Havelock Europa hopes for better times ahead

STRUGGLING Fife-based shopfitting group Havelock Europa saw losses widen in the first half of the year and warned of the long-term impact of public sector cuts on its business.

The company, which carries out work on schools, offices and shops, reported losses of 4.62 million in the six months to 30 June compared to 1.8m the year before.

Group revenue from continuing operations fell by 16 per cent to 41.2m from 49.2m and net debt increased to 22.3m from 19.4m.

The company has recently appointed a chief executive, the rail industry veteran Eric Prescott, to succeed Hew Balfour who resigned in March after 21 years in the job. Chairman Malcolm Gourlay said after a difficult period the foundations were in place for a return to group profitability.

Although Gourlay said government spending cuts will affect the level of work from educational customers, he stressed there was still a significant amount to win from confirmed investment programmes in schools. The company is also looking to offset the impact of future cuts by winning more work from retail and banking customers.

Shares in the company, which moved from the main market to Aim in July as part of cost-saving measures, fell by 0.88p to close at 8p yesterday.