Support services
| |
Six months ended
30 June 2008
£’000 |
|
Pro forma
six months ended
30 June 2007
£’000 |
| Revenue |
26,182 |
|
24,977 |
| Operating profit |
1,945 |
|
1,436 |
| Operating profit margin |
7.4% |
|
5.7% |
| |
|
|
|
The overall performance of our support services business in the six months ended 30 June 2008 was good, with revenue increasing by 5% to £26.2m (2007: £25m) and operating profit improving by 35% to £1.9m (2007: £1.4m). The operating margin increased to 7.4% (2007: 5.7%).
Architectural design
Our architectural design business performed excellently in the first half of the year and secured record levels of work, including HealthVision Swansea – the largest hospital project to date to be procured on the Designed for Life: Building for Wales Framework – with an overall
budget of £300m.
The pipeline remains strong with major opportunities including the £650m Partnering Scotland healthcare framework, where we have been shortlisted, and a number of contract opportunities across health, education and science.
We see opportunities for growth across the healthcare sector, particularly in primary care and mental health. We are a leading provider to the FE sector and see opportunities to expand in the schools market. Work starts on site in January 2009 on the first nine schools to receive renovation and rebuilding work through the Liverpool City Council BSF programme and we are the final bidder in the next wave of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets BSF programme.
Our expansion plans have seen the opening of a new office in Belfast and the extension of our business in South Africa. International opportunities are increasing and form an important element of our growth strategy.
Communications
Our communications business performed well in the period and has a strong pipeline for the remainder of 2008. In July, we were named ‘Number One Public Sector Consultancy’ by public relations magazine PR Week. We are diversifying both our services and our client base.
Organic growth from existing client accounts continues to be strong and we have won work in new markets, for example, healthcare commissioning. Other wins include a contract with DCSF to raise awareness of educational options for 14-19 year olds and the promotion of the Enterprising Britain competition on behalf of Make Your Mark and BERR.
Our offices in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff are performing well. We have made several appointments of key staff that will enable us to maximise the potential for growth within the devolved government markets.
Resourcing
Our resourcing business continues to operate in a challenging public sector recruitment market but has performed ahead of plan in the first half of the year. Our public sector clients are closely controlling advertising spend but we have been very encouraged by the increased spending of our large NHS client portfolio and the level of new business wins in the period, which included the London Borough of Southwark, the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service, Oxford University and Northamptonshire County Council.
Although the senior job market remains difficult, we have retained our market share in executive search and selection by focusing on core strengths in local government, improving win rates and increasing fee levels. We are also making positive inroads into new markets such as health and central government.
Wins for our recruitment process outsourcing business included two London boroughs, and we secured two large contracts to design and build regional recruitment portals for public sector partnerships in the West Midlands and the North East.
The growth in integrated contracts requiring a package of resourcing services provides new opportunities, particularly in central government. Overall, our bidding activity remains high.
Continue to People