BUSINESS is properly revving up for Ballyclare construction firm Hagan Homes - both as a company and for its personable owner James Hagan.
Accounts filed at Companies House show that Hagan Homes, despite dramatic increases in the cost of materials as well as pressures on household income, enjoyed a 72 per cent growth in turnover form £16.3 million to £27.9 million in the year to June 30 last.
Pre-tax profit also soared to £5,844,746, and after provision for tax of £993,480, the bottom line profit came in at more than £4.8 million. Nett assets current sit at close to £34 million.
The company was founded by (and is currently chaired by) construction industry veteran James Hagan (70).
On a personal note, he made his own piece of history by winning the Phillip Island Historic Grand Prix in Australia last month in the very same vehicle driven by 1976 world champion James Hunt when he secured his maiden F1 victory in 1974.
Mr Hagan was in a field of almost 40, driving Hunt's 1974 Hesketh 308 car, the first built by Lord Alexander Hesketh, a prominent figure in the world of F1 in the 1970s.
After its period of competing in the 1970s, the car moved into private hands, and at one stage was owned by car enthusiast and radio DJ Chris Evans before being acquired by James Hagan, who has branded it with his own Hagan Homes logo.
James Hagan has been working in the construction industry for close on four decades, and under his direction Hagan Homes has built more than 4,500 units.
Although it has only 11 direct employees, the company has supported thousands of construction jobs during its existence, using hundreds of subcontractors to bring it vision to life.
The business is in the midst of a 10-year plan which will see it invest £300m to build 2,000 new homes, sustaining hundreds of construction jobs and making a lasting contribution to the north's economy.
In a report accompanying the results, Mr Hagan says: "The housing market may not be as buoyant for the year to this June, partly due to increasing mortgage rates but also as a result of the stalling impact of the autumn mini budget.
"But despite these pressures, we have continued to demonstrate resilience and perform well, and high levels of turnover and profitability are anticipated for the incoming year."
