Construction firm behind Sunderland and Seaham housing projects celebrates £190million order book

Tolent has said it is in its strongest commercial position in years, as it looks ahead to a healthy pipeline of work into next year and beyond.

While the events of this year have undoubtedly impacted turnover and profitability, the contractor announced it achieved £175million turnover in 2019, up 30% on the previous year and its 2020 order book is now in excess of £190million.

With 45 live sites across the country and 30-plus in the North East, the national contractor has continued to make good progress on some of the region’s most significant developments, including the £84million Milburngate site in Durham, with the business seeing steady growth in housing and particularly social housing.

It also led the regional-wide effort to set up the NHS Nightingale Hospital on the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) near Nissan in Sunderland.

Including work completed this year and secured work into 2023, Tolent is set to deliver around 3,000 new homes in the private and public sector across the North East and Yorkshire.

Work on its landmark £120million South Seaham Garden Village development will start work next year creating 1,500 homes and include parkland, a primary school, business hub, sports facilities, play areas and allotments all linked by a network of more than 5km of landscaped paths and cycleways.

It has also been contracted to build social housing on behalf of Sunderland City Council in Cork Street, which will feature 26 affordable bungalows, 16 of which will be specially adapted to provide homes for people with physical disabilities, and one general needs bungalow.

Tolent’s chief executive officer Andy McLeod said: “It’s truly down to the collaboration between our teams, our clients and our supply chain that we have ensured a sustainable future for our business, and can look forward to better times ahead.”

Keeping focus on its core northern and central business units, the company took the decision last year to close down its operations in the south, allowing it to build on its North East reputation and look at new locations for growth.

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