Contractor rebalances activities as downturn hits London office and regional private work

ISG has said that the downturn has hit both its London commercial and regional contracting businesses.

At a trading update for the past three months, the contractor and fit-out specialist said it has started to feel the negative effects of the credit crunch.

ISG said: 鈥淢any of our corporate clients have become more cautious in their decision-making and this has led to some projects planned for the following financial year being delayed or cancelled.

鈥淲e will continue to rebalance our activities within London away from the office market and outside London towards the public sector. Where we anticipate a decrease in demand, we are being proactive in keeping our resource base in line.鈥�


Sir John Deane's College
Sir John Deane's College in Northwich, where ISG was recently revealed as preferred contractor on the 拢26m redevelopment

The firm's order book stands at 拢1bn, of which 拢550m is work to be completed in the year to 30 June 2009 and 拢400m for the following year.

Numis analyst Howard Seymour said the news that the fit-out firm has been hit by the downturn is no surprise.

He added: 鈥淲e would point out that although the majority of the impact is in the private sector, the public sector is also facing a more difficult environment. We believe that ISG is relatively well placed in this environment to outperform peers operationally.鈥�

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