Housing services group Mears hails another strong year as it builds for the future
Social housing services provider Mears today said it delivered an “excellent performance” last year and was looking ahead with confidence.
Revenues at the Gloucester-headquartered firm, which employs around 5,400 people mainly in property management and maintenance service roles, rose by 4% year-on-year to £1.13bn in the 12 months to 31 December, with profits before tax soaring by 37% to £64.1m.
During the year it won new contracts with North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) and Moat, a major housing association, covering around 22,000 homes in the South East, stepping in at short-notice as a replacement provider.
It also secured aggregate new contract awards worth around £220m during the year – excluding NLC – at a bid conversion rate of around 41% by value, and ended 2024 with a £3bn order book, up from £2.5bn at the end of the previous year.
Shares in Mears rose sharply – by more than 9.5% – in an early equity trading bounce-back in London this morning as investors focussed on its order book and prospects as well as reacting to the overnight tariff reversal.
Mears chief executive officer Lucas Critchley said: “I am pleased to report on another strong year for the group. The strategic update completed during the period has provided fresh impetus, refining our approach to maximise the addressable opportunity.
“A strong period of contract retention has bolstered the order book and provides improved revenue visibility over the medium term. An increased operational focus has delivered improved service metrics and is also evident in the continued progress in operating margin.
“The group is recognised as a housing specialist with a track record of delivering reliable and innovative solutions across our range of services and will continue to develop its service offering to address new and evolving challenges faced by our clients.”
