Ahead of the filing of our latest payment practice statistics, Neil Washington, our finance director, provides a breakdown of our results. Late payments are a thorn in the side of smaller firms in the construction supply chain. That’s why we have placed an ongoing focus on doing all we can to reduce the time we take to pay our suppliers. Quite rightly, the issue has attracted negative headlines in the construction industry and large companies are now required to report on their payment practices every six months. So, with the deadline for businesses to file their latest available data falling this week, some may be nervous about what the statistics will reveal. Here at Novus, however, we’re happy to report that our commitment to reducing payment times is continuing to bear fruit. The data for the first half of the year shows that we took an average of 29 days to pay our subcontractors. This is an improvement on the already high standard we set ourselves for the same period last year, which was 30 days. To put this in context, according to Construction News’ latest analysis of payment-practice reports, the industry’s largest contractors took an average of 43 days to pay suppliers. It’s not just there where we’ve continued to make improvements. We also now pay 57% of our invoices within 30 days, up from 52% for the first half of 2018, while the proportion of payments outside of terms are down year-on-year. Of course, our work doesn’t stop here and we will continue to focus on this issue. Contractors and their supply chains are dependent on each other’s success. Prompt payment means that subcontractors can maintain healthy cashflow levels, increasing the likelihood of them accepting more work and consistently carrying out quality jobs. Late payment can also have a massive impact on cashflow, increasing the likelihood of insolvency. At a time of skills shortages, reduced access to labour and economic uncertainty, it’s vital that bigger players in the industry are doing all they can to ease the burden smaller firms face.

We are proud to announce record sales of £155.8m in 2018 (2017: £148.6m) alongside pre-tax profits of £5.536m (2017: £5.441m) reporting five years of unbroken growth. We operate from 27 locations across the UK, with our head office being in Stoke-On-Trent and have earmarked £2m of our profit to support new investment in 2019. Planned projects include several digital transformation initiatives. Being a leading provider of maintenance and construction services to the social housing, university retail and hotel sectors, we are developing solutions that will integrate our IT systems with clients’ estate management software and property databases to automate internal processes. We have stepped up our investment into apprenticeships and trainees last year, employing 91 (2017: 65) and are funding the training of 20 quantity surveyors as we seek to address specific skill gaps in the business and  the wider industry’s talent pool. We employ 1,000 people nationally. To celebrate our fifth birthday in 2018 we delivered a nationwide, community-led campaign called ‘The Big Five’ donating £100,000 in time, labour and materials to support five community projects across the UK. The projects were just five of 340 social value initiatives we led last year, positively impacting 14,659 lives.  Our achievements were recognised in 2018 when we were presented with a National Award for Educational Partnership by Business in the Community (BITC). Earlier this year, we were listed among the top five fastest payers to its supply chain with an average of only 26 days against an industry average of 43 days. Five months into the current financial year, we are targeting further sustainable growth and have 90 per cent of our 2019 turnover target already secured. In February 2019, Alan Nixon was appointed the new Chief Executive Officer. Alan, was an existing member of the board and has worked with us – Novus was a part of Seddon Group until 2013 – for more than 30 years. Commenting on the 2018 financial results, Nixon said: “In a market beset with uncertainty, we had another year to be proud of. We grew revenues and profits sustainably as we achieved our business plan, while significantly strengthening our balance sheet so that we can continue to invest in innovation this year and over the long-term. “Novus, under the guidance of its chairman and fourth generation of the Seddon family, Stuart Seddon, was committed to being a responsible contractor that gave something back to its communities, long before it became a requirement in contract bids. We’re pleased to report strong data on our CSR investment alongside our trading performance.      “Our BITC Award and recent commendation for industry-leading payment practices all stem from our culture, which is rooted in being a family-owned business. Ensuring the principles that stem from this continue to guide how we operate, even as we scale the business, is an important objective for myself and the board.  “Looking ahead, the market remains tight. But, with our customer-centric approach and spend on exciting new digital innovations, we’re well placed to continue on our path of manageable growth.”

Manchester City weren’t the only ones to return from Wembley with a trophy last week, with the Novus Big Five – our flagship 2018 charity project – being named winner of the National Building Award for community engagement at the iconic stadium on 22nd May. Hosted at Wembley, the National Building Awards celebrate industrious, hardworking and enterprising construction businesses across the country. We were one of four finalists in the community engagement category, with judges commending our clear commitment to CSR on an ongoing basis at all levels of the business. The Big Five campaign was a milestone initiative conceived to celebrate our fifth anniversary by giving something back to the communities we work in.  The campaign saw us canvas nominations for worthy projects in five locations across the UK, which each benefited from a £20,000 refurbishment project. The project united our entire business towards a single CSR goal with projects selected to meet our corporate social responsibility (CSR) goal of helping to change lives. The award win is further evidence that our initiatives are some the best, most engaging and transformative in the sector. Each refurbishment project was chosen by our own team of judges and included refurbishments to a maternity ward, a house for a homeless person, two community centres and a rehabilitation centre for military veterans. You can read more about each of the projects here

