Serco expects ‘strong’ first-half revenue growth

OUTSOURCING specialist Serco, which took over the Northern Isles ferry service last year, is on track to deliver “strong” revenue growth for the first half.

The £350 million ferries deal helped to drive a record haul of contracts last year. It also secured a £170m project to run the protection arm of Edinburgh-based pensions firm Aegon UK.

Serco, which is due to post its first-half results on 29 August, said: “We expect to report strong organic revenue growth ahead of our expectations.”

Cantor analyst Sam Thomas said the firm looks set to gain from Chancellor George Osborne’s squeeze on public spending, which could see more services being outsourced to private contractors to drive down costs.