Seddon has attributed an increase in group profit and turnover to a return to the black for its construction division.

The building business reported £1 million pre-tax profit last year on revenue up a fifth at £150m after reporting a £2.2m loss in 2015.

Overall, the group doubled reported profits at £5.1m from revenue from the year up from £170m to £205m in 2016.

Seddon Homes delivered the main profit upswing after raising turnover 11% to £43.5m.

The improvement left the group with year-end cash of £22m.

Group chief executive Jonathan Seddon said: “We’re obviously delighted that Seddon’s construction division has returned to profit following a challenging few years for the industry. What’s even more pleasing is we’re seeing the benefits of structural changes, in particular empowering our regional directors and the influence of managing director Peter Jackson.”

Colin Graham, group finance director, said: “The group has benefitted from less reliance on the competitive tender market and a continued focus on improvement applied to project delivery and commercial procedures at all levels.

“The outlook for 2017 is positive with a strong order book and reasonable visibility of profits on current projects.”