North East construction and demolition group MGL says it adapted well to the challenges of the pandemic though it saw a fall in turnover in its 50th year.
The Durham-based firm - which employs about 450 people and also has a site in Newburn, Newcastle - saw turnover fall from £65.3m to £56.4m in the year to the end of March 2021, but pre-tax profits remained broadly flat, falling only slightly from £3.2m to £3.1m.
MGL said the pandemic had impacted it but that was mitigated by a rapid response at its outset including significant investment in laptops and other IT equipment to allow all support functions to work from home, something totally new to the business.
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Turnover is expected to be back to pre-pandemic levels in excess of £65m this year, thanks to a record order book across all divisions and robust liquidity.
MGL Group chief executive Gary Smith said: “Covid-19 has brought unprecedented challenges and forced us to reimagine work and the workplace.
“We did utilise the furlough scheme in the early weeks when sites were forced to close under Government guidelines meaning operatives were unable to attend work. But this was limited to these employees and a handful of staff who were required to shield.
“We quickly adopted new remote and virtual service delivery models to safeguard employees and support organisational priorities. The resilience of our teams means that we have completed our projects safely and on time.”
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During the year, MGL completed construction of a £2m workshop and garage facility at its Newburn facility - creating six jobs and a servicing capacity to allow the firm to invest further in expanding fleet of plant, machinery and vehicles.
MGL also said it currently has 29 apprentices on structured schemes and is a member of the 5% Club Charter - meaning the firm aspires to achieve 5% of its workforce in "earn and learn" positions, including apprentices, sponsored students and graduates on formalised training schemes within five years of joining.
The firm's charity arm - the MGL Foundation Trust - recently donated £10,000 to local stillbirth charity 4Louis and since its inception in 2016 has contributed more than £100,000 to local charities and causes.
Founded in 1971 by chairman Alan Davison with just one employee and a Land Rover, the company continues to be family-run.
Over the last 12 months a number of third-generation family members have joined the business.