Last updated 22 February 2023
Glencar Construction
Glencar was formed in 2016 by Eddie McGillycuddy and Chris Gleave, who worked together at McLaren Construction. Pat and Eddie McGillycuddy are chairman and chief executive officer respectively. The company specialises in industrial, warehouse and logistics work, employs around 250 people and turns over more than £400 million a year.
Financials
In the 12 months to September 2022, turnover at Glencar ballooned by 160% to £417.7 million (2021: £160.4 million) but bottom line earnings continued to fall. Gross profit before administrative expenses rose to £15.1 million (2021: £9.1 million), but Profits before tax dropped to £0.8 million (2021: £2.3 million).
To view the financials for Glencar Construction Ltd, visit Companies House and use Company ID 9640283.
Operations
Glencar is based at St Albans in Hertfordshire and has offices in Birmingham and Manchester and in Dublin and Kerry in the Republic of Ireland. The group expanded significantly through the construction of industrial projects in the English Midlands.
Clients include Arcus Ventures, Bericote, Firethorn Trust, Goodman, IM Properties, and Wilson Bowden. Major schemes recently taken on by the group include a £33.6 million warehouse scheme at Kingston Park South in Peterborough (Project ID: 21074479), a £30 million development of seven commercial units at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol (Project ID: 20077536) and a £25.5 million distribution centre in Milton Keynes (Project ID: 21512854). Glencar also works on industrial projects in the North West for PLP, the South West for St Modwen and Yorkshire for Trammell Crow.
In addition to working for developers of industrial schemes, Glencar works directly for major retail clients, such as Asda, BMW, IKEA, Ocado and Penguin Random House, which the group built the £12 million Project Bob warehouse scheme for in Colchester (Project ID: 21214124).
Glencar also has experience working in the education sector. This ranges from a £3.3 million sports hall at Sir William Borlases Grammar School at Marlow in Buckinghamshire (Project ID: 17120369) to a £66 million Vaccines Manufacturing & Innovation Centre for the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine at its Harwell Campus at Didcot in Oxfordshire (Project ID: 18391826).
In the 2022 financial year, Glencar completed 35 projects (2020: 25)
Glenigan Data
In the 2022 calendar year, Glencar had an order book of construction contracts each valued at £250,000 or more that was worth a total of £508.0 million (2021: £261.2 million). This figure ranked Glencar in 24th position in Glenigan’s ranking of the UK’s top 100 contractors by orders (2021: 37th).
Glencar appeared among the Top 10 contractors in two UK region in 2022. The largest regional exposure was in the West Midlands, where Glencar was ranked in second place with £128.7 million-worth of work. In the South East, Glencar was ranked in ninth with orders totalling £125.2 million.
Conclusion: Managing the blistering pace
From being incorporated in 2015 and forming a year later, Glencar’s rise has been a stellar one and the group is on the verge of entering the industry’s Top 20 main contractors. Even the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has not significantly affected the group as the decision to focus on a burgeoning area – industrial, warehouse and logistics – has proved a smart one.
The basis of the group has come from another relatively new contractor that quickly established itself amongst the industry’s major players and Glencar looks well-placed to follow the same route. The group’s founders Eddie McGillycuddy and Chris Gleave are supported by other former McLaren colleagues, including Roy Jones and Peter Goodman.
Glencar’s management say they have “identified other growing sectors and will seek to expand into these, taking advantage of the opportunities available”. Glenigan’s research suggests contract awards remain predominantly in the specialist industrial, logistics and warehouse sectors but working directly for retail clients, particularly blue chip ones, will stand the group in good stead in terms of expansion.
Glencar works exclusively on building projects but the expansion has driven up the risk profile. The group’s own data for the 2022 financial year shows the average contract value rising by 39% to £13 million but Glenigan’s research for the 2022 calendar year suggests this has risen further.
Major projects taken on in 2022 included the £78.7 Rhenus Campus scheme in Nuneaton (Project ID: 22093240) and a £50 warehouse development for Eli Lilly in Basingstoke. Half of the contracts won in 2022 were valued at £20 million or more and the average contract award value rose by 40% to £21.2 million (2020: £9.3 million).
With the order book now above half a billion pounds, managing this trajectory will be the challenge. The company continues to invest in staff and the average number of employees doubled to 211 people in the 2022 financial year (2021: 108 people). This investment also doubled the wage bill up to £14.7 million (2021: £7.1 million).
Staff recruitment continued into early 2023, when the workforce had reached 259 people but the group can afford this investment. Cash generation leapt to £26.9 million (2021: £3.7 million), while cash at the bank and in hand more than doubled to £50.7 million (2021: £23.9 million) and net assets strengthened to £6.8 million (2021: £6.0 million).
The group works regularly for the same clients and repeat business provides 40% of the workload, but Glencar also engaged with 27 new clients. Glencar’s order book at the end of their financial year was £400 million but Glenigan’s data shows an even greater figure, which suggests that pushing turnover past £500 million in 2023 looks realistic.
Going forward, the management recognise that in the wake of Brexit, inflation and staff shortages will also be a significant challenge but Glencar has a range of blue chip clients in its specialist sector. A weakening in that sector caused by wider economic challenges could pose a problem but in the near term Glencar looks to be in a good position as the industry goes through a potentially delicate period caused by wider economic issues.
Winning Work With Glencar
Glencar has the ISO 9001 and 14001 accreditations and is registered with Acclaim, Constructionline and CHAS. Details of Glencar’s accreditations can be read here. The group’s environmental policy can be read here.
Key Glencar procurement contacts include:
Commercial director – Lee Irving, tel: 020-7770-6900
Pre-construction director – Daniel Whyte, tel: 020-7770-6900
Estimating director – Clive Griffiths, tel: 020-7770-6900
Supply chain manager – David Moran, tel: 020-7770-6900