But profit margins took a big knock as they were impacted by price inflation and increased investment in the business.

This saw St Albans-based Glencar’s pre-tax profit slide to £800,000 in the year to September 2022 from £2.3m in the prior year.

Managing director Eddie McGillycuddy said the firm had been recruiting strongly last year taking on more than 100 extra staff to raise headcount to 259 staff, including bolstering the senior leadership team.

Glencar also moved to new offices in St Albans and Manchester and expanded overseas to Ireland.

Revenue was driven by a 39% jump in average contract value to £13m and working for 27 new clients, while repeat business accounted for 40% of workload.

McGillycuddy, who jointly founded the business with his former McLaren Construction colleague Chris Gleave, said: “Looking forward, we are targeting continued growth, with a committed forward order book in excess of £400m.

“This growth will be driven by repeat business with our key clients, while exploring strategic opportunities with new clients in new markets.

“We aim to improve upon current margins, while ensuring the service we provide our customers remains market leading.”