Britain’ s biggest steelwork contractor ended its financial year on a high with a record order book up 6% to £511m.

In a trading update this morning the firm said it expected to announce pre-tax profits slightly ahead of market expectations and would be launching a £10m share buyback to return excess capital to investors.

Alan Dunsmore, Chief Executive Officer said: “The Group is performing well, the outlook is positive and our businesses are well-positioned in markets with excellent long-term growth opportunities.

“While there remains some uncertainty in the wider economy, we are seeing an improvement in market conditions which, together with our high-quality order books, diversified activities and operational delivery capabilities, provides us with confidence for the year ahead.”

He added that the order book remained well-diversified and contained a good mix of projects.

The growth in the order book reflects the continued strengthening of Severfield’s market position in Europe, supported by the acquisition of Voortman.

Just under a third of the order book now represents projects in continental Europe and Ireland compared with November last year when it stood at 13%.

Severfield said it continued to see large project opportunities for both its Commercial and Industrial division and Nuclear and Infrastructure division, in the UK, continental Europe and Ireland.