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Turnover for Barhale Holdings reached £236m in the year to 30^th June 2025, up 34% from £177m the previous year.

Profit before tax was up by nearly 50% to £13.5m (2024: £9.0m), delivering a 5.7% pre-tax profit margin.

Net assets grew from £13.m to £20.4m During the year while net cash at the end of the year increased from £23.4m to £27.1m.

The order book at 30^th June 2025 was worth £1.85bn, up from £1.06bn a year before.

It has been a good run for Barhale in recent years, with turnover growing from £109m in the 2022 financial year to £133m in 2023, to £177m in 2024 and £236m last year.

Growth this year might not be so spectacular, as it is the first year of the new regulatory period for the water industry, which accounts for a lot of Barhale’s turnover, but there is no drop off in activity anticipated either.

Chief financial officer Julian Ripley writes in the annual report: “The company continued to deliver more projects and higher value projects under long term frameworks. In addition to this, the company expanded its mechanical and electrical resources to the company’s overall capability and through a group acquisition [ESL] we were able to extend their offering to include design services to our existing and prospective clients.

“We would ordinarily be expecting runover to reduce in the first year of our water company client’s regulatory period (AMP8), however we do not expect this to be the case in 2025/26. We consider that turnover will remain at current levels due to increased capability, market demand and improvement in the planning of work by some of our clients.  

“The company profit for the year was excellent and the culmination of a number of specific actions and initiatives. Quality, production and planning were identified as being the key to sustainable profits and a secure financial position., This continues to be the case and there is still more we can do, but this continues to under-pin our strategy.”

Chief executive Martin Brown highlighted Barhale’s emphasis on developing client relationships and increasing in-house capabilities, through the acquisition of designer ESL and investment in additional MEICA expertise, setting the foundations for growth.

“Our close collaboration with existing clients has allowed us to build a strong track record and winning their confidence in our ability to deliver,” he said. “This trust has fuelled repeat business and growth, and we are now focused on earning the same level of trust and confidence with our newer clients.

“We are four years into our five-year rolling plan,” he said. “We have worked closely with clients and listened to them very carefully throughout to ensure that we right-size and right-shape the business to meet their requirements.

“While in previous years we have prioritised the building blocks of cost control, risk management and progressive assurance during the construction stage, over the last year we have seen the benefits of our investment in expertise and in developing genuine end-to-end capability.

“For example, the acquisition of ESL has allowed our engineering and construction teams to be truly integrated at  the earliest stages of the design process. It’s resulted in more cost certainty, significant risk reduction on complex works and innovative, lower cost  solutions which benefit both our business and our clients.

“Health, safety, environment and quality is still very much at the top of our agenda. To support our recent growth, we have made a significant investment to bolster our HSEQ teams through the appointment of regional heads of safety and quality coaches. This very much complements the investments we have made in recent years in people plant interface technology including human form recognition and cloud-based monitoring software installed on our civils machinery.”

Brown added that Barhale remained committed to its direct delivery model and is continuing to invest in succession planning and training throughout the business.

“We are ensuring that our business is ready for the next stages of sustainable growth and continues to provide sustainable opportunities and career paths for our employees,” he said.

Barhale has recently announced the launch of a Low Carbon Solutions specialism with a particular focus on heat network solutions in both the UK and North America.

“We see a real opportunity to make the most of the synergies between our principal operations and the emerging low-carbon marketplace which will enable us to utilise our designers, engineers and specialist machinery within both industries,” said Brown.

“Looking ahead, we are focused on positioning the business to make the most of the opportunities arising from increased investment in the water industry through AMP8. We are confident this will enable us to maintain growth in line with our plans. 

“The leadership team is now developing the business plan for the next five years where we will reflect and learn how we can further improve commercial performance and key business drivers like HSEQ to meet our clients’ requirements.”

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