Gardiner & Theobald will stay independent, says boss

Gardiner & Theobald is “committed” to remaining financially independent in the face of the recent glut of consultant takeovers, its managing partner Simon Jones has said.

In its annual financial review published this week, G&T reported a mixed picture across its international markets with growth in the Americas, China and France counterbalanced by “a second year of rapid contraction” in the Middle East and central and eastern Europe.

The consultant posted marginal drops in turnover and profit across the group for the financial year ending 30 April 2011.

Group turnover dropped 2% from £111.3m the previous year to £109.6m, as profit fell for the second consecutive year by nearly 10%, from £19.3m to £17.5m.

Jones said G&T firmly believed there was continuing demand for “truly independent” cost and project management consultancy.

“We are committed to remaining financially independent, wholly owned by our partners, in a market where a number of our competitors have either been consumed by larger
multi-disciplinary organisations or are pursuing plans for market listings and external shareholder investments,” he said.

“We continue with the view that there remains a strong market for truly independent cost and project management services such as we provide. Given our strong financial position, the overall benefits of remaining autonomous - with no outside ownership, shareholding, control or influence - massively outweigh being owned by offshore conglomerates, outside shareholders or being answerable to the performance criteria dictated by the Stock Exchange.

“Remaining independent allows us to focus 100% of our efforts on our clients and our staff.”