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The art of selling consulting services event on 25 June

by Tony Rice 17. June 2010 12:10
There are still some seats left at this event in London. It has been running repeatedly over a long period of time now and is exceptionally well received, so book a place if you're free - more details here ... Art of selling Consulting Services 

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Increasing Sales

Cognizant acquisition in France

by Tony Rice 17. June 2010 11:45
Cognizant Technology Solutions, the IT business process consulting and services firm has acquired Galileo Performance, a Paris-based provider of IT consulting services in the form of IT system measurement, management and testing
 
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Galileo expands Cognizant's fast-growing global testing practice, while strengthening its existing business presence in France. Full press release ... 

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Recent M&A Deals

Consulting industry rebound in 2010 predicted by Plunkett

by Tony Rice 27. May 2010 11:03

Plunkett Research predict a rebound in 2010 after an awful 2009 for the consulting industry. These are some of the major trends in the research ...

  • More consulting firms will accept fees contingent on success
  • Other industry sectors will move into consulting and outsourcing
  • Corporates will develop internal consultants to reduce costs
  • Corporates will want sold returns on IT investments
  • Government consulting will be strong in the Transportation, Health Care, Energy and Cyber Security sectors
  • Consultancies will move towards globalization
  • Offshoring to India will drive changes in global consulting
  • White-collar and professional activities will be offshored to a greater extent - BPO and KPO

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Consulting Sector

Kennedy Research shows 12% drop in gross margins for consulting firms in 2009

by Tony Rice 10. May 2010 08:55

Kennedy Consultancy Research & Advisory's 'Benchmarks in Consulting- Financial and Operational Metrics' report has identified an average 12% (approx) reduction in gross margins for firms in 2009. The spread from worst to least worst was 14% with smaller firms being hit the hardest.

This correlates with our sales revenue analysis outlined in our recent article on the 2010 Consulting Industry M&A Outlook. Our index on large firm revenue performance indicated that sales dropped by around 8% and our own small firm research identified an average 10% drop in 2009.

However that was 2009 and even at the end of that year our analysis in the UK small firm market showed that sales forecasts were much more optimistic.

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Consulting Sector

Management Consultancies Association 2010 Award Winners

by Tony Rice 5. May 2010 11:29

The MCA (in association with Management Today) presented its 14th Management Awards ceremony to a packed house in London on 29th April 2010. The winners were drawn from a long list of management consulting firms who demonstrated that they were “business superfuel and could deliver faster, smoother, better results and go the extra mile for their clients". The winners were drawn by a panel of 10 judges made up of leading consulting industry figures including our own Paul Collins. Go to the MCA website to view the winners list.

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Misc

IT Services firm Morse to be acquired by 2e2 for GBP 69.8m

by Tony Rice 27. April 2010 08:49
The Boards of 2e2 and Morse, UK based IT services and consulting businesses, have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition valued at GBP 69.8m, 51 pence pence per share. The Acquisition has been unanimously recommended to Morse Shareholders by the Morse Directors.

2e2 views the Acquisition as an important strategic opportunity to create an experienced UK and European IT services provider with greater capabilities that will benefit from larger scale, greater market visibility and increased attractiveness to the Enlarged Group's enterprise, corporate and public sector customer base.

The Enlarged Group will provide both sets of customers with a broader range of complementary services and solutions including managed services, hosting, unified communications, data management, security, business application solutions and "cloud computing". The Acquisition will allow 2e2 to increase its scale and to accelerate its plans to offer a range of architectural solutions to its customers that aim to change business outcomes and offer reduced cost of operations. The Enlarged Group will also enjoy enhanced capabilities and relationships with the key technology suppliers within the industry.

The combined sales and EBITDA of 2e2 and Morse for the year ended 31 December 2009 were GBP 414m and GBP 40m respectively. 2e2 expects significant benefits from cost synergies and cross-selling opportunities within the enlarged customer base and enhanced positioning within its chosen industry sectors.

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M&A Insight | Recent M&A Deals

Selling Consulting Services, Free report from Mike Schultz at RainToday.com

by Tony Rice 31. March 2010 11:14

Mike Schultz at Raintoday.com has produced an excellent report called Selling Consulting Services

The 27 page report covers...

  • How the skills that make you a great consultant can also make you a great salesperson
  • How to make more sales by not being “salesy”!
  • A proven process to start bringing in more new business immediately
  • How to find out what your clients' needs
  • Whether cold calling is dead or not
  • The secret to leading successful sales conversations

It can be download for free here

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Amec buys environmental and engineering consultancy Entec

by Tony Rice 30. March 2010 09:33

British oil services and engineering group AMEC Plc said it acquired environmental and engineering consultancy Entec Holdings Ltd for an initial consideration of 61.2 million pounds ($91.67 million) in cash.

FTSE 100-listed AMEC said the acquisition was expected to add to earnings effective immediately.

"Entec broadens the earth & environmental division's geographic footprint in Europe and it also strengthens its capabilities in the water and energy sectors," AMEC said in a statement.

AMEC, which has 22,000 engineers in 40 countries and is part of the consortium running Britain's Sellafield nuclear facility, said in December it would ramp up acquisitions under its new plan to more than double earnings per share by 2015.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKSGE62T07X20100330 

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Recent M&A Deals

Consulting Event, Sustaining Growth in Challenging Markets

by Tony Rice 30. March 2010 09:06
Equiteq's Paul Collins is a speaker at this Mindbench event for leaders of consulting firms. The event is on 5th May 2010 and the focus is “sustaining growth in challenging markets”.
 
There are four talks and presentations from excellent consulting leaders covering the key aspects of sustaining growth within management consulting firms, including developing the sales process effectively, getting the right operating metrics and hiring and retaining the best people. You will also hear from a new consulting entrant on the lessons they have learnt on setting up and growing their business in the current environment. This will be followed by a panel Q&A session, where you can ask specific questions of the consulting experts and gain valuable insights on growing your consulting business.
 
The event will be held in the stunning function room of Ognisko, Polish Club, South Kensington and a buffet breakfast and refreshments will be served. Attendance is restricted to 40 people to create an intimate setting for questions. The price for reserving a place is £25 and all proceeds from the event go to Mindbench's charitable partner, the Depaul Trust, who will be there on the day.
 
To find out more and reserve a place please email anna@mindbench.co.uk

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Equity Growth

Paul Collins interview with Kennedy on Consulting M&A Outlook

by Tony Rice 1. March 2010 09:37
2010 Could Be a Great Year for M&A
An excerpt from Management Consultant International
“Buyers coming into the marketplace have been serious about buying and also realising they are going to have to pay reasonable prices,” reports Paul Collins begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting, Managing Partner at Equiteq. “And sellers are saying it is time for them to act. The market is on its way back up; they want to sell.” He expects – and hopes – there is going to be a lot of M&A activity over the year.

It appears that buyers are more interested in adding new capabilities rather than enhancing existing capabilities. Consultancies with less than $100 million in sales are telling Equiteq they have a hole that needs filling in capability or geography. “The briefs are quite specific,” says Collins. They want a firm within a certain revenue range, with a specific capability, and in a particular geography.

Continued in Management Consultant International

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M&A Insight

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