Bancon Group is on track to meet ambitious five year growth plans as it lodges accounts for the year ended 30 November 2014 with Companies House.

The independent Aberdeenshire housebuilder and construction group is reporting strong results which reveal that turnover has risen almost £5 million to £83.5m with operating profits of £2.1m.

The group operates in housebuilding, property development, construction, property maintenance and timberframe manufacturing.

John Irvine, chief executive of Bancon Group, said: “These strong results pave the way for our ambitious plans over the next five years. We have already launched four new homes sites in 2015 with new house designs that are selling well. We have secured sufficient land in strategic areas around Aberdeen City and Shire to support the future growth both in the short and longer term.

“The plan includes the strengthening of our management team which began with my appointment and a new managing director for our construction business. We will be further bolstering the senior management team in the coming months.”

A 62 per cent increase in the construction business, combined with a 42 per cent increase in the manufacturing of timber frames offset the slight decrease in housebuilding activity, largely due to market conditions. Housebuilding is expected to substantially increase in 2015.

Mr Irvine added: “New house designs have been introduced and customer feedback has been extremely positive with a marked increase in sales. We are continuing to develop these designs to provide homes which are highly attractive, innovative and feature a high specification as standard. The housebuilding market in the North-east remains strong, despite the drop in oil price, and we are confident of achieving growth in this area.”

According to Mr Irvine, the greatest challenge facing the sector is finding skilled people and Bancon Group is therefore investing heavily in attracting new construction talent and developing its existing staff.

“With increasing competition in the market as a result of the overall economic upturn, the training and development of our people is a crucial element of delivering on our plan,” he explained. “We are committed to providing the best environment and training programmes which allow us to retain and develop high quality trades and construction skills. Equally, we are increasing our network of approved subcontractors throughout the region.”

With a strong heritage in the north east, Bancon Group’s current projects include high profile homes sites Aspire and Maidencraig in Aberdeen and, in construction, the city’s Mile End school refurbishment and conversion.