Ocon announces 3rd University deal

Ocon Construction has won its third student accommodation contract with the University of Nottingham, it has been announced.

Ocon Construction has won its third student accommodation contract with the University of Nottingham, it has been announced.

The company will be responsible for construction at the university's Sutton Bonington campus and will consist of 198 units being created, at a cost of £7 million.

Due for completion next summer, the work comes as Bellway released positive results last week despite the overall slowdown throughout the construction industry.

The company had managed to sustain enviable profit margins amid the economic downturn through its focus on public sector contracts; a sector that many other construction firms may now be moving into in order to protect themselves from the financial fallout of the credit crunch.

Speaking about the company's success, the John Watson, chief executive at Bellway explained: "At this point we are still showing a 15 per cent margin

"There may be some sites we bought last year that will show a lower margin than that but we do not need to writedown across the board," he added, reaffirming the strong position the company is in compared with many others.

Ocon's Birmingham office, which was responsible for the deal, looks to be heading in a similar direction, which would certainly keep order books more steady than private-based organisations.