Irish projects help White Young Green grow

WHITE Young Green (WYG), the British headquartered civil engineering consultancy group, has said that its Irish operations contributed strongly to the group’s interim results for the six months to the end of December.

The overall group yesterday reported a 26% rise in annual revenue to €147.4m. Operating profit rose by 31% to €12.5m and the value of its order book increased by 18% on the previous year to €490m.

WYG doesn’t break down individual figures for different geographical markets. The group generated overall annual revenues of more than €297 million last year and employs more than 2,700 in Britain.

With regard to growth in Ireland, WYG Ireland managing director, Ray Moore commented: “We have increased the growth across all service areas and have taken forward the strategic development of our business through new acquisitions.”

“Trading conditions remain favourable and the recent acquisitions of the Nolan Ryan Partnership and Malachi Cullen & Partners mean that we enter the second half of the financial year with growing confidence and optimism,” he added.

The group employs more than 460 people in Ireland across offices in Athlone, Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Belfast and Derry. Its expansion here sped up during the second half of last year through its acquisition of the Nolan Ryan Partnership — a leading project management firm based in Kilkenny — for 14 million and the €1.6 million takeover of Athlone-based company Malachi Cullen & Partners.

Major projects in the Republic which have contributed to the rapid growth of the group here include the proposed €180 million private health clinic at Adare Manor, Co Limerick; environmental services for the €80 million planned Biogas and Bio-Diesel facility in Co Tipperary;

Proposed projects include the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Project; a mixed use development in the Blackpitts area of Dublin City; Kilkenny Leisure Centre; Mitchelstown Medical Campus in Co Cork; the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre and environmental and health and safety auditing of all of Airtricity’s Irish wind farms.