Year of progress for Stirling conglomerate Ogilvie Group

Ogilvie Group, the Stirlingbased mini-conglomerate, has flagged a “steady” performance for 2017, including a double-digit rise in profits.

The family-owned firm, which employs more than 500 people in 12 locations across the UK, posted group turnover of £269 million, excluding joint ventures, resulting in a net pre-tax profit of £5.3m – up 16 per cent on the year before.

The Ogilvie Fleet operation continued to grow its client base across the UK and the fleet size increased by 10 per cent to around 16,100 vehicles. In September, the company acquired Cheshire-based Tilsun Vehicle Contracts, entering the personal contract hire market for the first time.

Ogilvie Construction delivered another “strong” performance during the year, while Ogilvie Homes saw “steady and sustainable growth” as trading conditions improved, with less dependence on substantial incentives.

The Ogilvie Geomatics division expanded with the acquisition of Malcolm Hughes Land Surveyors. In 2018, the brands will be merged to oper- ate as Malcolm Hughes. Netdefence, meanwhile, completed its transformation to focus on the provision of IT and cyber security solutions to corporate clients.

Boss Duncan Ogilvie said: “Last year was a period of steady progress based on a solid performance and recent strategic acquisitions will support our plans for continued growth as we move forward.” 0 Chief executive Duncan Ogilvie hails ‘steady’ progress