HomeServe posts rise in revenue and profits after surge in home remodelling

The Walsall-based repairs and improvements business saw adjusted pre-tax profit for the six months ended September 30 rise to £33.1 million from £28.6 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, revenue increased 17 per cent from £457.7 million to £536.7 million.

The firm is one of few to have benefited from the impact of the pandemic, with the rise in home working encouraging people to spend more money fixing up their homes.

It has been helped by the fact that its 6,000 tradesmen have been able to continue working all the way through the pandemic, despite lockdown restrictions.

As a result of its impressive performance, Homeserve was admitted to London’s premier FTSE 100 index back in March.

Homeserve made nine acquisitions in the period across North America, France and Spain. Revenue growth was driven by a strong performance in North America and the inclusion of revenue from new acquisition eLocal.

Richard Harpin, group chief executive, said: "Making home repairs and improvements easy has never been more important.

"The stresses of living and working through a pandemic mean that we are all more aware than ever of the value of home comforts. Our strong policy retention in the first half underscores the value our membership customers place on the service we provide.

"Against this challenging backdrop, I am really pleased that the business continues to perform well.

"As we go into the busy winter months, our focus continues to be on delivering great service for our customers and a secure livelihood to our teams and trades.

"The latest wave of lockdowns has made no fundamental difference to our operations, and the good news for us and our customers is that engineers can continue to work in peoples' homes.

"Based on what we see today, we are confident of delivering a healthy mix of organic and acquired revenue growth at the full year, with profits ahead of our prior expectations."