Profits soar at Henry Boot

A radical transformation of Henry Boot, previously an all-round construction sector player, has resulted in a leap in its pre-tax profit to £30m for 2003, well ahead of the £17m profit recorded in the previous year.
Wilson Bowden paid £48m for Henry Boot Homes in spring 2003. At the same time, a management buy-out of the £20m-a-year turnover Scottish construction business added another £750,000 to Boot's coffers. The two deals, net of costs, contributed £16m of the latest £30m pre-tax profit.
Announcing Henry Boot's financial results for the 12 months to 31 December 2003, managing director Jamie Boot said: "The disposals enable us to concentrate on the core activities of property development, land management, construction and plant hire."
As a result of the group's streamlining programme, turn-over fell from the 2002 figure of £220m to a more modest £110m.
The remaining construction business is all within England and turnover runs to £40m. Margins are thought to be very thin, although that is an improvement on previous years when construction was operating at a loss.
"Boot dipped its toe in the water with its construction presence in Scotland, but decided that while it was not quite a closed shop, it was difficult to make headway in that market," said
a source.
Two other divisions, property and land management, have a combined turnover of £45m. They are the most profitable divisions, thought to contribute around £10.5m of the latest group profit.