Ove Arup has 'no plans for flotation'

Ove Arup Partnership is not considering floating, said chairman Dr Duncan Michael last week. He explained that the group's existing financial arrangements provided enough capital for all its needs.

Annual results (12 months to March 1998) published last week showed a jump in pre-tax profit to £9.3 million (£7.3 million) with turnover steaming ahead strongly to £220 million (£190 million).

Two-thirds of Arup's profit was distributed to staff thanks to the group's profit-share scheme, the remaining cash being added to Arup's reserves which now stand at £38 million.

Arup's orderbook stood at £230 million, of which £170 million was for delivery within 12 months. Clients from outside the UK represented 50 per cent of the workload by value, with £19 million from US projects, a 76 per cent increase on the previous year. Michael said, "Margins are being squeezed.."

He added that three quarters of the increase in turnover came from organic growth, the balance resulting from the take-over of RKL, a water consultant, a year ago.

Arup will not be following the example of WS Atkins and try to seek a Bovis-type merger with a construction manager player.

"Our route is to work in alliance and partnerships rather than look to amalgamation," said Michael. The strongest growth area for Arup has been in America, while in a round-the-world sense it is transport that comes top.