Contractor and housebuilder Galliford Try has no plans to merge its two construction brands.
The £500m-turnover group, which was created when Galliford and Try merged 18 months ago, said it would be keeping its separate Try and Galliford construction brands. Try mainly operates in south-east England and London, whereas Galliford trades in the Midlands.

Deputy chief executive George Marsh said: "We will carry on trading under those brand names. The names are well known in their patches and there is hardly any overlap between the two."

Marsh said the group had special account managers for the areas in which there is an overlap of work, such as national construction clients Grosvenor Estates and Railtrack.

Marsh added: "The important thing is that there are teams of people delivering good work. What has been encouraging is that the two firms have worked extremely well together in the past 18 months. There is a lot of goodwill in the business."

Marsh said the group expected to make post-merger savings of £3m through new purchasing deals started last year. He said: "We have better buying deals for construction materials that are longer term."

We will carry on trading under separate brand names, which are well known in their patches

George Marsh, deputy chief executive, Galliford Try

Overall, the group's performance improved compared with last year. Pre-tax profit doubled to £6.6m for the six months to 31 December, and is expected to hit £18m in the upcoming year-end figures. Turnover for the six months rose 18% to £312m.

Marsh said the group had almost completed remedial work on a £8.4m distribution centre in Daventry, which lost the group £6.5m last year. The firm is mid-way through testing its solution to the centre's floor, which was uneven when the scheme was completed.

Marsh said the firm was looking at further bolt-on acquisitions to its housebuilding and construction arms. Last year, Galliford Try bought housebuilders the Knapp Group and Gerald Wood Homes and telecoms firm Burton Communications.

Marsh said: "I do not anticipate buying a greenfield volume housebuilder. We want urban and conversion-focused outfits like Knapp."