Grafton confident in Irish and UK construction industry growth

The boss of the Grafton Group has said he expects construction in both Ireland and the UK to grow, as the building supplies giant reported a 9% rise in revenue and a 16% rise in pre-tax profits in the six months until the end of June.

Gavin Slark said fears of a skills shortage, around Brexit and the slow pace of homebuilding in Ireland and the UK would impact the construction sector were premature.

Revenue was up 9% to £1.3bn (€1.41bn) while profits before tax were up 16% to £75.4m, Grafton said.