Redundancies have been made at a demolition company which has worked on some huge projects across the Midlands.
AR Demolition said 10 jobs had gone at the business out of a workforce of 91.
Owner Richard Dolman said the jobs were cut because it needed to focus on its Midlands and southern markets. Most of the people affected, he said, were “long-distance employees” who lived miles from its base in Carlton, near Market Bosworth in Leicestershire.
The business made a loss of more than £1 million in 2017, but was now, he said, in “good health”. It was back in profit according to its most recent set of accounts.
Big projects completed by AR Demolition in recent years have included demolishing the five storey car-park, bus station and link bridge at the Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham, and bringing down Leicester’s Belgrave Flyover and the British Union Shoe Machinery factory.
It was also involved in the £500 million King’s Cross Station ticket concourse development, which opened in 2012.
The business was founded in 2007 by managing director Richard Dolman.
Following a period of restructuring in 2017 – when turnover dropped from almost £16 million to less than £13 million and it reported pre-tax losses of £1.4 million – the company had been back in the black.
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Accounts for 2018, posted last summer, showed it had had the “best year’s performance” in its history, with turnover up more than a quarter to £15.8 million and pre-tax profits of £832,000.
The accounts said the outlook appeared “very positive” and in recent years AR has made significant investments in new plant and machinery.
Announcing the cuts, Mr Dolman said: “Business decisions which affect valued employees are never easy to take but we work in a highly competitive industry where difficult decisions are sometimes necessary.
“The driver for this decision has been based on a focus on our Midlands market.
“As such seven of the staff we have had to let go were long-distance employees residing far from our Leicestershire headquarters.
“The logistical challenges posed by their involvement in projects meant their continued employment with us was no longer viable.
“The majority of our contracts are won in the Midlands and the southern part of the 海角视频.
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“Therefore the significant logistical challenges and road mileage incurred due to their employment did not fit with our aims – to provide a sustainable model, as well as a dynamic, efficient Midlands-based demolition offering.
“The remaining three staff were in administrative roles at our headquarters in Carlton and, unfortunately, we could no longer justify their employment given our reduced workforce.
“Despite these redundancies, our business remains in good health.
“Our order book for 2020 is rapidly filling up, with more than £4 million of work already secured – a comparable figure to this stage in previous financial. Our projection for annual profits and turnover remains stable.
“Indeed, we are continuing to invest heavily in the business, under the belief that our industry is changing and that innovative, sustainable demolition services have an important – and growing – role to play in the 海角视频 construction industry.
“Our sister company AR Aggregates has recently invested £800,000 in two new pieces of high-tech, German crushing and screening plant, used in the recycling of aggregates at our urban quarry in the heart of Leicester.
“We have just taken delivery of a new transport trailer worth £140,000, we have a new pool of company vehicles and we are in discussions with manufacturers to add to our fleet of cutting-edge demolition rigs.
“We are fortunate to be able to turn contracts away which do not suit our business model and we are looking forward to the future of both AR Demolition and AR Aggregates with great confidence.”