Olympics are ideal for WYG: Consultants set for big role in the 2012 Games

[Fiona]

THE Olympic Games in London in 2012 is going to be a big event for White Young Green, the consultants that can tell you pretty much what to build, how and where.

The Leeds-based company is already involved in preparatory work for the aquatics centre, velodrome, basketball arena and Portland sailing centre.
It has linked up with the London Development Agency and Transport for London and expects to position itself for the bigger consultancy and construction contracts that will flow this year, next and over succeeding years.

"The Olympics is good news for London, it's good news for the country and it's good news for White Young Green," says chief executive John Purvis.
"It's good to be there at the very beginning. You're building up a reputation and that gives us a head start."

The company estimates that some £8.6bn will be spent on the Olympics. It expects a slice. But it doesn't want to give you that when you talk to it. Better by far the latest numbers for the year to end-June.

Look, says Mr Purvis: net turnover above £100m for the first time; underlying pre-tax profit of £10m for the first time; operating margins of 10 per cent for the first time; an order book worth more than £250m.
"It's a landmark year," he says.

WYG has moved on from engineering consultancy to what it calls consultancy to the built, natural and social environment. That means get in early on the social and environmental planning that is the bedrock of what comes after.
So, urban planning, property management and integrated public transport plans go hand in hand with the big infrastructure projects.
WYG aims to balance the work so that if one specialisation is having a tough time, the others can make up for it.
Yesterday's figures showed a 60 per cent increase in turnover to £143.9m and taxable profits after goodwill amortisation up 40 per cent to £8.1m. The total dividend is 6.5p per share versus 5.9p.
Organic growth in both profit and turnover was around 12 per cent.
Two acquisitions contributed: Robert Long which brought waste management consultancy and WynThomasGordonLewis which provided further town planning skills.
The company branched out into the international arena when it bought IMC Consulting a year ago, giving it an entry into the semi-developed world – Poland, Romania, Turkey and the former Soviet states. It has now secured work in South Africa, Syria and the Balkans.
Chief operating officer Richard McCaffrey says that in the pipeline are rail works in Turkey, highways in Georgia and environmental projects in Romania.
Projects in Yorkshire include 10 new primary schools in Leeds, an extension to Hatfield College, Doncaster, redevelopment of the Allders store in the Headrow, Leeds, redevelopment of the Kirkstall Forge site in the city and an extension to the University of York.
Mr Purvis says modestly of current trading: "It's favourable to very favourable to buoyant, depending on the market."

Yorkshire Post