9 Nov 2018 by Charles Manners

The key themes are;

• Uncertainty due to Brexit leading businesses to not make decisions, combined with labour pressures on costs and recruitment
• Inflation uncertainty
• Tendering discipline, contractors asking if this is the type of client we want to work with and how much money will we make?
• M&A continues with infill & platform creation; education strong sector and growing with International expansion for those strong in London

Successful smaller companies include Graysons, Smart, Innovate and Cucina now a a £35m turnover business, The Impact Food Group (IFG)

This year is has been tougher with sales growth but margin pressure,  margin 5.9%: down .4%