Pearce blames previous owner for loss

CJ Pearce, the construction group that was bought out by its management in November 2004, is still carrying the burden of being in the Meade Corporation prior to the buyout.

Its latest financial results (13 months to 30 April 2004) show a pre-tax loss of £650,000 following a £840,000 loss in the previous year. Results for the 12 months to April 2005 are still provisional, but are expected to show a further loss.

However, finance director Mike Roberts said: "We are now back in profit. The MBO was a good move. There has been an investment by management and the team is more focused.

"Losses to April 2004 were not helped by being in the Meade Corporation. We were carrying a lot of overheads that were not producing anything. But we’ve turned the corner. Since the MBO we’ve restructured and that has saved further on overheads."

Last year’s turnover of £14m was down by £3m on the 2003 workload.

Prior to the MBO, Pearce was part of the Butterley Construction division of the Meade Corporation. Within months of CJ Pearce winning independence, Butterley Construction went into administration.