Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June rose to £900,000 from £200,000 in the same period last year, while group revenue pushed up to £112 million from £109.8m.

The building services company said its order book now stands at £320m compared with £275m in the first half of 2014 and the group has secured 92 per cent of its target revenues for 2015 and £155m for delivery in 2016.

However, net debt stood at £8.7m, up from £4.3m as the group invested in its engineering resources to ensure the delivery of the enhanced order book. It said the net debt position is expected to improve during the second half as the larger schemes in London come on stream.

“Demand for our services continues to be strong, and the strength of the order book reinforces the board’s belief that our reputation, experience and level of resources will drive opportunities for T Clarke,” said the company.

T Clarke maintained its interim dividend at 0.5p per share.

Chief executive Mark Lawrence said: “The group looks forward to the improving market conditions, particularly with our forward visibility for next year and beyond. Our order book now stands at a strengthened £320m and provides a platform to grow the business and improve the profitability of the group.

“Highlights to report now include: a £320m forward order book, up 16 per cent on the same time last year (30th June 2014: £275m), the commencement of onsite works on the large London schemes at Rathbone Square, Principal Place and London Wall Place, the recruitment of 75 new apprentices to begin training across the UK from September and the move of T Clarke North West to larger premises.”

Meanwhile a partnership struck up between T Clarke of Falkirk and James Frew Ltd has proven to be a major success for both companies and has led to an expansion of services that both firms can deliver.

Jason Walsh, commercial director at James Frew Ltd, told Scottish Construction Now: “We have found on many occasions that whilst our tender submission for Plumbing and Mechanical was the most competitive, we would not win the job simply because the client or contractor did not have an electrical price to pair up with. Invariably the works would be won by one of the established M&E companies.

“Not wanting to enter into the electrical side of the market, we contacted T Clarke of Falkirk who are specialists in this field.”

To date the firms have worked together on the Helensburgh council offices (£1m each) followed recently by two successful joint bids at Morrison Construction’s Lyell Centre at Herriot Watt University (£2.7m - led by T Clarke) and Barr Construction’s Irvine Leisure Centre (£3m – led by James Frew).

Mr Walsh said that these two flagship projects have demonstrated the success of tendering together and added that there are many more in the pipeline.