Cornhill Interiors, the London fit-out arm of contractor YJL, has raised its projected future turnover figures, less than a year after launch.
When the firm was launched in March last year, Peter Kilby, its managing director, said he expected it to have a turnover of £18-20m by 2005. He now expects its third-year turnover to be about £30m.

He added that Cornhill's turnover could reach £70m by 2008. Kilby's original six-year forecast was for a turnover of £50-60m.

Kilby said that the firm was picking up more work than he had first expected. He said: "I feel a bit more confident that we can attract the right people [to work for Cornhill] and low interest rates mean that the economy is not going to nosedive."

The company intends to increase the workforce to up to 28 in the next 12 months. Cornhill will have 15 employees next month.

Part of this employment drive will be led by the formation of a new team. Kilby said: "We're doing some research linked to the exclusive residential sector for high-worth individuals."

Cornhill focuses on four areas in the fit-out market: retail, hotels and leisure, offices and private residential.

This is a business model Kilby followed in his previous position as joint managing director of fit-out rival Jarvis Newman.

The company is also looking to make purchases. Kilby said: "We're a young company, but there is lots of old management which means that we hear about lots of possibilities within the niche sectors."