Revenues fall at one of Gloucestershire’s biggest businesses
By Andrew Merrell | 14th August 2018
One of Gloucestershire's greatest business success stories has announced a fall in revenues of eight per cent to £435.3 million.
Mears Group, the once small firm famously taken over by Bob Holt before being taken on an incredible rise and rise - including as flotation - is more used to reporting revenue growth.
But the Brockworth-headquartered business, now run by chief executive David Miles, was still able to show an increase in profit before tax of four per cent to £19 million for the six months to the end of June.
And it also revealed it has its sights set on contracts worth a potential £1 billion this year.
Mr Miles said: "Mears has delivered a solid performance in the first half of 2018. The Board is confident of making further progress for the full year, in line with its expectations, and for the long-term.
"Our financial and market position is robust as we seek to build on existing strengths and take advantage of new opportunities. We have sustained a high level of service delivery in Housing and improved the performance in our care business.
"Mears is evolving its services, especially in the areas of housing management and development, to align fully with customer demand and to provide additional growth opportunities that will add to shareholder value over time."
Shareholders are able to enjoy a three per cent increase in their dividend - rising to 3.55p per share.
According to the firm it continues to be "highly selective towards the opportunities that it chooses to tender" for in the housing maintenance sector.
Its care division "has delivered a significantly improved first half performance" with margins up from those delivered in the second half of 2017.
Overall Mears sees no reason to expect it won't continue to thrive.
"The pipeline of traditional opportunities continues to flow through at a consistent level, with around £1 billion expected to be tendered this year.
"The group is well placed on a number of these and expects to deliver a bid conversion rate, by value, in line with historical norms of one in three."
In the year to date the group delivered a conversion in excess of the above, securing new revenues of £70m, including a contract with Riverside Housing Association for an initial period of five years, valued at £62m.
There is an option to extend the contract for a further five years, taking the total opportunity to £125m. It covers more than 11,500 homes across the Midlands, East Anglia and South of England.
And there was also a contract win valued at £1.3 million to carry out data migration activities which include digitisation and transformation of Local Authorities' Local Land Charge Registers on behalf of Her Majesty's Land Registry.
Mears employs an estimated 300-plus people in Gloucestershire and more than 10,000 people across UK.
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