A strong second half performance from Ashley House, which manages the construction of medical centres and doctors’ surgeries for the NHS, enabled the company to increase pre-tax profits 9 per cent to £5.5m for the year to April 30. At the half-year stage it had unveiled a 58 per cent fall in profits to £750,000.

Jonathan Holmes, chief executive, said the prospects for further growth were good because, no matter what the government, the need to save on health spending meant that the primary care infrastructure had to be strengthened in order to ease the load on hospitals.