Belfast Telegraph

McAvoy wins school deal after joining £1bn building framework

- BY STAFF REPORTER

NORTHERN Ireland off-site building firm McAvoy Group has won the first in a series of potential deals after joining a £1bn framework.

The family-run Dungannon company has been appointed to the LHC modular buildings framework, allowing it to bid for education, healthcare and emergency services schemes in England, Wales and Scotland.

A spokeswoma­n said McAvoy Group achieved high scores for education buildings and factory processes during the process of applying to join the framework.

And it’s already won its first deal through the framework, building a classroom for 60 children at Court Special School in Cardiff.

Eugene Lynch, managing director of The McAvoy Group, said: “Our success in so many lots of this prestigiou­s framework highlights the scope and quality of the offsite solutions that McAvoy can offer to public sector clients across the UK.

“An important factor in our appointmen­t was our ability to develop virtual models of our clients’ buildings to facilitate more informed decision making and enhance stakeholde­r engagement.

“This innovative use of advanced technology helps clients to reduce risk, save time and really optimise the speed and efficiency benefits of offsite constructi­on.”

The selection process included a visit to McAvoy’s factory, a demonstrat­ion of its virtual reality technology and an assessment of its offsite building systems for both permanent and interim use.

McAvoy Group last month finished work on a £8.2m primary school building in Essex. McAvoy Group manufactur­ed the building in sections at its factory in Lisburn.

Over 12 days, cranes lifted the 67 steel-framed sections and placed them into position at the new Concordia Academy in Romford.

After a fall in turnover in 2008 and 2009, McAvoy Group annual sales have improved and reached over £57m in 2016. The company’s most recent report also records that order levels in 2017 were continuing at an encouragin­g rate. It employs 174 people and announced plans to recruit another 40 people last year.

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