A COMPANY is celebrating after breaking through the £10m annual turnover barrier for the first time.

Bishop Auckland-based company MMP Group, which operates construction, joinery and finishings divisions, is set to report growth of over 25 per cent in the past year.

Turnover has increased from £9.5m in 2001 to more than £12m this year.

The figures are based on the number of large construction schemes it has worked on in the last year across the country, particularly in the North-East.

The company was founded by current managing director Michael O'Connell in 1986. Since then MMP Group has progressed onto larger projects in excess of £2m which have helped the firm to develop and grown to employ over 185 workers.

Prestigious projects with which it has been involved in the last year include the rebuilding of St Brandon's Church in Brancepeth, work on the new Northern Rock HQ in Gosforth, and the construction of 30 new apartments for Darlington Homes.

Mr O'Connell said: "Our success is down to the quality of both the work that we do and the staff that we recruit and train.

"We are investing significant amounts of time and money in a continuous improvement programme which we are rolling out throughout the company to ensure we have a highly trained work force to carry out the contracts that we undertake, and we are now reaping the rewards of doing so through our business success.

"The robustness of the construction industry in our region encourages us to believe we can make further advances in the coming 12 months, and we are actively investigating acquisition opportunities, both within and beyond the North East, which will compliment our organic growth.