Back to profit WYG secures Northern Irish deal

The Leeds-based group, which leads projects ranging from designing Barsley’s marketplace makeover to improving transport in Bulgaria, announced last month that it was putting its loss-making Irish business into liquidation, resulting in 50 job cuts.

WYG had said it hoped to buy back its Northern Irish business, which continues to trade normally, from the liquidators.

Today, the company said that on the condition that the provisional liquidators are formally appointed by the court, they have agreed to sell to WYG all three of WYG Ireland’s subsidiaries in Northern Ireland, securing the jobs of around 90 employees in Belfast.

The firm also said in its update for the six months ending September 30 that trading during the first half of the financial year has continued in line with management expectations and that it expects to report a small operating profit (before separately disclosed items) in the first six months of the current year.

Paul Hamer, chief executive officer of WYG, said: “Having stated, on 7 June, that we were confident of returning the group to operating profit in the near term, we are delighted to announce that this milestone in the group’s turnaround will be reached in the first half of the current year.

“Now that we have achieved this significant target, we are well placed to progress with our shift in focus from internal improvements to creating higher quality revenues through the delivery of our Global Integrated Strategy and look forward to updating the market on our progress in November.”