But rising cost pressures saw pre-tax profit slide 20% to £15.1m, representing a fall in group margin from around 2% to 1.3% in the year to March 2023.

Andrew Bill, Graham Group chief executive officer, said that profitability has been impacted by well-publicised inflationary pressures facing the wider economy.

He said: “We are very pleased with these latest published accounts, which demonstrate a strong performance in our core markets.

“This has been achieved despite the complexity of the current inflationary environment and other notable external factors.”

Bill added that looking forward, Graham was in a strong position with a record pipeline of £2bn.

“The adoption of a pragmatic and selective approach to work winning, built on a platform of risk management, allows us to positively approach the rest of 2023, and beyond,” he said.

Cash at bank and in hand also increased to £177.1m – a 28% rise on 2022.