A SPECIALIST repair company from County Durham is likely to increase turnover to £2.5m and create jobs after winning work on another of the UK’s most highprofile buildings.

Darlington-based Stone Technical Services has secured a contract to carry out maintenance work at the Royal Courts of Justice, in London.

The contract is the latest major commission for Stone, which has previously worked on St Paul’s Cathedral, Selfridges, in London, and the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle.

The deal is helping the company achieve its target of increasing current turnover of £2m by 25 per cent, and bolsters plans to continually increase its workforce throughout the year.

The company is in its 11th year of business – it was launched with a £500 business grant by brothers David and Graeme Stone in 1998.

Late last year, Stone invested £600,000 in tripling the size of its premises by moving to a new base in Kellaw Road, Darlington, enabling it to increase its workforce from 18 to 24.

Stone is also eyeing expansion in the South and North-West, and already has an office in Pinner, Middlesex.

In the latest contract, worth £20,000, the company will erect a 25-metre flagpole on top of the courthouse. It will also construct specialist access scaffolding and carry out general high-level maintenance on the building on The Strand, which was opened in 1882 by Queen Victoria.

Managing director Dave Stone said the work will help the firm achieve its expansion goals.

“The Royal Courts of Justice are housed in magnificent buildings, which have some intricate architectural details. The building is also very high, so our specialists have been engaged to carry out quite a significant project to ensure it stays in peak condition in the future,” he said.

Stone also works extensively with English Heritage and the National Trust to maintain historic buildings – heritage accounts for 40 per cent of its business.

Stone also provides high-level maintenance services in other fields to clients including Ineos on Seal Sands, Teesside, as well as to British Aerospace and HM Prison Service.