SWINDON-BASED construction company Beard has published its half-year financial results for the first time to reveal £72 million in sales over the last six months.

Despite the problems posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the 128-year-old company completed 31 projects in 2020, including part of the renovated Swindon Carriage Works and a new training facility for Premiership Rugby club Bristol Bears.

Even at the height of the first lockdown, the company continued to work on 90 per cent of its sites and avoided going into debt.

It implemented site operating procedures drawn up by the Construction Leadership Council to ensure staff and subcontractors working on Beard sites were not exposed to unnecessary risk of infection.

Beard implemented additional safety measures including lengthening the working day and re-sequencing stages to allow different workers to be on site at different times, minimising the need for contact.

The company now has a head of work in excess of £100 million going into 2021. It benefits from a good relationship with its supply chain by paying its sub-contractors promptly in an average of 26 days. In 2020, the team focused on key sectors like education, healthcare and heritage and has moved into new sectors such as care homes.

Staff won new work, including Oxford University's Rhodes House development worth £24m and two developments for Signature Care Homes across the South East worth £25m.

Chairman Mark Beard said the current level of secured work puts the company in a strong position going into 2021, despite the ongoing pandemic and upcoming impact of Brexit.

He added: “In early July we asked our auditors to conduct an independent review of our financial accounts for the first six months of this year, which they duly did.

“This is the first time in the history of the business that we’ve carried out this exercise. Pleasingly our results show that our balance sheet remains very strong and we have a healthy cash position.

“The situation with Covid-19 is unprecedented and continually evolving. It has never been more difficult to predict the year ahead.

"However, we are confident that these results demonstrate our financial resilience and the long-term sustainability of the business.

“We’ve been able to keep momentum by winning some significant contracts such as Rhodes House and the Signature Care Home developments, thanks to the reputation we’ve built up in those sectors.

“We can look ahead to 2021 with a good level of confidence as we expect to continue winning new work and making further in-roads into established sectors.

"But above all we’ll be maintaining our commitment to excellence and our ambition to make a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work.”

To see the full interim results report, go to www.beardconstruction.co.uk/financial-results