The government drive to invest in roads maintenance has helped pushed M Group’s turnover above £2bn for the first time.
The private equity-owned firm, which was sold to Luxembourg-based fund CVC earlier this year, posted a turnover of £2.2bn in the year to 31 March 2024, a rise on the £1.6bn turnover during the previous year.
Pre-tax profit meanwhile flew up to £23.9m, from £1.3m, as the firm’s biggest sector by turnover – transport – delivered “buoyant” growth.
Company turnover in the transport segment was up by 16.1 per cent to £612.1m, from £527.2m.
M Group’s chief executive Andrew Findlay said an expanding pool of work in the road sector in particular makes M Group the “largest Highways maintenance contractor in the UK by kilometre of roads maintained”.
The transport division is also expanding its work in the defence sector, Findlay said.
“The market for services in the transport sector remains buoyant, driven by the need to invest in national transport infrastructure to increase capacity and improve services,” the firm’s accounts state.
“The division is in a strong place to build on its position in the highways maintenance market, along with growing its share in the rail and aviation markets.”
Most of the firm’s work in the rail sector is via frameworks, including with Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) – where it reported “increased tender activity”.
While aviation is “still in recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic, it is expected to recover fully in 2025, Findlay said, and M Group continues to work at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham.
Turnover also rose at within the company’s energy, water, and telecoms segments, while December’s acquisition of home decarbonisation and energy efficiency specialist Agility Eco Services added a further £21.8m of revenue.
According to M Group, it acquired 14 new businesses in the six-year period from May 2018 to June 2024, and is in “active discussions regarding a number of other potential strategic acquisitions”, Findlay said.
The chief executive added that the strategy allows M Group to “both broaden our capabilities within the sectors in which we currently operate, and to extend our service offering into new markets”.
However, the firm did book a cost of £19.7m – more than double the £7.4m from last year – to repair a pipeline which “developed damage after installation”.
“The group is actively seeking to recover through contract claims,” M Group’s accounts state.
