Alfred McAlpine has reported a ten per cent rise in first-half profits after winning major new contracts including a multi-million pound deal in Birmingham.

The company - which is working on the redevelopment of Baskerville House in the city centre - said it was on track to meet its growth plans this year.

Chief executive Ian Grice said: "The key strengths of our group and these encouraging market conditions give us confidence that we are on track to deliver our targeted growth for the full-year and that we can produce sustained growth over the longer term."

The company said underlying pretax profit for the six months to June 30 was £14.9 million compared to £13.5 million a year ago.

McAlpine said new contracts were being driven by a trend to outsource the maintenance and management of buildings, as well as high levels of investment in renewing UK infrastructure.

The company also announced it won three new government contracts worth more than £100 million for work on facilities in health-care.

McAlpine said its Capital Projects arm added in excess of £250 million to its order book during the period, including the work on Baskerville House.

It said results were in line with expectations and it was on track to deliver targeted growth for the full year.

The company said: "Business Services and Capital Projects have maintained their momentum and have delivered good growth."

It was encouraged by signs that market conditions in the utilities sector were slowly returning to more normal levels.

Group turnover in the first half increased to £ 474 . 4 million from £430.7 million.

Underlying trading profit before tax was £14.9 million, an increase of 10 per cent on the previous equivalent period and underlying earnings per share increased by 15 per cent.

The Birmingham Post has previously reported that the £30 million deal to redevelop Baskerville House in Birmingham city centre had been clinched by McAlpine.

The company is leading a joint venture to create an additional 200,000 sq ft of modern contemporary office space in the city behind the House's Grade I listed facade.

The site will include a domed glazed roof and two new floors being added to the building, which was home to the planning and economic development departments of Birmingham council.

Work is due to finish in the summer next year.