Turriff owner plans to double Scots work

UTILITIES contractor May Gurney yesterday unveiled plans to double turnover at its Scottish business to £80 million over the next five years as the Norwich-based company unveiled record full-year revenue and profits.

The London-listed group snapped up Aberdeenshire-based infrastructure engineering firm Turriff in January for 13.6m as a springboard for expansion north of the Border.

May Gurney chief executive Philip Fellowes-Prynne told The Scotsman that the deal had allowed shareholder Ellis Duguid to leave the business but that David Morrison, the other major shareholder, and his management team had stayed on.

He added: "Before the sale, Turriff was looking at the high costs of installing an IT system and future capital requirements. We've removed those barriers for them and so now the team is focused on growth."

Fellowes-Prynne said he planned to expand Turriff by extending its relationship with Scottish Water, possibly by handling "clean" water contracts as well as "dirty" water, or waste.

But he said Turriff's expertise in the gas market - particularly with Scotia Gas - would help May Gurney to grow its business south of the Border too.

His comments came as the group posted an 18 per cent increase in turnover for the year to 31 March to 571.4m, with pre-tax profits up 2 per cent to 18.8m. Fellowes-Prynne said the firm was well placed to cope with public- sector cuts because it dealt with essential maintenance contracts rather than discretionary projects.

The company appointed Baroness Margaret Ford, former chairman of NHS Lothian and a member of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, as its next non-executive chairman.