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Welcome to InTheNews – covering all the FM news you may have missed over the week:
Compass Group has announced its performance results for the six months ended 31 March 2023. Key highlights include strong organic revenue growth of 25% with excellent net new business of 5.2%.
Dominic Blakemore, Group Chief Executive, said: “The Group performed strongly in the first half of the year, benefiting from balanced growth across all regions. Net new business continued to be excellent, and significantly higher than our historical rate. We are particularly pleased with the step change in our Europe performance which has benefited from growth initiatives as well as favourable outsourcing conditions.
“Despite pockets of macroeconomic weakness, the outsourcing market remains very attractive.”
The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management’s (IWFM) Market Outlook Survey into the performance of the workplace and facilities management (FM) sector has revealed that “there are growing concerns about the higher costs and squeezed cash flows, as the economy stutters and clients’ ability to pay is tested”.
Although many respondents (41%) believe the market will either improve or improve significantly in 2023, this is notably more pessimistic than the results of last year’s research, where most (59%) expected an improvement. The top three factors identified as having a negative impact on the sector were supply chain disruption (89%), increases in energy prices (86%), and the state of the UK economy, which rose 16 percentage points since 2022 (84% in 2023, up from 68% in 2022).
As London once again hosted the party of the year, Veolia in partnership with Westminster City Council worked tirelessly over The Coronation weekend to ensure the city was clean, and the streets were ready for the first coronation in 70 years.
As an estimated two million people gathered on Saturday, the company’s team ensured the streets were cleaned to grade A standard, and returned to this two hours after the event. The 100 operatives and 30 vehicles, many of them electric zero emission and hybrid types, worked around the clock to ensure that everything was fit for the coronation.
Finally, Landmarc Support Services (Landmarc), a joint venture between Mitie and Amentum, has been awarded a £560m contract to manage the UK land on which thousands of Armed Forces personnel train.
Under the contract, Landmarc will provide facilities management services, rural estate management and operational services on the UK Defence Training Estate, as well as delivering additional works with an estimated value of up to £800m, subject to annual reviews. The initial contract is for seven years with the option to extend annually up to a further three years, based on contractor performance. It is due to come into service in December 2023.
Brian Talbot, Managing Director, Central Government & Defence, Mitie, said: “As a British business we’re proud to support the UK Armed Forces, both here and overseas. By providing the critical support services that enable forces personnel to access safe and sustainable spaces to live, work and train, we’re passionate about playing our role in supporting the important work of our military.”
You can find out more on news.fmbusinessdaily.com
