Creagh Concrete report a £6.3m loss after pandemic leads to difficult trading year

Established in 1976, Creagh Concrete designs, manufactures and supplies an extensive range of concrete products. The company operates from its head office in Toomebridge with bases in Ardboe, Dunloy, Draperstown and Magheraglass and also at Nottingham, England and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Despite managing to trade throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Creagh was hit by a £4.2m loss on one large contract in the UK.

The company also faced unprecedented cost increases across all major raw material lines.

In response, the management undertook a full operational and risk review leading to efficiency gains, supported by price increases which has returned the company to profit.

Confident that the firm is ‘on track to deliver our budget for the 2021/22 financial year’, chief executive officer of Creagh, Seamus McKeague, said: “We have acted swiftly to recover increased energy and raw material costs by applying price increases to regain our trading margins.

“I am confident that we have a robust strategy in place and are on track to deliver our budget for the 2021/22 financial year.

“Our products and services are in high demand and our orderbook is healthy, with a solid pipeline of opportunity supported by our reputation for innovation and great people which continues to drive our strong client relationships.”

Creagh is a family-owned company and has bases throughout the UK and Ireland, manufacturing, supplying and installing precast concrete to many market sectors.

Creagh recently won its largest contract to date, worth £26million for Vastint. This is to construct three apartment blocks in London using Creagh’s ‘Rapidres’ precast system. This project reflects the ongoing demand for the company’s engineering skills and the calibre of its sales and estimating

teams.

Creagh operates in a wide range of housing and commercial markets and is a significant player in the growing off-site building sector. These modern methods of construction bring many benefits including reduced site programme times, enhanced health and safety and cost certainty.