You can't fault Glasgow-headquartered, private equity-backed Amor Group CEO John Innes for lack of ambition! Having closed a very successful 2012 – that's with 27% headline revenue growth to £57.2m – he is targeting to make Amor a £250m revenue business in 2016. Of course, acquisitions will be involved, but even so Innes told me earlier that he is confident Amor will achieve 23% organic growth (cagr) between now and then, even though he is expecting 'only' 11% growth this year. That's a pretty big petard Innes could be hoisted on if things don't go according to plan.
Amor is a business of three halves on three continents. The majority of its revenues (c. 60%) derive from Energy and Transport sectors, with a strong international and software-led focus (Amor has hubs in Dubai and Houston). Its UK business is purely about public sector IT services, covering Education & Skills, UK Government and Scottish Government. While he still sees plenty of opportunity 'onshore', aided by the recent appointment of former UK Government and DWP CIO Joe Harley as non-exec chairman (see here), Innes expects that Amor's international private sector businesses will grow faster.
There's a lot of interest now in the Scottish IT market but obviously a lot of uncertainty too over the devolution issue. There are many players vying for business, with Amor looking among the more successful. We think there is considerable room for consolidation, especially among the mid-tier players. Innes mooted a further funding round over the next 18 months, and that could be a very sensible time for him to take a closer look at who's wearing what under their kilts!