Sunderland construction business Brims is celebrating a successful year in which turnover jumped 10% to a record high of £64m.
The company has filed accounts for the year ended March 2025 in which a year of a diverse range of schemes were completed in sectors ranging from education and health to retail and leisure, helping to drive up operating profit by 31% to £3.54m. Profit after tax rose 45% to £3.4m and turnover was £64.43m, up 10.6%.
Directors used the accounts to highlight how the business – which was involved in the creation of the Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whisky Distillery in Northumberland and a new Marks and Spencer store at Washington – only pursues opportunities where it believes it has the right skills, resources, contract terms and conditions to be successful.
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A long list of schemes completed during the year is included by the company, which had around 195 employees in the year, including the completion of the 1950s cinema and shops and an 1820s Georgian Drovers Tavern at Beamish Museum, Durham, to the tune of £7.5m.
It also carried out the £3.2m refurbishment of an existing office for Northern Powergrid in Sunderland, as well as works to Durham Castle and the Norman Chapel at a cost of £3.1m, a new Tesco Express Unit in Ashington, Northumberland and a new Home Bargains Store in Sunderland in a deal worth £4.4m.
A report within the accounts by financial director Ian Clift highlighted how secured sales at the end of June 2025 were the company’s strongest to date, standing at £73.7m, and by September it increased to £93.08m, giving confidence that a turnover boost will be posted in its next financial results.
Mr Clift said: “I am delighted to report that the company has delivered another excellent set of financial results. Thanks to our people the business has a track record of delivering robust margins as well as an increase in turnover.
“This was the second full year of trading for our new Teesside division and the division performed very well ending the year ahead of budgeted profit. With a number of projects on the horizon we look forward with confidence that the division will provide further growth opportunities from repeat business and new clients.
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“Our strong balance sheet continues to be attractive to clients who seek to work with contractors who can deliver and respond in the long term. It is also important to our supply chain who want confidence of prompt payment and to our employees where it provides job security.
“The success of our business is greatly assisted by our supply chain partners. Whilst we expect high standards of performance and competitive pricing, we treat our suppliers with respect and have an excellent reputation for prompt payment and fairness. As a company we remain committed in developing and maintaining strong relationships.
“Looking forward, we continue to receive a high number of quality tenders and, as in previous years, are selective on the projects we look to undertake. We are confident that our careful approach will continue to deliver positive results.”
Following publication of the results, Mr Clift added: "We are of course very pleased to post a solid set of results showing another strong year for Brims with our two main regions performing well. Construction projects often throw up many challenges but we always strive to find solutions providing a high-quality service to our clients that is built on trust and reliability.
"This is recognised by many regular clients with repeat business and us being the contractor of choice. Our staff are key to this and the strong teamwork and positive relationships they create with both new and existing clients has helped us secure a good pipeline of work both this year and for the year ahead too."