Mike Bottjer, chairman of installation and maintenance group Interserve, has warned of lower demand in parts of the private sector.
Bottjer reports that customers are curtailing expenditure due to uncertain economic conditions.

Trying to sound upbeat, Bottjer stated: "The majority of our work in this sector is maintenance. You can't postpone maintenance work forever. It will be resurrected in the foreseeable future, but we can't say when."

The company has reported an interim turnover of £557.2 million, as opposed to £636.5 million in the corresponding period in 2001. Nevertheless, profits rose 33% to £19.9 million (£15 million last year).

The group's industrial services division saw operating profits decrease by 5% to £5.4 million (2001 = £5.7 million).

At £67.8 million, turnover in this division in the first half of 2002 was substantially lower than the previous year's results of £90.9 million.

Interserve, formerly Tilbury Douglas, purchased m&e engineering services specialist the How Group in June 1998.