Plenty of IT services companies can keep systems humming happily and ensure their clients keep up to date with the latest technology. However, not many are also prepared to maintain their clients’ premises, ensure the offices are regularly cleaned, rubbish is removed and the lawns outside always look immaculate.
Amey Plc, a UK-based outfit with revenue of 471m pounds ($761m) last year, is a very different type of organization to the usual kind of company bidding for services contracts. The company’s origins lie in the construction industry, though this now accounts for just 48.5% of revenue. The big driver for growth is business process outsourcing where revenue grew 47% to 64.5m pounds ($104.2m) last year and where pre-tax profit leapt 72% to 4.8m pounds (7.7m).
Last week Amey paid 5m pounds ($8m) for IT Consel Plc, a small IT and network services outfit based in the north-west of England. The acquisition will become part of Amey Vectra, the company’s technology-based consultancy which currently has modest revenue of around 6m pounds ($9.7m).
Amey has big ambitions for its IT consultancy side. Mike Pilbeam, managing director of the Business Process Outsourcing Division, sees revenue increasing to between 50m-100m pounds ($80m-$160m) within three years. Other acquisitions are planned though Pilbeam says the company will not get into software or box-shifting.
Where Amey has a big advantage in that it can offer a one-stop shop to companies who wish to outsource all but their core activity. Since it already feels it has a good understanding of its clients’ business through existing relationships, Amey feels it is in a good position to add IT to the range of services it offers.
