Scottish Construction firms have grown at a slower rate than their counterparts south of the border in the last three years, according to new figures.

Factors including rising costs, challenges in securing high margin work and difficulties accessing lending are being blamed for the comparatively poor performance.

A report by accountants Henderson Loggie analysed accounts from 1,708 construction companies across Great Britain, including 157 Scottish companies.

GB-wide turnover at firms in the sector has increased by 14.8% on average over the past three years but only by 8.4% for Scottish firms.

Scottish companies with turnover of less than £100m have seen an average pre-tax profit fall of 19.2% and those with a turnover of between £5m and £10m show a 66.6% reduction in profit before tax over the last three years, compared to a 5.3% increase nationally.

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“Proactive management and early intervention is key to recovery when times get tough. Bolstering management reporting in order to know the true cash position of the company is as important for smaller companies as it is for construction giants.”