Gleeson to sell engineering division and concrete business.

Gleeson signalled its exit from contracting today by announcing its intention to sell its engineering division and Concrete Repairs Ltd.

The exit follows Gleeson's sale of its building division to a management buyout last year, and the sale last week of its rail business to Morgan Sindall for £23.3m. The company will now focus on housing regeneration, commercial property development and strategic land trading.

The move comes as Gleeson announced that is pre-tax profits dropped to just £700,000 for the second half of 2005, compared with £7.4m the previous year. Turnover increased slightly from £174.6m to £179.3m over the same period.

Chairman Dermot Gleeson said: "The group's new strategic direction will further reduce construction risk and strengthen the Group's position in growth markets where it already has a strong track record."