Business

Property giant McAleer & Rushe marks half century of building

McAleer & Rushe chairman Seamus McAleer and chief executive Eamonn Laverty are joined by rugby star Paul O’Connell at an event in the Landmark Hotel in London to celebrate the firm's 50th anniversary
McAleer & Rushe chairman Seamus McAleer and chief executive Eamonn Laverty are joined by rugby star Paul O’Connell at an event in the Landmark Hotel in London to celebrate the firm's 50th anniversary McAleer & Rushe chairman Seamus McAleer and chief executive Eamonn Laverty are joined by rugby star Paul O’Connell at an event in the Landmark Hotel in London to celebrate the firm's 50th anniversary

McALEER & Rushe, one of the UK's largest design and build construction and property companies, is marking 50 years in business this year - and says it expects its 2017 turnover to eclipse £350 million.

It has hosted a number of celebration events (including in London) to celebrate the key milestone, marking its journey from humble beginnings in Cookstown, where it was formed in 1967 by Seamus McAleer (now its chairman), and where its headquarters are still based, to its UK-wide standing today.

With regional offices in London, Dublin and Belfast, the company reported pre-tax profits of £10m in 2016, a 100 per cent increase from the previous year, with turnover expected to exceed £350 million this year. .

McAleer & Rushe, which currently employs 330 people across its various operations, is jointly owned by Seamus McAleer and Eamonn Laverty (chief executive), who have been the driving force behind the business.

It made its name in the early years by delivering large scale social housing projects before moving into commercial construction and development. It is recognised as the leading hotel design & build company within the construction sector and has build more than 20,000 hotel rooms, two million square foot of office space, over 10,000 houses and 7,500 student units across the UK and Ireland.

Seamus McAleer said: “Our principles are based on hard work, a strong team ethic and ambition, and are those that we set out 50 years ago when we established our base in Cookstown and remain the cornerstone of our business today. We are fortunate to have such great staff, working hard for the company and sharing in our successful journey."

Eamonn Laverty added: “2017 represents an important milestone for our business, and after gaining 50 years’ experience in the acquisition, design, development, construction and management of a variety of property types we are looking to the future with increased confidence.

"We have an extensive portfolio of work, a growing client base with a number of important projects in the pipeline and we are looking forward to the long-term growth of our business throughout 2018 and beyond.”

McAleer & Rushe has dominated the UK wide ‘Construction Manager of the Year Award’, with one of their local project managers, Margaret Conway, being the first-ever female winner in the initiative's 39-year history (she won this year's coveted title for her work on the £22m nine storey office block at 9 Adelaide Street in Belfast for Belfast City Council).

This followed the success of her colleague Paul Marlow, who became the youngest-ever winner of the same award in 2016 for a £29 million student accommodation project in East London for Unite.