Construction firm building bright future (From Bournemouth Echo)

Construction firm building bright future

7:30am Tuesday 23rd December 2008 in

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LUCRATIVE leisure contracts have helped generate turnover of almost £8 million for Greendale Construction in Poole over the last financial year, despite the depressing state of the construction industry.

The company, which earlier this year transformed Poole’s former Mansion House into a Hotel du Vin as part of a £4.6 million project, turned over £7.93 million, of which 17.9 per cent was gross profit.

Turnover at the company has increased by 32 per cent compared to last year.

When Greendale was founded 18 years ago, turnover in the first year was £52,000 and two members of staff were employed, founding directors Rob Hooker and Chris Kane.

Now Greendale has 50 employees and over the course of this year recruited seven further full-time staff while taking on 12 temporary workers. “We’ve certainly come a long way,” said Mr Kane, who added: “We used to operate from the second bedroom of Rob’s House and our first contract was for £230 to put up some coving.”

Greendale, which now operates from offices in Bournemouth Road, Parkstone, has also benefited from public sector contracts including a £1 million project to build a technology suite at Avonbourne School in Bournemouth.

Thirty per cent of the firm’s income is generated from the education sector. It counts Poole High School, Broadstone First School and the Arts Institute in Bournemouth among its clients.

Mr Kane says that the outlook for next year is positive because the company has already won a number of deals that will drive the firm through what is expected by many to be another challenging 12 months.

For next year, Greendale has secured a £1.4 million contract at the private Nuffield Hospital in Bournemouth together with £350,000 of work at Christchurch Hospital. It has also won a £1.2 million contract at Avon Trading Estate in Christchurch and a £700,000 deal to build a house at Sandbanks.