Last updated 11 April 2023
GF Tomlinson Group
GF Tomlinson Group is a family controlled construction group that was formed in 1892 by George F Tomlinson. The company works across the building sector in the Midlands and northern England. GF Tomlinson has a workforce of around 230 people and turns over more than £80 million a year.
Financials
In the 12 months to June 2022, turnover fell back to £81.0 million (2021: £87.3 million) and the business slumped back into the red again. GF Tomlinson posted a loss before tax of £2.3 million (20121: £0.7 million profit). At an operating level, losses were even steeper with a deficit of £3.2 million (2021: £0.7 million profit).
To view the financials for GF Tomlinson Group Ltd, visit Companies House and use Company ID 00233721.
Operations
Construction
The group has two main contracting subsidiaries, GF Tomlinson Building and GF Tomlinson & Sons. Group headquarters are in Derby. A third contracting business, GF Tomlinson Birmingham, was closed down after the termination of the Birmingham Partnership Contract, which was replaced by the first Construction West Midlands Framework.
GF Tomlinson Building works for blue chip partners including the East Midlands Property Alliance, the Education Funding Agency, Pagabo, the University of Birmingham and Crown Commercial. This work is through places on long term agreements, such as the EFA’s £1 billion medium works framework (Project ID: 23018047). The group is also on the £750 million Scape Regional Construction Framework (Project ID: 21260787).
GF Tomlinson works for commercial developers such as Tungsten Properties, but Glenigan’s data suggests a strong public-sector focus with the group working regularly for county councils and local authorities across the Midlands from South Kesteven to Staffordshire
The group has a foothold in the health sector with clients ranging from United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust to general practioners’ groups, such as GPI, and is on the £10 billion Public Sector Construction framework (Project ID: 18003666), which is used by the NHS.
GF Tomlinson won a place on the Education & Skills Funding Agency’s £8 billion regional framework (Project ID: 16180970), which has brought work for clients ranging from Nottingham University to Stafford College and Wellspring Academy Trust. The group is also on the £2 billion Constructing West Midlands 2 framework (Project ID: 17152083)
Turnover from building contracting in the 12 months to June 2022 fell to £69.4 million (2021: £78.1 million).
Total Hire & Sales
In 2022, turnover at the plant hire division rose again, reaching £8.3 million (2021: £6.9 million).
Tomlinson Homes
Tomlinson Homes builds new build housing across the Midlands.
Glenigan Data
In the 12 months to Q1 2032, Glenigan’s research shows that GF Tomlinson won nine contracts valued at £250,000 or more (2022: 15). The total value of those contracts was £38.3 million (2022: £48.3 million), but the group did not feature amongst Glenigan’s ranking of the industry’s Top 100 contractors.
GF Tomlinson does not feature in the top 10 contractors in any of the UK’s dozen economic regions.
Conclusion: Back in the red
After posting a loss in 2019 due to the recession and the end of a major partnership contract in Birmingham, GF Tomlinson recovered but the pandemic and a subsequent rise in labour and material costs hit hard.
A strategy of working on lower value contracts is aimed at reducing the risk profile and contractual disputes. The largest recent contract won by the group is a £15 million training centre in Newark (Project ID: 21538666) and in the 12 months to Q1 2023, the average contract won by GF Tomlinson was valued by Glenigan at £4.3 million (2022: £3.3 million).
However, with staff self-isolating, GF Tomlinson paused taking on new work when tendering resumed delays left revenue came in £30 million under budget, which sent the group into the red again. The slowdown was felt hardest at building and civil engineering contracting arm G F Tomlinson & Sons which lost £3.2 million as revenue virtually halved to £17 million.
This came despite the cost base being continually addressed. A review after the 2019 losses prompted a reduction in costs and the workforce has been cut for three years in a row as turnover has reduced. An 11% cut in staffing in 2020 was followed by a 6% cut in 2021 and a 5% cut in the latest year when the average number of employees at the group fell to 226 (2021: 237 people). However, the wage bill was static at £10.6 million (2021: £10.5 million).
Money owed to creditors within a year fell to £20.9 million (2021: £24.4 million), but current liabilities leapt to £2.9 million (2020: £0.1 million) and net assets slumped to £10.0 million (£12.3 million).
Glenigan did not record any detailed planning applications to build new homes submitted by GF Tomlinson again in 2022 but GF Tomlinson booked turnover of £3.1 million from property development as work from the Carta development company started (2021: £1.9 million).
GF Tomlinson remains focused solely on building work and low value contracts. A more selective approach to tendering for new work had been adopted after the review and contracts are – with the odd exception – invariably below £10 million.
Going forward, the foundations for an improvement in GF Tomlinson’s fortunes are there in terms of opportunities going forward, certainly in the education sector and in EFA and Scape should create work across the Midlands, where the bulk of contract awards are located according to Glenigan’s research, but turnover looks unlikely to rise significantly in the short term as the management focuses on a return to profitability.
How To Win Work With GF Tomlinson Group
GF Tomlinson is accredited to a number of industry bodies including CHAS, Constructionline and the Considerate Constructors’ scheme. The group has an integrated management system that links environmental (BS EN ISO 14001), quality (BS EN ISO 9001) and health and safety (OHSAS 18001) under the UKAS accredited system.
The group is a member of the Shropshire Constructing Excellence network, which aims to support best practice and modern methods of construction across this area. GF Tomlinson operates a premier supply chain. The group has attended Meet the Buyer events such as FinditinSandwell and FinditintheBlackCountry and local authority organised events to meet potential suppliers. The group has also worked with Responsible Sourcing. Details on the group’s supply chain can be found here.
Suppliers and subcontractors interested in joining the group’s supply chain are asked in the first instance to fill out a prequalification questionnaire, which is available by emailing group supply chain manager Terry Milton at: supplychain@gftomlinson.co.uk
Key GF Tomlinson procurement contacts include:
Head of business development – Les Needham, tel: 01332-833100
Group supply Chain Manager – Terry Milton, tel: 01332-833100
Framework manager – Craig Stopper, tel: 01332-833100
Senior Estimator – Peter Dimilta, tel: 01332-342202