Property and mining firm Banks Group has signalled how its business has been downsized by a £490m deal to sell its renewable energy division.
The County Durham firm said that turnover in the year to the end of September 2023 fell from £112m to £90m while combined operating profit from its various businesses was at £21m, down from £26m a year earlier.
During the year, Banks Group sold its renewables dicision to global investment group Brookfield, with the firm rebranding as OnPath Energy and moving to new headquarters in Rainton Bridge. The period also saw Banks Group launched a housebuilding company, Banks Homes, which is focussing on sites in the North East England and Yorkshire.
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The company said that fewer of its property schemes had reached completion due to delays in the planning process, but that it was continuing to work on a “large volume of projects”. The group’s mining business – which closed its coal operations in the North East in 2021 – delivered growth as principal contractor at the Bantycock gypsum mine in Nottinghamshire on behalf of owners Saint Gobain Formula.
Group chairman and chief executive Harry Banks said: “In line with our expectations, the performance of our business in 2023 was at a lower level than the previous year, while we have managed the sale of the group’s renewable interests and focussed on enhancing the group’s future growth prospects across all our retained business areas. Prior to its disposal, our renewables arm represented a large proportion of the overall group, and delivered a significant contribution to our revenue and profits.
“The disposal to Brookfield with its greater resources will enable further growth and development under its new name, and we wish all our former colleagues who have moved to OnPath Energy the very best of good fortune for the future. While the group will be substantially smaller in the near term, its board believes that it remains well placed to deliver good growth in the coming years from our operations in residential and commercial property, mining and minerals, and plant management services.”
The company, which dates back to 1976, has supported more than 85 community and environmental projects during the year, handing out grants worth more than £435,000.
Mr Banks said: “The board remains committed to the group’s longstanding Development with Care approach, which sets standards and is fundamental to how we work and deliver tangible, long-term benefits to the communities in which we operate.”
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