Pre-tax Profit at support services group Mitie has risen for the 16th consecutive year.
The firm made a return of £31.8m for the year ending 31 March, a rise of 5% compared with the previous year. Its turnover rose 9% to £566m.

The figures show that the company holds £55m in cash, an increase of £29.1m on last year.

Despite this, the board only increased its dividend by 0.3p to 1.9p from last year.

Chief executive Ian Stewart said the board had adopted a safety-first approach. He said: "In the present economic climate, to be in cash is no bad thing."

Mitie also announced the £2.8m acquisition of Eagle Pest Control Services UK. This figure could rise to £6m depending on the future performance of the company.

Eagle has a turnover of more than £4m; major customers include Woolworths, Safeway and the NHS.

Peter Trotman, managing director of Eagle, said joining Mitie would enable the firm to establish itself as major player in its sector.