Roofing Today Top 40 Roofing Contractors 2023

Roofing Today is delighted to announce the Top 40 UK Roofing Contractors for 2023. The list provides a snapshot of companies’ scale of activity, ranking by turnover and comparing performance to the previous year. Data is taken from published accounts or provided directly by businesses.

The following data was first published in the July 2023 edition of Roofing Today magazine.

Read commentary from Roofing Today Editor, Dr Claire Griffiths, below.

Roofing Today Top 40 Roofing Contractors 2023

COMMENTARY

THE PRIME POSITION of Roofing Today’s Top 40 has been eagerly anticipated and we are delighted to announce that this year congratulations go to CA Group, which is head and shoulders above the rest. With an impressive leap in turnover of 38%, matched by a similar increase in pre-tax profit, the building envelope specialist is growing with gusto!

M&J Group also standout in the top five, as the company maintains its steady climb up the rankings, now reaching fourth position with another remarkable increase in sales and profit.

Overall, the Roofing Today Top 40 together account for around £1.2bn of the estimated £6bn UK roofing contractor market this year. Average sales of £31m show a 15% rise on last year, exceeding the rate of inflation of circa 11% in the same period.

Growth in Sales for Majority

Most companies saw growth in sales (33 out of the 40), with an average growth rate amongst this group of 38%. In this view, Northern Cladding stands out with a 147% increase in turnover, although profit sadly suffered when a major customer went out of business.

Similarly, Lindner Prater were left reeling after suffering problems on a major project causing them to set aside an undisclosed sum, resulting in a loss of £-9m with a -36% contraction in turnover.

However, across the board, there were just 7 companies with decreasing turnover – a big improvement on the previous years’ 15 shrinking businesses.

In terms of pre-tax profit, 25 of our Top 40 made a total of £61m, with an average sum achieved of £1.5m. Notable here, again, is M&J Group, topping the chart for pre-tax profit by achieving almost £10m, a figure also reflected in the biggest profit margin at almost 20% – substantially exceeding the 5.25% average margin.

Big Improvement on 2022

Another conspicuous company here is commercial roofing specialists, Roofdec with a whopping four-figure percentage rise on the previous year in pre-tax profit of 2,577%! Out of our Top 40, 25 saw a rise in pre-tax profit, with the average rise being 276%, and the median rise being 50%. That means, of course that 14 companies saw a pre-tax loss, but that’s still a big improvement on 2022’s Top 40 which saw 23 firms lodging a static or decreased figure.

The average profit margin in our Top 40 UK roofing contractor group is 5.25%, slightly down from 2020’s pre-pandemic figure of 6.37%. The movement reflects the huge increases in workloads for contractors, while being challenged by inflationary pressure and squeezed contracts.

Lastly, numbers employed by contractors across the list total 3,448 – pretty much the same as last year’s 3,455. This might be considered surprising against a backdrop of rising workloads, but the increase in subcontractors (up by 14% this year according to ONS) tells its own story of a more flexible, autonomous workforce free to negotiate rates.

In summary, it’s a picture of a very busy roofing sector that emerges this year. Nevertheless, we are entering a time when all bets are off and companies may need to consolidate and approach future projects with caution.

>> Read 2024’s Top 40 UK Roofing Contractors here