Building Briefs – August 15th

Sales and profits have surged at Fife-based timber merchants James Donaldson & Sons to record the firm’s best performance in 157 years of trading.

Despite a Brexit-led increase in its costs, the group – whose subsidiary businesses operate from 28 sites across the UK – said turnover had reached £137 million in the year to March 31, up by £10m on the prior year.

Pre-tax profits were also higher than in 2016, rising by 31% to £7.8m.

The group accounts will be lodged at Companies House in the coming days.

Managing director Scott Cairns said the growth was down to the efforts of the workforce, record investment and the contribution of Nu-Style Products, an Aberdeen firm it acquired in the year.

He added the improved returns had been achieved despite challenges to the business.

“Early negative market reactions to the Brexit vote of June 2016 quickly passed and all sectors and all of our businesses performed well in the year, cumulating in our strongest year of our 157-year history,” Mr Cairns said.

“One stark result from the June 2016 vote was the immediate weakness in sterling which continues today.

“Raw material prices have increased sharply as a result and we and our clients alike are having to deal with these new cost realities.”

High performance of utility companies after Dundee road works

The performance of utility companies who dig up Dundee’s roads to make repairs and improvements to their infrastructure continues to be of a high standard.

Work by Openreach (BT), Scotland Gas Networks, Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Water and Virgin Media has been randomly checked two ways by council staff after works have been carried out.

Mark Flynn, deputy convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee, said: “The programme combining visual inspections and taking core samples of reinstatements after utility companies have finished work on their plant and equipment is an effective way of checking the state they leave the road surface in.

“Over the past few years while only a small proportion of the work done by these utilities is inspected, they don’t know where and when we will choose to do it, so the general standard has increased up to what is now quite an acceptable level.

“Obviously there are still a few exceptions but the inspection regime is a good way of keeping a close eye on the quality and resilience of reinstatement work.”

Utility companies’ reinstatements can be subject to a visual sample inspection at three different stages during the works; or the local coring programme which is a physical core that is measured and assessed; or the national coring programme undertaken by all roads authorities in Scotland.

Using these methods, engineering staff identify problems to determine what is happening locally and compare it with previous results and national practices.

On visual samples there was a 98% pass rate in 2016/17, broadly in line with the past five years. The national coring programme showed a 94% pass rate.

The city development committee will discuss the results on August 21.

Work to start on Rousay cairn restoration

Work is to begin on a £30,000 conservation project at Midhowe Chambered Cairn on the isle of Rousay.

The investment by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) will see the steel elements of a 33-metre long walkway structure restored, while climate-related corrosion will also be tackled.

Overall, the site is expected to reopen in December.

Link Group takes the Scottish Business Pledge

Clydebank Housing Association to begin work on community garden