S Harrison's pre-tax profits top multi-million-pound mark

Yorkshire property consultants S Harrison has reported record profits for 2018.

Chairman Martyn Harrison has said the company is ‘suitably’ placed to build still further on its success, focusing on off-market opportunities across Yorkshire and beyond.

In the year to December 31, 2018 the group delivered profits before tax of £12.4m on a turnover of £47.07m. At the end of the year, net assets totalled £55.9m of which £16.81m was held in cash.

Martyn said: “By any standards that is an excellent achievement. Despite a record profit performance in 2018, what pleases me more is the longer view.

“Because development is a business with peaks and troughs, a more important measure of success is the group’s consistency of profit performance over time.

“Taking a rolling three year perspective to level out those peaks and troughs, the company continues to show sustained and impressive growth.”

In 2018, a proportion of S Harrison’s schemes focused on the hotel and student accommodation sectors with major schemes delivered for Leeds University, Hotel du Vin in Stratford and Travelodge in Lincoln.

S Harrison currently has many developments in progress across the region. A new Lidl store in York is scheduled for completion this year, as is the Grade A Buchan House in Edinburgh, which Harrison is converting into a 72-bed hotel for Malmaison.

MD Ann Scott expects that emphasis to continue in 2019 and beyond. She added: “But, our strength in other sectors - private and social housing, office, retail and light industrial - enables us to capitalise on other opportunities when they arise, deploying our extensive cash reserves to kick-start schemes.”

Looking ahead, Martyn concluded: “2019 and beyond will see us retain our focus on identifying off-market opportunities. With flexibility, and the breadth of our market experience developed over 66 years, we focus on markets that are most vibrant.

“We apply our stringent cost-control disciplines and our realistic expectations to ensure that we bring forward and develop schemes which are deliverable and profitable for all involved.

“It is that combination, I believe, of financial stringency, market understanding and development insight that makes us so attractive as a partner to the blue-chip companies with whom increasingly we work.”

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