Liverpool building firm Vermont reports full-year revenues of £44.5m and a ‘fantastic pipeline’ of work including a £50m tower on the city’s waterfront. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool building firm Vermont is reporting another rise in annual revenues to £44.5m and continues to enjoy a good pipeline of work.
In its accounts for the 12 months to March 31, 2023, Vermont said the revenue figure was higher than the £41.7m reported last year. That in turn was 28% higher than the £32.7m reported at the height of the pandemic.
However, pre-tax profits for the year are down to £800,000 from the £1.3m reported a year ago. Cash at hand is £7.1m. The annual report said: “The directors deem the results as satisfactory.”
However, it also added: “The company is in a strong position with a fantastic pipeline of opportunity.”
That pipeline includes a £50m project on Liverpool waterfront called Patagonia Place. This 31-storey residential tower has stalled on two occasions after Your Housing Group pulled out.
In February this year LBN revealed the scheme, comprising 278 apartments, was being taken over by Liverpool developer X1. Vermont has a strong relationship with X1 and is working with it on a number of projects across the North West.
In September LBN reported Canadian investor Starlight Investments had secured a £45m loan from Maslow Capital to complete the build. Starlight, which has a North American property portfolio worth more than £20bn, has retained X1 as development manager.
Comprising a mix of studios and one, two and three-bedroom apartments, the scheme is being acquired by a Starlight-led institutional partnership as part of a forward purchase agreement.
Commercial and leisure space will be catered on the ground floor of Patagonia place which will join a row of existing residential towers in Princes Dock. These include Moda Living’s £82m, 34-storey skyscraper, the Lexington, and the £21m 16-storey Plaza 1821.
According to the accounts, Vermont employed 57 people as of March 31, 2023. Total remuneration for its three directors – Mark Connor, Mark Colton and Michael Huston totalled £168,000. Shareholders have shared dividends of £108,900.
In an interview with LBN in October 2022, founder and chief executive of Vermont, Mark Connor, said Vermont works to a different model than other contractors.
He explained: “We are not a contractor as such. We work with the developer right from the front end. We will secure planning for them and we will negotiate the 106 agreements. So we are almost like a development partner.
“All of our work is negotiated through that development process so we steer clear of competition. We don’t submit tenders and all the work is negotiated and driven organically by our development team at the front end.”