Citywatch

Railtrack's ripple effect on PPP sector
The collapse of Railtrack has worried the City that it could affect companies involved in PPP and PFI work — and share prices for companies in the sector were sharply marked down. The City is looking for urgent reassurance that the government still stands by its PPP and PFI policies.

Balfour buys buoyant Kennedy
Balfour Beatty, the engineering and construction group, is buying John Kennedy Holdings for £43m. Kennedy supplies maintenance and design services to utilities, employs 1,200 people and specialises in underground maintenance work for gas and water companies. Kennedy made an operating profit of £4.5m on turnover of £72.9m for the year to end March 2001. Its order book is worth £200m.

Jarvis to build Liverpool's schools
Jarvis, the support service group, has won a £300m contract — the biggest new school building programme ever undertaken in this country — with Liverpool City Council to build 15 new schools and refurbish another three.

Profits up for White Young Green
Environmental consultancy outsourcing is also paying off. White Young Green, the engineering and environmental consultancy, delivered pre-tax profits up 22 per cent at £4.01m on turnover 15 per cent up at £53m for the year ended June 2001. The order book is now £48m, up from £37m last year. Orders are biased towards non-cyclical areas such as health, education, defence and transportation. These account for 46 per cent of revenues. House broker Williams de Broe forecasts pre-tax profits for the current year growing by a quarter to £5.1m.

Every cloud of fumes has a silver lining
Outsourcing automotive consulting engineer Ricardo is doing well, despite pressure on the UK's automotive business. The order book is up one third at £59m and Ricardo has delivered pre-tax profits up 18 per cent at £15.1m on turnover up 16 per cent at £140 m for the year to end June 2001.

Demand for Ricardo's services is increasing as manufacturers modify existing vehicles because of new environmental legislation.