Galliford Try, the construction and housebuilding group, announced a 63% rise in full-year pretax profits to £53m. The Times

Revenue was up 65% to £1.4b and the order book has risen to £2.1bn, with £1.1bn for infrastructure, where more than two-thirds comes from a growing market for public sector projects.

These range from £500m of work on Britain’s flood defences, a £150m site clean-up for the 2012 London Olympics and construction of Europe’s largest windfarm.

In housing, Galliford Try sold 1,526 units, up 45% from last year, boosted only in part by acquisitions – the company recently bought Chartdale and Linden Homes.