Interserve upbeat despite trading dip

HIGHER-than-expected start-up costs on contracts and heavy competition has dented first-half trading at support services firm Interserve.

The Reading-based company said cost pressures on some newer public-sector deals meant more of its profits would fall in the second half of the year than usual.

The firm remains confident that the deals will deliver their "full potential" and left its expectations for the year as a whole unchanged. However, it added that the wider market remained "very competitive" and that it expected the rest of the year to be "challenging".