Brett Martin workforce nears 1,000 mark as Mallusk firm sees earnings of £7.2m

THE workforce at Brett Martin approached 1,000 last year, with the company recording pre-tax profits of £7.2m.

Now celebrating its 60th year, the Mallusk-based firm, which manufactures glassfibre, thermoplastic sheeting and pipes, reported another year of growth in the 12 months to December 31, 2017.

Although a slowdown on the 11.8% growth reported at the end of 2016, turnover at Brett Holdings Ltd grew by 2.1% to £152.4m in 2017.

The workforce also grew from 935 in 2016 to 968 for 2017, according to the consolidated accounts for the group.

The increase in employees was reflected in the rising staff costs of £31.4m for the year to December 2017, up from £30.3m in 2016.

Most of the new staff (29) were

Boss: Laurence Martin

employed in production, increasing the number of 583.

The family-owned firm, led by managing director Laurence Martin, also employs 233 people in distribution and 152 in office and management.

There was a 2% dip on pre-tax profits, however, the £7.2m figure for 2017 was only marginally down on the £7.35m reported in 2016.

Payment to the group’s direc- tors also rose in 2017, increasing from £703,131 to £720,530. The highest paid director received £331,568.

Brett Martin Holding’s tax bill went down last year, largely the result of UK corporation tax being lowered from 20% to 19% on April 1, 2017.

However, with the group’s finances organised around the calender year, it wound up paying a rate of 19.25% for 2017, working out at £1.3m, more than half a million pounds less than the £1.9m it paid in 2016.

This year saw the manufacturer expand its energy sourcing from renewables. Adding to an existing wind turbine, Brett Martin launched its own solar farm over the summer.

In a deal with energy giant Lighthouse, the manufacturer will source power from a 35-acre site near its Mallusk headquarters. It means a quarter of the company’s energy demands are now met through renewables.