The UK division of leading Irish construction firm Sisk Group made profits last year of over €6 million.

Sisk has been growing its presence in the UK and three years ago bought Bristol-based Bideem, a civil engineering contractor with an annual turnover of over £30 million (€45 million).

Its UK chief executive, Pierce O'Shea, has told a British construction trade magazine that the company expects pretax profits for last year to have reached £4.4 million.

In 2005, Sisk's UK business had a turnover of £350 million and a pretax surplus of £3.7 million, around 20 per cent less than its 2006 profits.

The Irish company is involved in a number of private finance initiatives (the British equivalent of public-private partnerships) projects as a contractor.

Mr O'Shea said yesterday that the best way to grow its margin from this business would be as a shareholder in future projects.

His company is also seeking joint venture partners to work on property development.

Its British projects include the Pro-Logis Innovation Centre in Dartford, the Intercontinental Hotel at Hyde Park, London, a 13-screen Virgin cinema in Birmingham, and a range of commercial, education and public sector developments.

The family-controlled group is one of the States's oldest building firms and is one of its biggest private companies.

Last year it said that in 2005 group turnover grew 31.2 per cent to €1.5 billion, on the back of strong construction activity in Ireland and Britain.

Operating profits grew 55 per cent to €68.5 million. Earnings before tax more than doubled to €85.4 million.

The group has made a number of investments outside construction. In 2006 it bought two healthcare equipment distribution companies, MED Surgical and Cardiac Services, for undisclosed sums. The deals were part of a plan to broaden its business base.