Go Inspire Group, the Leicester-based marketing and communications specialist, has seen off Brexit uncertainty and battled through the Covid-19 crisis to record another record year for the business, with a double-digit rise in profits.
While the group saw a relatively small increase in year-on-year turnover for 2019-2020, profitability over the period increased by over 15% to an EBITDA of over £7.7m, a rise of more than £1m on the previous year.
In terms of the company’s financial resilience, debt has reduced year-on-year and, when combined with the increased cash generation of the group, it claims this has resulted in working capital availability of over £11m.
Go Inspire insists its cash position has prepared it well to handle the current market turbulence. Moreover, the group has been designated as a Covid-19 Critical Supplier, providing communications services to the Government and supporting the continuation of key national infrastructure bodies.
Like most UK businesses, the group has seen a substantial level of disruption because of the lockdown, and expects volumes of business not to return to ‘normal’ levels until the autumn of 2020, at the earliest.
However, it has already reported signs of new order book growth, although it has furloughed a number of staff. The company’s major clients include Sky, Tesco, British Gas, Pets At Home, Cancer Research UK and PDSA. It also partners with Royal Mail and Paperplanes for the UK’s biggest programmatic direct mail scheme.
The group is currently building a finishing factory for its print business – Eclipse – with a new Pace guillotine system and multiple folders and stitching lines.
Group chief executive Patrick Headley said: “I’m delighted by last year’s results which show such substantial growth in profitability, along with increased overall turnover. It is, I believe, just reward for a business that has continued to invest in its people and its technology.
“I’m particularly pleased with the increased performance of our insight and digital businesses in the year just passed. Overall, this has put us in a strong position to weather the current storm and come out even stronger as the national economy begins to recover.”
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