About us Publications Events Careers Contact us

Search archive:

Different models, similar challenges
This CVJ display simple snapshots of 22 companies, from Amec to Xansa. We’ve also set out six different top ten lists - the top ten UK IT companies, the top ten in FM, etc.
By Tom Coates
Edition: Different Models, Similar Challenges.

These league tables, plus our 22 profiles, provide a picture of UK support services.

We’ve put this picture together, in this way, because defining the support services market is tricky. And this lack of definition is dangerous because it lets managers fudge strategies and market researchers bid up size and growth claims. Instead, our league tables and profiles describe the market in limited terms, as being that occupied by a set of players: Capita, Mitie, Carillion et al. This allows us to track market growth and margin trends through published results.

Our 22 companies are asset-light, they serve other businesses, and their revenue is contract-based.

Support services companies are asset-light and their revenues contract-based.
Although they have different heritages, different ownership and provide different services, our companies grapple with similar challenges: how to bundle different offers; what is the role for financing; how to differentiate service; how to motivate employees; where is the risk in contracts; what is the quality of the order book; and so on.

The average size of our profiled companies is £1.3bn and margin is 4%. Total profit for the 22 was £900m last year. The best performaing share was Carillion.

Our hope is that by describing something - by compiling these lists, naming these companies - we start to understand it.

Your comments are always welcome.

Tom Coates is a Partner of Credo.
Copyright © 1999-2009 Credo Group Ltd.