WYG sees off Brexit fears with £11m of contracts

Project management consultancy'‹ '‹WYG'‹ '‹waived aside Brexit worries with the news of three new contracts in Poland and Turkey, which are worth a combined £11m.
WYG's CEO Paul HamerWYG's CEO Paul Hamer
WYG's CEO Paul Hamer

The ​Leeds-based ​group is still picking up work funded by the European Union​ ​despite the ​British ​referendum vote to leave the EU.

It has won two contracts in Poland worth £6m to support ​a​ Polish government initiative to help the unemployed.​ ​In Turkey​ ​it has been awarded contract additions that are worth £5m​, ​which ​will be​ funded ​by the EU’s multi-annual financial framework.

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The EU is WYG’s single largest client, in the form of EuropeAid, the organisation responsible for projects outside the EU.

WYG’s CEO Paul Hamer said all the group’s overseas operations act like local businesses and this will help protect WYG from any Brexit fall-out.

“Our Polish business wins all its business as a Polish company, WYG Polska,” he said.

“It’s a strategy we put in place five years ago. No-one knows we are a UK business.”

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WYG has created local businesses and legal entities in its key markets, cushioning it from the Brexit blow that other rivals may face.

Mr Hamer said: “We are pleased that our local businesses in Poland and Turkey continue to successfully win new contracts and contract extensions.

“We remain encouraged by our pipeline of opportunities as EU funds flow under the new multi-annual financial framework, and our well established, market leading businesses are very well placed to take advantage of these opportunities. These contracts help to underpin the board’s confidence for the current year.”

​Analysts at N+1 Singer said in a note: “At the start of July we noted the first major contract win by WYG since the EU referendum (as lead consultant on an £11m four year technical assistance contract by the European Investment Bank on behalf of the Western Balkans Investment Framework).

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“Today the group announces further overseas contracts worth up to €12.6m in Poland and Turkey and remains encouraged by the pipeline in its core EAA and MENA markets. We make no changes to our forecasts at this stage but feel that these post Brexit wins strongly underpin both our numbers and our confidence in the WYG strategy.”

​WYG said the ​Polish government is planning to spend approximately €50m (£42.5) annually through a programme to help the unemployed.

​The two new contracts are being awarded under this programme and WYG will provide tailored training, job placement and job retention assistance to groups of unemployed individuals identified for this support by the labour offices of Podkarpackie and Dolnośląskie.

In Turkey, WYG has been awarded three new technical assistance projects worth £4.6m in total. The first, known as GETAM, is a £2m two year project to develop common product processes and infrastructure among SMEs and entrepreneurs working primarily in Turkey’s leather, jewellery and electronic components markets.

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The second project, worth £1.5m over 18 months, aims to increase regional competitiveness and contribute to socio-economic development of Rize, a province in the Black Sea region.

The third project, which is worth £1.1m over 18 months, will develop the operational capacity of the Samsun Logistics Centre - an important facility for this port city on the Black Sea coast and a gateway to Anatolia.

WYG has also announce a £500,000 extension to its major water and wastewater project in Siverek – one of a series of projects aimed at helping Turkey to achieve high levels of environmental protection and compliance with the EU wastewater sector directives.