Strong performance and positive trading outlook for Mears

By Nicky Godding

11 April 2024

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Mears Group has been recognised as one of the top ten big companies to work for in the UK

Group revenues were up 14 per cent year-on-year to more than £1 billion at Gloucester headquartered house maintenance contractor Mears.

Profit before tax increase by 34 per cent to £46.9 million. Mears said it has made a strong start to 2024.

Lucas Critchley, Chief Executive Officer of the Group, said: "We are delighted to have delivered strong growth in revenues, profits and cash generation in 2023. The Group is recognised as a leading housing specialist, and we continually look to evolve our capabilities to further strengthen our market position. The Board believe that the Group is well-positioned for the future and is pleased that the strong trading momentum built in 2023 has continued into 2024."

The Group, whose stated mission is "to be the leading provider of housing services and solutions to the affordable housing market in the UK", won a number of government asylum accommodation and support contracts (AASC) in 2019.

From these contracts Mears anticipated annual revenues of around £120 million but the contract has seen revenue of more than double this original expectation. This was due to the impact of the pandemic and situations where residential dispersal accommodation has not been available.

The Group said that a significant focus is being directed towards sourcing a higher volume of residential properties that can support both the short-term and longer-term requirements. It said: "Whilst the use of temporary hotel accommodation in the AASC is not preferred, we have placed and will always continue to place the wellbeing and safety of the service user at the forefront of our delivery."

In February 2022, Mears won a £350 million contract with the Ministry of Defence to support military housing. This contract has been extended.

In 2023, The Group secured total new contract awards of around £175 million.

Mears Group revenue grew by 14 per cent in 2023 to £1,089 million (2022: £960m) and pre-tax profit was up by nearly a third to £46.9 million (2022: £34.9m).

The Group said it: "remains well-placed in bidding a new contract with North Lanarkshire Council" to provide reactive maintenance, compliance, servicing, and planned works. The contract would begin in July 2024 for a period of up to 12 years, with an annual value in the region of £125 million and a total contract sum of over £1.5 billion, doubling the existing work with this key client.

North Lanarkshire owns a third of Mears Group in Scotland.

The company was named in the 2023 Sunday Times Best Big Companies to Work For.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.