Matt Cannon
Clancy chief executive Matt Cannon has credited his firm’s focus on client and supplier relationships for its record revenue and profit.
“As a private, family-owned business we’re absolutely not focused on top-line equity growth,” he told Construction News. “We’re focused on delivering for our clients and making sure we work effectively, that we have skills capability and then making sure that the risk we’re prepared to take on is appropriate.”
Civils-focused Clancy was ranked 57th in this year’s CN100 table of top contractors, based on turnover of £334.5m in its previous financial year.
In its latest accounts for the year to 31 March 2024, the firm posted turnover of £378.5m and pre-tax profit of £20.9m. These figures marked a 13 per cent and 55 per cent increase respectively.
Cannon said “fruitful conversations” with clients around risk-sharing have allowed Clancy to take on repeat work in its key areas, including water and energy infrastructure, where investment is growing.
“Ultimately, we want to make sure that we’re focused on [delivering work] rather than commercial challenges, frustrations and disputes. That becomes energy-sapping,” he said.
“The clearer we can be about the allocation of risk and focus on making sure the contract’s set up for success, the better we will do.”
Clancy also holds regular “360-degree conversations” with its supply chain to check on their financial health, Cannon said. This is particularly important after ISG’s collapse last month, which Cannon described as a “moment of reflection”.
He said: “It’s always a moment where you hold up the mirror to yourself and think about where we carry risk, what we need to do, is there anything we need to do better in terms of our controls and our governance?”
Cannon said the fallout of ISG’s administration had come up in its regular conversations with suppliers.
“Clearly, things like payment terms and cashflows are always an interesting conversation that you need to have with your supply chain, just as you have with your suppliers,” he said.
“I think it’s really important to ensure that we’re having that conversation because the resilience of our supply chain is incredibly important in terms of supporting our capabilities.”
He added that ISG employed a “huge amount of really talented people”, for whom firms like Clancy could provide alternative employment. “It’s important as a sector that we rally round,” he said.
Asked what he would like to see in tomorrow’s Budget announcement, Cannon had one request: a clear plan.
Stability of investment is crucial for business to plan for the long-term, he said, particularly when developing a workforce with the skills to carry out bold infrastructure plans.
“As we look ahead we expect there to be significant infrastructure growth. I think that resourcing that growth is one of the key challenges for the sector,” Cannon said.
“Anything government can do to support that, to encourage people to train and invest in skills is key.”
