Public sector: Jarvis profits double

Jarvis, one of Britain's leading rail maintenance and school repair companies, has doubled its profits for the six months ending September, despite the collapse of Railtrack and increasing pressure on the transport sector.

The day-to-day operations of Jarvis, which is upgrading East Coast rail route from London to Scotland, have remained unaffected by the collapse of Railtrack, said Jarvis chief executive Paris Moayedi.

Pre-tax profits for the six months to September rose to £17.7m from £8.7m in the same reporting period last year, while turnover increased by 27 per cent to £443.3m, up from £348.7m.

The company's support services division, Jarvis Accommodation Services, increased turnover by 24 per cent, taking it to £136.3m compared with £109.7m last year.

This is mainly due to the company's PPP and PFI projects, particularly in the education sector. Jarvis has contracts to provide and maintain a total of 98 schools.

Moayedi has also unveiled two joint ventures aimed at expanding Jarvis's healthcare and technology operations.

It has created Jarvis Primary Health with private equity firm Sinclair Montrose Trust, which is expected to benefit from the government's £1bn primary healthcare improvement programme.

It has also launched Agilisys, a joint venture with privately owned technology solutions company Netdecisions, in a bid to offer business processing and information technology outsourcing services in the public sector.