Consultant benefits from fledgling recovery in UK business but says time is still not right to float
Accelerated recovery in the UK has boosted Turner & Townsend to its fourth successive year of revenue growth.
In its results for the year to 30 April 2013, the consultant posted revenue of £286.3m, up 17% on the previous year’s £244.3m, while operating profit also grew 28% to £30m from £23.5m.
The UK arm of the business enjoyed its strongest year since the credit crunch, with revenue up 14% to £133m and operating profit up 26% to £14.8m.
Turner & Townsend (T&T) chief executive Vincent Clancy (pictured) told Building: “We’re particularly pleased about the UK. We’ve picked up more market share, particularly in infrastructure - where our plan has been to grow aggressively - and in big commercial schemes.”
Clancy said the firm’s UK infrastructure division had benefited from increased work for Crossrail, Transport for London, UK airports, and utilities providers, while the commercial team landed major schemes including the project manager role on the £1bn first two phases of the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station.
Revenue at the firm’s six international divisions also grew, led by the Middle East (up 53%) and the Americas (up 34%).
T&T’s infrastructure and natural resources businesses grew strongly, with revenue up 24% to £75.3m and 18% to £70.1m respectively.
The firm will continue to look at merger and acquisition opportunities after acquiring four firms last year, including 100-strong Hong Kong-based cost consultant H.A. Brechin.
T&T is considering acquisitions in the fields of front-end consulting and asset management and in emerging markets in Asia, the Americas and the Middle East, Clancy said.
The firm believes market conditions are “still not where [they] need to be” to enable it to float on the stock exchange, Clancy said. Turner & Townsend had planned to float in 2008 but shelved the plan because of turmoil in the financial markets.
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