Tilbury Douglas returns to black after drawing line under historic Interserve problems

Tilbury Douglas returned to the black last year on turnover up beyond the £500m mark, the firm said in its latest report and accounts.

The firm was separated out of parent Interserve Group to become a standalone business two years ago. It rebranded to its historic name three years ago, 20 years after ditching the marque.

The name, which dates back to 1884, was dropped in 2001 in favour of Interserve as the firm pushed more into the support services sector, such as FM, and away from its historic construction roots.

But Interserve was hobbled by a disastrous foray into the energy from waste sector which sent the firm into administration five years ago with the business being bought out by its banks.

>> See also: Welcome back Tilbury Douglas, goodbye support services

In its 2023 accounts Tilbury Douglas said it shelled out £6.5m settling a legacy joint venture deal it had with engineer Doosan on a water treatment works scheme in Northumberland.

And it spent a further £300,000 on pulling out of the London construction market, a process which began when the firm was known as Interserve.

But it received a £7.4m tax credit which meant the firm posted a £12.8m post-tax profit after the £95m loss it racked up in 2022 following restructuring ad pension costs. Pre-tax profit for 2023 stood at £5.8m from a £94m loss in 2022. Group turnover was up a quarter to £507m.

The firm’s biggest business is its regional building arm with revenue of £331m while its divisions include an infrastructure and fit-out operation.

Tilbury Douglas said its order book at the year-end was £1.24bn, having won £533m worth of work during 2023. Cash at the year-end was up to £42.3m from £11.5m with staff levels during the year up 6% to 1,227.