Denne profit rises 44% despite fears of falling demand

Affordable housing contractor Denne Construction, part of the Leadbitter Group, has warned that there will be "reduced demand from construction services for some time to come".

The warning comes as the company revealed a strong set of financial results for the year to 31 December 2008.

Turnover climbed 43% to £100m, while pre-tax profit rose 44% to £8.3m.

Despite the upbeat results, Denne said that it had seen an "unprecedented slowdown" in the housing industry in 2008 and cautioned that price competition was likely to intensify even further in future.

The average monthly number of employees at the firm during the year was 166, up from 150 in the previous year.

The highest-paid director took a 72% pay increase, taking their wage packet to £379,804 for the year.

In May this year ContractJournal.com revealed that Leadbitter Group is to be sold by its Dutch parent company Heijmans. There has been no news on a potential buyer.