the construction sector.
The building firm plans to the double the size of its Aberuthven base by Christmas as part of a major investment which will also boost a 124-strong workforce.
Business development director Stephen Lynas said the move had been prompted by a recent pick-up in the market, which has seen the outfit win a host of new contracts.
The plan had first been on the cards ahead of 2008’s banking crash, but was put on hold thanks to the economic slowdown which followed. “The catalyst for the expansion was that we feel the market is just picking up a wee bit,” Mr Lynas said.
“We had plans in place before the banking crisis hit, and were just about to push the button when the world turned upside down and this is us just coming out of that just now.”
Mr Lynas said the current building, which houses around 30 members of staff, was “creaking at the seams”.
The new development is expected to be complete by Christmas. It will give the firm more office space, with the additional capacity giving room for growth as the economic recovery gathers pace.
Recruitment is under way for a string of roles but the firm expects to grow organically, with margins on contracts still “tight”.
Turnover topped £20 million before the crisis struck, but fell to around £14m during the testing times which followed. It has regained some ground to reach £15.5m last year, and is projected to hit £17m this year.
Hadden, which has been trading from its base at Aberuthven Business Park since 2000 after being established in Crieff some 22 years ago, counts prominent projects like Aberfeldy’s Birks Cinema, the Dunblane Centre and Dundee’s Dick McTaggart Gymnastics Centre among its highest-profile builds.
New contracts include work on a lottery-funded community centre at Newmains, outside Wishaw, and council housing in Carnoustie and at Balfron in Stirlingshire. Hadden is also building a £1.6m children’s home on Arbroath’s James Chalmers Road, and other publicly-supported projects in Killin and Clackmannanshire.
Mr Lynas said consultants, architects and engineers had all reported that work was “starting to pick up”, with contracts beginning to feed their way through the planning system.
“We have seen inquiry levels increasing over the last six months and we have secured some nice new contracts,” Mr Lynas said.
“We are in discussions with private developers about taking on projects which they couldn’t get funding for previously.”
News of Hadden’s investment came just after a monthly survey of the UK construction sector uncovered a surge in fortunes for housebuilders and the fastest pace of recruitment activity since 1997.
But Scottish Building Federation head of employment affairs Paul Mitchell said the Scottish picture was less rosy, with output in residential construction down 4% during the 12 months to March, and worries over an “increasing shortage” of skills.