Fit-out contractor Morris & Spottiswood said it is confident of substantial growth across the North of England in 2015 after increasing its UK-wide turnover to £74.4 million from £69.4m in the last 12 months.

The Warrington, Leeds and Scotland based company’s managing director Jon Dunwell said it is actively looking to recruit more experienced construction industry professionals in 2015 in full-time and sub-contractor roles, to support its ambitious growth plans.

“We have had a terrific last 12 months where we have seen the construction industry start to bounce back,” he said.

“This has enabled us to employ 40 new staff, including six apprentices, in 2014 taking our workforce total to 400. We are confident growth will continue and we are looking to increase our sales in the North of England to around £35m from their present level of £19.5m. A significant amount of this has already been secured.”

Mr Dunwell said the fit-out and mechanical and electrical divisions of the company are the prime services it will be promoting in 2015. He said this followed a strong year for its M&E division which doubled sales.

“We are very excited about the next 12 months,” he said. “2014 saw us pick up a number of major fit out frameworks with national firms which will help underpin our growth. Key clients we have worked for recently include Boots, Regus, Superdrug, Standard Life, Places for People, Warburtons and several high street banks.

“Important jobs we undertook in 2014 included the £1.5m refurbishment of Manchester Metropolitan University’s library. In Yorkshire, meanwhile, we refurbished 2 floors of No 1 Whitehall Riverside - one of Leeds’ landmark offices, to Grade A standard. We also undertook an extensive rebranding of 60 branches for a major high street building society.”

Mr Dunwell said Morris & Spottiswood had identified core sectors for growth including healthcare, education, banking, retail and commercial offices.

“There is massive potential for us to grow in England and Wales as we can offer something very different - a complete fit-out solution at great value,” he said. “Offering experienced M & E as part of our fit-out services means we can give clients better value, we can plan jobs more efficiently and we can react faster to their needs. With the client base we have, and with the track record we have, this is a great time to be at Morris & Spottiswood. The opening of new offices in Leeds and Warrington in the last two years shows our commitment to the North of England and our seriousness to grow and invest in the region.”