Piling and groundwork specialist Van Elle has seen an uptick in the housing market with orders 30% ahead of the same period a year ago.
Chief executive Mark Cutler said while he remained cautious about prospects for a housing recovery in the year ahead the early indications were very positive.
Reporting resilient results for the year to April with pre-tax profit and revenue steady at £5.6m and £140m respectively, he said: “We start the new financial year with a strong order book and multiple framework agreements. Our focus on key customer partnerships and strategic markets is expected to deliver significant growth opportunities over the medium term.”
Around 40% of group revenue now comes from the residential sector.
Van Elle recently signed its largest single scheme awarded in the last 12 months with a £3m deal for works on the former Boots site in Nottingham by Keepmoat.
Cutler said: “Notwithstanding some short-term challenges, the long-term outlook for house building remains very strong in the UK and in the first quarter of this 2025 year, orders for our housing division are ahead of the same period a year ago by over 30%.”
Following the acquisition of Rock & Alluvium in November last year, Van Elle runs 132 rigs in total.
It recently struck a deal with Fussey Piling to buy two sheet piling rigs and attachments, in line with its strategy to target high-quality second-hand rigs to accelerate our progress where the opportunity arises.
Van Elle has also invested in its precast pile factory expanding capacity by over 30% and established a collaboration with Midlands groundworker M&J Evans to offer a joined-up service to major house builders.
Cutler said he was confident that Van Elle was now on course to deliver at least 5-10% compound annual revenue growth and achieve its medium-term financial targets of 6-7% operating profit margin.
