Railway work to provide Marshalls’ platform for success

Marshalls, which has already worked on the award-winning re-development of Kings Cross station in London, hopes to secure more work in sectors ranging from rail to street furniture.

In a trading update, Marshalls revealed that its revenue from continuing operations during 2014 was up 17 per cent at £359m. Marshalls said it continues to experience “strong order intake” and sales growth in all its end markets. Last year, chief executive Martyn Coffey told The Yorkshire Post that he has ambitious plans to create street lighting that turns down when no-one is there, pavement bins that can tell when they need emptying and bollards that can tell pedestrians where to go. The new products go under the banner of “intelligent street furniture” and could transform the lives of city dwellers and tourists while saving councils huge sums of money and making streets a much safer place for blind and deaf people. Yesterday, Marshalls revealed that sales to the public sector and commercial end market, which now represent approximately 64 per cent of Marshalls’ sales, were up 20 per cent for the full year, on a continuing basis, compared with 2013.

The statement added: “The group continues to target those parts of the market where higher levels of growth are expected, such as rail, new-build housing, water management and street furniture.”

Sales to the domestic end market, which represent around 30 per cent of group sales, were up nine per cent for the full year, compared with the prior year period.

Marshalls said the Construction Products Association’s Autumn Forecast predicts growth in UK market volumes of 5.3 per cent in 2015.

Mr Coffey said yesterday: “In recent months, all the political parties have been saying the same thing about construction - it’s an investment, and not a cost.”