Chief executive Colin Enticknap said the group had started taking managers out of regional offices and moving them back on site in the last quarter of 1999. “For too many years, the vision was that getting off site was the best way to progress our career,” he said. “But we believe it’s the only place to be to react to problems quickly.”
During 1999, Willmott Dixon relocated its main operations from London’s Mayfair to Hertfordshire and upgraded its IT infrastructure.
Turnover for the year fell 4% to £245m but Enticknap said he expected this to rise again to about £275m in 2000. The company is considering acquiring mechanical and engineering firms to bolt on to its property services business. Property services turned over about £28m, with margins of 3.1%. Turnover for general construction work was £135m, with margins stable at 1.5%. Social housing work accounted for £65m of sales and reported margins of 1.6%. Central London interiors business Insp@ce had £17m of sales, with 1.8% margins.
