Manchester skyscraper builder revenue hits record £229m

But inflationary cost pressure hit its high-rise residential projects causing pre-tax profit to slip to £5m from £6m in the prior year. The firm, which was set up in 2006 by former Laing O’Rourke employee Daren Whitaker, boosted its headcount to 365 staff as it completed several projects and developed its pipeline of high-rise housing. Whitaker said: “The increase in turnover has not generated a proportionate increase in net profit due to a reduction in year-on-year gross margin, partially due …