Last updated 8 August 2022
Mulalley & Co Ltd
Mulalley & Co Ltd is a privately-owned contractor based in Essex and part of the Sherrygreen Group of Companies. Formed in 1972, the group has expanded into a business turning over around £140 million a year that is one of the UK’s leading social housing contractors. Mulalley also works on education and other public sector projects, turns over £175 million a year and employs over 500 people.
Financials
In the 12 months to March 2022 turnover rose 26.5% to £175.9 million (2021: £139.0 million (2020: £127.4 million (2019: £148.0 million) and operating profits leapt to £2.9 million (2021: £2.7 million). However, the group booked an exceptional item of £9.9 million, which resulted in a pre-tax loss of £3.3 million (2021: £2.9 million profit).
At parent company Sherrygreen, turnover rose to £183.1 million (2021: £133.7 million) and an operating profit of £9.2 million as achieved (2021: £5.0 million). Before tax, Sherrygreen returned a profit to £1.2 million (2021: £4.7 million).
To view the financials for Mulalley & Co, visit Companies House and use Company ID 1534913. To view the financials for Sherrygreen, visit Companies House and use Company ID 01762648.
Operations
Mulalley Construction
Mulalley works in joint venture with registered social landlords to bring mixed tenure developments to fruition. The company works on more than 50 long-term framework agreements, mainly in southern England for local authorities and registered social landlords (RSLs) such as Peabody, Southern Housing and Optivo, and for many of London 33 borough’s including Barking & Dagenham, Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets.
The group is working with the London Borough of Enfield on an £87 million redevelopment of Montmorency Park in Enfield (Project ID: 10031853) and is also on a number of long-term agreements including Notting Hill Genesis’ £250 million Contractor Framework for Development Programme (Project ID: 21419547).
Sherrygreen Homes
Sherrygreen is Mulalley’s private residential housebuilding operation, which specialises in building apartments and houses in London and the South East for sale on the open market. Developments in the pipeline include proposals for 225 homes at Anchor Wharf at Tower Hamlets in east London (Project ID: 22236333). Sherrygreen Homes works either independently or in joint venture with other developers, such as Telford, or registered social landlords such as One Housing. Mulalley advises on or delivers these projects on a design and build basis.
Planned Maintenance
This division works for RSLs, many London boroughs and Transport for London on long-term maintenance deals. Recent examples include Network Homes’ £32 million Fire Related Works framework (Project ID: 21284789).
Glenigan Data
In the 12 months to Q2 2021, orders rose to £132.2 million (2021: £73.5 million). The group is not ranked amongst the top 10 contractors in any of the UK’s 12 economic regions.
Conclusion: Underlying growth
In 2019, Mulalley had been amongst the UK’s top 100 contractors by orders according to Glenigan’s ranking but fell out of this echelon and turnover had slipped even before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic but more recent figures show a resurgence in trading at an underlying level.
Mulalley continued to feel the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic during the latest trading year, which was also hit by energy and supply chain disruption due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite these challenges, earnings improved significantly at operating level and the margin rose to an above industry average of 3.8% (2021: 2.1%). The bottom line was hit by a £9.9 million provision from a legacy contract but the cash position firmed to £14.8 million (2021: £6.3 million).
After leaping 80% in the 12 months to Q2 2022, Mulalley’s order book has now doubled over the past two years according to Glenigan’s research. The group is ranked in 63rd position in Glenigan’s ranking of the industry’s Top 100 contractors. The company’s own figures put the order book at March 2022 as £903 million (2021: £846 million), which is below Glenigan’s figures, but these exclude framework agreements and term maintenance, which provide a steady flow of work for the group.
This growth is taking on slightly larger jobs but Mulalley generally avoids larger jobs, which are typically riskier and the risk profile remains relatively low according to Glenigan’s research.. The biggest contract won in the 12 months to Q2 2022 was the £55 million first phase of a residential scheme in Enfield, north London. Only two other awards were valued at over £10 million and the value of the average contract won was £5.5 million according to Glenigan’s research (2021: £4.9 million).
The workforce has been maintained and average number of employees was static at 519 (2021: 517), while the wage bill rose to £29.3 million (2021: £27.5 million (2020).
Glenigan’s research shows no evidence of planning activity in 2020 or 2021 for new build housing at Mulalley. This can be explained by the group actively seeking to work in joint venture with public sector partners such as One Housing and Peabody.
The tragedy at Grenfell Tower in London impacted in 2018, as the group sought to improve fire safety standards to meet potential changes to Building Regulations. A reduction in spending by the London boroughs that make up a key component of business for Mulalley is also likely to be a factor going forward.
Mulalley has a strong regional focus with most work located in London and the Home Counties. The group continues to win places on many major framework agreements, and these awards along with the group’s regular work with local authorities in London and the South East has provided a regular flow of work. The hybrid nature of a business that encompasses main contracting, planned maintenance and development and a strong record of securing places on major social housing framework, suggests that Mulalley should be able to withstand the rises in material prices and labour that are weighing on the industry.
Winning work with Mulalley
Mulalley is a member of CHAS, the Considerate Constructors scheme and Constructionline and accredited to bodies including the Gas Safety Register. The group’s supply chain policies can be read here.
Mulalley employs around a large number of local labour wherever possible. Research by the London Borough of Newham – a key group client – showed that on projects in this area of London Mulalley employed 20% of labour within Newham and another 39% from neighbouring boroughs.
Key Mulalley procurement contacts include:
Pre-construction director – Simon Coveley, tel: 020-8551-9999
Senior contracts manager – Steve Housen, tel: 020-8551-9999
Senior estimator – Clive Ames, tel: 020-8551-9999