Council considers sale of Derby’s register office
Family business finds new home in Melton Mowbray Commercial Park
BGF invests £6m into Northampton-based playground design and installation business
Double-digit revenue and profit growth for Lutterworth cybersecurity software company
Double-digit revenue growth, with an expanding and geo-diversified pipeline, has put Intercede, the cybersecurity software company, on track to meet market expectations for the year.
The Lutterworth business is “pleased” with its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2024, in which revenue grew to £8.54m, up from £7m in the same period of the year prior.
Profit before tax, meanwhile, ticked up to £1.7m from £1.1m.Royston Hoggarth, Chairman, said: “I am pleased to state that the Group is achieving its key objectives of delivering double digit growth both in revenue (adjusting for the exceptional licence order in December 23) and profit before tax.
“Furthermore, today we announce our new standalone product MyID SecureVault which already has significant client and prospect interest, emphasising not only the capabilities of the Group but also its ability to seek and nurture new market opportunities.
“With strategic investment in products and colleagues being maintained, I am also pleased at the level of commitment and talent our colleagues give in helping to deliver and achieve the Group’s growth ambitions.
“The momentum we had in FY24 has, on a like for like basis, further grown in FY25 and our results illustrate that. As the pipeline diversifies and expands, we are in a strong position to achieve our financial performance goals for FY25.
“Following on from the UK Budget and conclusion of the American elections, we hope there is now more stability in the macro-economic environment in the coming years.”
Revenue and profit on the rise at Gateley
Revenue and profit are on the rise at Gateley, the professional services group, according to a trading update ahead of half year results for the six months ended 31 October 2024.
The firm says its “increasingly diverse business lines combined to deliver a strong performance in the Period,” in which group revenue grew by 5% and is expected to be not less than £86m.
Underlying profit before tax, meanwhile, is expected to be not less than £10.5m, representing growth of 5%.
Rod Waldie, Chief Executive Officer of Gateley, said: “I am pleased with the Group’s performance in H1 25 and the ongoing improvement in activity levels as the financial year progresses, which means that we have good momentum into H2.
“The Group continues to benefit from the resilience created by our strategy of investing in a diverse and complementary range of professional services.
“We are pleased that our more recent organic investments are beginning to generate positive returns alongside the strong performance from our recently acquired businesses. Our balance sheet provides a strong foundation from which to take a long-term view of potential opportunities to further invest in both legal and consultancy services.
“Finally, as always, I would like to thank our clients for their support and our dedicated people for their ongoing hard work, commitment and can-do attitude.”
83-acre strategic logistics hub to be sold
East Midlands businesses expect a decrease in employment, profitability and investment following Autumn Budget
- 8 out of 10 have a negative impression of the Budget
- Half plan to reduce recruitment
- 4 out of 10 expect to reduce their staff number
- 6 out of 10 expect profitability to decrease
- 44% plan to reduce investment plans over the next 12 months
- 4 out of 10 expect sales to increase. 2 out of 10 expect sales to fall
Local hero Mo Walker brings Mo-mentum to Leicester schools
Derby vehicle retailer returns to profitability
Motorpoint Group, the independent omnichannel vehicle retailer, has hailed a return to profitability in unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2024 (H1 FY25).
The Derby-based business saw pre-tax profit rise to £2m in comparison to a £3.7m loss in the same period of the year prior, which the firm says was driven by strong growth in retail volumes in the period of 17.4% with 30.3k retail vehicles sold (up from 25.8k). Revenue, however, decreased to £563.1m from £607.2m, reflecting a more affordable vehicle mix and price deflation.Mark Carpenter, Chief Executive Officer of Motorpoint Group PLC, said: “I am pleased with our solid performance in the first half of FY25, which was marked by a return to profitability following several years of considerable headwinds that have impacted our industry.
“Brilliant Basics, our right sizing and margin improvement programme, delivered what it needed to in FY24, ensuring foundations for future growth. As well as strong year on year volume growth and market outperformance, margins strengthened, and stock turn improved to an industry-leading 41 days in stock.
“Following the challenges faced in recent times, we remain cautious as supply slowly improves and macroeconomic pressures continue to ease, while demonstrating our return to profitability, as we plan courses of action to accelerate this growth.
“In response to higher demand for Motorpoint cars, we have bolstered our team and have the firepower to restart investment in our estate, including the opening of new stores. I am very excited by our plans to unlock further profitable growth, and we are in a strong position to continue increasing our share of the used car market.”
Results slump at tile specialist
Revenue has declined and profits have slumped at Topps Tiles, the tile specialist, with 2024 a challenging year for RMI (repairs, maintenance and improvement).
According to unaudited consolidated annual financial results for the 52 weeks ended 28 September 2024, group revenue decreased to £251.8 million at Topps Tiles, down from £262.7 million.
Meanwhile, the Leicester business posted a loss before tax of £16.2 million, in comparison to a £6.8 million profit in the year prior. Topps Tiles noted this to be a result of a £19.4 million non-cash impairment, primarily of right-of-use assets, and a £3.1 million expense relating to the purchase of remaining Pro Tiler shares. Rob Parker, Chief Executive, said: “2024 has been a challenging year for RMI (repairs, maintenance and improvement) and especially bigger ticket spend.“In the tile market, volumes remain well below pre-pandemic levels. Whilst Topps Group is not immune to these pressures, our growth strategy has served us well and we have continued to outperform the wider tile market.
“The start of the new financial year has seen a return to modest sales growth for the Group, helped by weaker prior year comparatives and the continued strength of our trade offer.
“Whilst pleasing, the forward macro indicators for our market remain mixed, in particular weaker consumer confidence, and we need to see a sustained improvement in these metrics before we can be confident of a consumer recovery.
“‘Mission 365’, which sets ambitious revenue and profit medium-term goals, has focused the business around key areas of growth and we have delivered good progress against these over the second half – notably our trade digital offer, our plans to significantly expand our addressable market into hard surface coverings, trade business to business opportunities with the acquisition of CTD Tiles and the strong growth in online pureplay.
“The robust strategic progress being made now to position the business for the future leaves us well-placed for a recovery in market volumes and underpins our confidence in the medium term outlook.”