Around 40 staff were also allocated 892,500 shares as part of the new B&F Growth Share Plan established after becoming an EOT.

But profit performance for the year fell below expectations due to the impact of inflation, a competitive market and the pandemic affecting both sales volumes and profitability.

This saw pre-tax profit in the year to 31 October 2021 more than halved to £1.7m from £4.1m previously on revenue ahead 5% to £234m.

The group’s forward order book stood at £268m (2020: £341m) in part because of reduced residential project opportunities in London and the south east.

Revenue at the main commercial engineering services division jumped 62% to £1o4m, although pre-tax profit slipped to £1m (2020: £1.3m), due to an ongoing poorly performing project in the north.

Briggs & Forrester Living, the specialist multiple occupancy residential, student and hotel building services arm, saw revenue fall 21% to £102m with pre-tax profit down to £1.7m from £4m previously.

Net assets decreased by 18% to £9.9m from £12m after allowing for a second interim payment relating to the sale of the business to an EOT and reductions in goodwill from the 2016 management buy-out.