TP Bennett profits hit

Getting clients to pay up, plus the increased cost of bidding projects hit profits at TP Bennett last year.

The firm behind fit-out work at Make’s UBS building at 5 Broadgate in the City of London said pre-tax profits were also pared back by a hike in IT costs.

In a statement accompanying its latest results the firm said it had faced “increased difficulty in securing appropriate additional fees when running out projects nearing completion”.

It said it was looking to pump more money into its Manchester office, which it opened in 2015, as well as increase its work in the justice and custodial sectors.

Revenue at the firm for the year to March 2017 grew 6% to just over £29m but pre-tax profits slumped 8% to £7.9m.

The firm said it had a “good pipeline of future work across a broad client and sector base”. Among the projects it is working on is a build-to-rent housing scheme at Battersea Reach in south London.

Staff numbers went up 11% to 260 which helped send the firm’s wages bill up by more £1.5 million to £11.3 million.

As an LLP, the firm has 49 members with profits shared between each one. The profit paid to the member with the largest share was £683,000 – down from last year’s £956,000.