Slow domestic conditions hit Interserve

SUPPORT SERVICES and construction company Interserve said trading in its domestic market in July and August had been disappointing and it expected full-year revenues and earnings to be significantly below its previous expectations.

Interserve, whose activities range from providing care services to people in their homes to repairing Britain’s Sandhurst military academy, said trading had been disappointing in its support service and construction units.

The two units account for 94 per cent of the firm’s revenue.

Interserve, which in February expected to book a £160m charge on its exit from the energy-from-waste sector, also warned that the final costs could exceed that provision.

The firm blamed “the anticipated timing and complexities of completion” for the higher costs. It said last year it would exit the business, after it took a charge in the first half from cost overruns and delays in a contract in Glasgow. Growth in the British industry construction slowed in July and August, due to lacklustre outlook for the economy and heightened political uncertainty.

Although most British support services firms have reported resilient trading since Britain voted last June to leave the European Union in 2016, some companies have warned of a slowdown.