JRL Group has posted a combined loss of more than £80m over its past two financial years after revising the previous year’s figures downwards, largely dragged down by its facades business.
Although the firm reported a pre-tax profit of £13.2m in last year’s accounts, in accounts filed last Thursday (17 October) it admitted it had reviewed that position to account for material and labour cost hikes.
JRL Group, which comprises 14 individual firms, now estimates it made a pre-tax loss of £47.5m in the 2022 calendar year and a pre-tax loss of £35.7m in 2023.
The firm was ranked 27th in the latest annual CN100 table of top contractors.
Its ongoing projects include the 1 and 2 Ferry Island high rises in North London (pictured).
The bulk of JRL Group’s losses came from its facades arm. McMullen Facades, which the group acquired in 2017, made a £43.5m pre-tax loss in 2022 and a £33.8m pre-tax loss in 2023.
Overall turnover rose from £761.2m to £826m, an increase of nine per cent. The boost was mirrored by the firm’s main contracting arm Midgard, which increased turnover by 14 per cent to £612.4m. However, the high-rise specialist tumbled into the red, falling from a £8.6m profit into a £10m loss.
JRL’s groundworks and concrete frame business J Reddington shrunk its pre-tax loss by 91 per cent from £8.2m to £0.7m, following what chair John Reddington called “one of the most challenging periods in our 26 years of business”.
JRL group chairman John Reddington said economic instability, material shortages, inflation and “unexpected” project delays had contributed to the firm’s woes.
However, he presented a more positive outlook for the year ahead, with a “robust” project pipeline bolstered by multiple delayed projects being restarted.
He wrote: “Looking ahead, we are encouraged by the positive results of the measures we implemented in response to these challenges.
“We anticipate a more stable economic environment which will alleviate some of the pressures we experience in 2023.”
