The construction arm of the Downing property group saw revenue double to more than £107m as project work stepped up at its major First Street scheme in Manchester.

But problem projects and cost rises saw pre-tax losses deepen to £5.8m in the year to March 2024, from £3.4m in 2023 and £8.5m the year before.

In latest published accounts, Sally O’Brien, joint chief executive at Downing, said the firm had faced significant challenges on its now finished Meadows 324-bed student scheme in Edinburgh, causing delay and disruption to the programme, leading to substantial cost overruns of over £2.4m.

The builder said it had also seen a general increase in overheads during the year, most notably staff costs.

The fallout from the Building Safety Act also continued to impact Downing, which increased provisions for cladding and safety remediation work on completed projects to £13.2m (2023: £8.4m).

The increase in the level of provision arose following the progress of negotiations on several contracts.

She added that as well as historic obligations, the Building Safety Act presented a new set of responsibilities and systems regarding planning, design and communication for new contracts, which has seen Downing invest heavily in training and knowledge awareness across its team members.