MJ Gleeson Group sees interim turnover slip to less than £50m

MJ Gleeson’s turnover has shrunk to less than £50m. Gleeson was once a major player in the construction industry as it followed the ‘hybrid’ model of running both construction and housebuilding operations side by side.

Today, after selling off most of the family silver in order to survive the muddles of the recent past, Gleeson is a mere skeleton of what it once, and even now its woes are not quite over as the latest figures show a pre-tax loss of £300,000.

The latest figures cover the six months to 31 December 2007.

In the comparable period in the previous year, Gleeson’s turnover was somewhat higher at £80m though it was also dipping its foot into the red at that point, with a similar pre-tax loss of £300,000.

Gleeson now describes itself as a housing regeneration and strategic land specialist, insisting that “there is still buying interest in well-designed and competitively-priced houses, and the board remains convinced that in the medium- or long-term the housebuilding market will provide attractive opportunities for growth”.

The on-going group’s turnover was made up of:

• £34m – Regeneration & Homes and Strategic Land
• £10m – Capital Solutions
• £3m – Property
• £2m – Construction Services
• £1m – Capital Solutions

There was a £700,000 loss in the biggest division, a result of Gleeson Regeneration & Homes selling fewer properties, 220 compared with 320 in the same period in 2006.

On top of that they went for much lower prices, the average of £145,000 being well below the previous figure of £197,000.

Of the latest total, 180 were in the northern trading regions.

Gleeson Strategic Land recorded no land transactions during the period.

The net cash balance was lower at the end of the period at £28m, representing a fall of £10m.

Paul Wallwork, chief executive, said: “The group remains on target to achieve a financial outcome for the full year in line with market expectations. However, this could become increasingly difficult to deliver unless conditions in the housebuilding and commercial property markets show some improvement in the near future.”