AYH staff benefit from £900,000 profit scheme

The 325 employees of AYH, the construction consultant, have shared in a £900,000 staff profit share scheme as a result of the group's profitable year in 2000.

Even after the payout to staff, AYH logged a pre-tax profit of £1.9m (£1.1m) on a turnover that was 32% higher at £16m during the 12 months to 31 December 2000. Employees' profit share payments added an average of 6% to basic salaries.

David Thompson, chairman and managing director, said this week: "The benefit of having all the staff in a profit share scheme is that it provides motivation all round. AYH is 100% owned by the people in it."

AYH's areas of operation include project management, construction cost consultancy and quantity surveying. Since the end of the financial year it has boosted its push into Europe with the opening of a new office in Paris.

Thompson said: "The forward orderbook increased throughout 2000, climbing by 60% over the year with UK income expected to exceed £20m in 2001 and group income to exceed £26m.

"Corporate end users and developers in the private sector continue to account for the majority of our clients. Growth during the year was across all divisions with cost consultancy and project management services for offices, telecoms, hotels and leisure sectors comprising the main sources of the total workload."

At Paddington Central, AYH is providing both a cost management service and is also acting as planning supervisor. Outside London, it has further commissions in Leeds, Slough and Birmingham.

AYH is currently commissioned to act as project manager, employer's agent and QS on more than 230,000m2 of business park developments.

A push to broaden its base has taken AYH into the field of specialised technology buildings. For Bae Matra Dynamics, it is project managing the change from a mixed-use industrial park into a modern technology park, while the user remains in place. Other technology clients include Microsoft Research, Marconi and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals.

AYH is project and cost manager for Arsenal football club's new ground at Ashburton Grove, Islington, which includes the redevelopment and conversion of the existing Highbury Stadium to residential.

In Europe, AYH's projects include a new Paris headquarters for Nortel Networks and the development of Dresden Central railway station. AYH is providing project management assistance for Deutsche Lufthansa.