We are pleased to annouce the appointment of Adrian Honeywell as our new Head of Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ). Adrian has over 20 years’ experience as a senior health and safety professional in the construction industry including roles at Wrekin Construction, Nationwide Safety Services, May Gurney and Interserve Construction. During this time he has led health, safety and environment functions on frameworks for reactive and planned works, capital programme works and new-build developments. Adrian will report into chief executive Alan Nixon and work with our senior leadership team to devise and implement a long term SHEQ strategy, as well as leading the nine-strong SHEQ team. Adrian’s appointment is designed to cement our health and safety and environmental performance on projects – maintaining our track record while also improving the SHEQ support to operational teams and the wider business. Alan Nixon, chief executive, said: “Health and safety has always been a business priority for us and as a contractor that works in live environments that are often sensitive, delivering great quality outcomes while ensuring the safety of everyone on our sites is imperative for both us and our clients. “This new role combines these business support functions – helping us to achieve high performance standards while exceeding client expectations. Adrian’s experience at some of the largest players in the sector and his track record of helping build SHEQ into organisations’ cultures means he’s perfect for the role.”

We have been appointed to a £1,547,000 contract to refurbish Haybridge Hall in Telford, Shropshire for The Wrekin Housing Trust. We will re-build part of the existing building, which was originally built in 1870, to create 10 new apartments to be used as sheltered accommodation. Work includes the construction of two elevations tying into the existing retained facades, new internal walls, floors and roof will be formed, structural adaptations and creating a garden room with full height glass atrium. A team of six Novus staff plus a number of sub-contractors will deliver the project, designed by Nicol Thomas. Starting on site in April 2019, with completion in Spring 2020. The Wrekin Housing Trust owns and manages 12,500 homes across Shropshire and Staffordshire. An investment of £1.7 million was provided by The Wrekin Housing Trust, Telford and Wrekin Council and Homes England for the redevelopment. Dean Povey, Build Operations Manager at Novus, said: “This project will grant a new lease of life to an excellent building that has been vacant for a number of years. The work will completely refresh the property, allowing it to provide fantastic local accommodation for older people for years to come. “At Novus we’ve built up a wealth of experience in heritage refurbishment, allowing us to bring buildings back into use by incorporating modern facilities while preserving and enhancing original features.” Matt Beckley, Project Manager at The Wrekin Housing Trust, said: “It is great that we have appointed Novus Property Solutions to see this exciting project come to final fruition. The works are now continuing at Haybridge Hall, where our plans involve the partial demolition of the old hall building, but the retention of its original facade. “We are working hard to create a fantastic living space for future occupants. The building will include 10 retirement living apartments with a glazed courtyard and atrium making it a very pleasant place to live.”

A new 11,180 sq ft building at The Donna Louise Hospice for Children & Young People has opened this month, following a year-long construction project led by Novus Property Solutions. The Donna Louise offers respite, symptom management and end-of-life care and support, as well as wide range of emotional and physical therapies for children and young people with life-limiting conditions, as well as supporting their families. The multi-million-pound building, which has been funded by the Denise Coates Foundation and named the Denise Coates Foundation Building, will be the home of the Denise Coates Foundation Service for Young Adults at The Donna Louise, and will continue supporting young adults over the age of 19. The three-storey building was designed by Tarpey Woodfine Architects and includes five bedrooms with en-suite facilities, a communal lounge and adjustable kitchen, offices for staff and areas for physical and emotional therapy. Stoke-on-Trent headquartered Novus also took part in a range of fundraising initiatives for The Donna Louise while delivering the new building. The team raised over £13,000 through a series of initiatives including a 5K run, corporate golf day, gin festival, quiz night and a Tough Guy obstacle course – beating its £10,000 fundraising target. The activity forms part of the firm’s national CSR initiative, which also included making a £100,000 investment towards five community projects across the country last year. Dean Povey, Senior Operations Manager at Novus Property Solutions, said: “The extension will provide a brand-new facility for The Donna Louise, helping it expand the vital services it provides to families in the area. “We know how much an attractive, positive environment can support the hard work involved in running hugely valuable facilities like The Donna Louise, and our culture is all about giving back to the communities where we operate, so it’s been fantastic to be involved in this transformation.” Simon Fuller, Chief Executive at The Donna Louise, said: “As the biggest change we’ve undertaken at The Donna Louise since we opened, it’s been critical to us to make sure we get this right. Working in partnership with Novus has allowed us to provide a new, fit-for-purpose environment that will be perfect for our young adults. The generous support from the Denise Coates Foundation, alongside our other fundraising partners, has been vital in allowing us to evolve as a charity and will enable us to forge ahead with delivering a meaningful and much-needed service for our young adults, and their families.”