Mitie benefits from more outsourcing
The support services group, which provides gallery attendants for Tate Britain and cleaning staff for the Tower of London, saw pre-tax profits jump 12pc to £67.9m for the year to the end of March. After revenue rose to £1.52bn, Mitie is now looking for acquisitions to boost its fastest-growing divisions.
Ruby McGregor Smith, chief executive, said green energy and health care were two key areas she is looking to expand. “We will definitely be looking at mergers and acquisitions should they arise,” she said. “Outsourcing really started in the recession in the early 1980s. In this downturn, the growth area is looking at how to save companies money by combining outsourcing services to give economies of scale.”
The group, which won new contracts with Barclays, BAA and Eurostar, has already secured 74pc of revenue for 2010. However, its share price fell 6½, or 3pc, to 206¼p, after analysts from Charles Stanley and KBC Peel Hunt noted that rival support services groups Connaught and Mears had stronger links with the public sector.
