But the firm, which saw a 35% rise in people deployed to 1,150 operatives, reported an overall £1.7m pre-tax loss down to its suction excavator business.

Brusk Korkmaz, chief executive officer, said that Hercules now aimed to offload the £5m turnover suction excavator business to focus on core services, and booked a £3.3m loss for last year on the business, including a £2m impairment charge on the expected sale.

The core labour supply arm reported a pre-tax profit of £2.2m in the year to September, up from £1.5m in the prior year restated.

This was helped by a rise in labour supply to HS2’s Birmingham section, up from 425 operatives over the year to 630.

Commenting on remaining core activities, he said: “Our revenue growth for the last three years since listing has averaged 48%, a performance of which we are incredibly proud.

“Cross-selling has continued to be a strong feature, and we have broadened our ability to maintain this trend having delivered our first acquisition during the year.

“This has provided us with a solid footing in the white-collar and permanent recruitment market, complementing our blue-collar labour supply services.

“Looking ahead, we anticipate further organic growth across our continuing operations, while our recent equity raise of £8m provides us with a strong balance sheet with which to fund our ongoing, targeted M&A strategy.

“Add to this the fact that the outlook for the infrastructure sector remains buoyant and we are positive that we are well positioned for the year ahead.”