Results for 2017 have been upgraded, following order book growth and improved cash performance

Morgan Sindall has reported that its fit-out order book has risen 17% to £544m since the end of last year, a record for the group, and the business expects its 2017 results to better previous forecasts.

The fit-out growth was part of an overall order book increase of 5% to £3.8bn, with the regeneration and development pipeline up 2% to £3.3bn.

In an update the firm said trading for the financial year to date had been strong. “Each division has performed as expected,” it said, “with the overall group result being driven by further margin and profit growth in fit-out and the expected margin improvement in construction and infrastructure.”

It said that taking into account the size and quality of the fit-out order book, plus the lower net interest charge resulting from the better cash performance, it should be able to deliver full year results for 2017 “slightly ahead of its previous expectations”.   

John Morgan, Morgan Sindall’s chief executive, added: “We have had a strong start to the year, and with our strategy geared towards those areas of the economy we expect to grow strongly, together with the size and quality of our order book and pipeline, we are confident that the momentum we have seen so far is set to continue.”