New regulations keep Citation on track for record revenues

Underlying pre-tax profits are expected to rise from £3.3m to £4.5m as Citation benefits from greater economies of scale. Chief executive Lindsay Hill said Citation’s 210-strong workforce is likely to increase by around 20 during 2011 as demand for its services grows.

Citation, which was founded in 1995, employs 130 at its headquarters. The rest are consultants operating all over the country, advising SMEs on matters such as regulatory compliance, disciplinary and grievance issues and redundancy programmes. Agency worker regulations and the scrapping of the default retirement age, which come into force later this year, are expected to further fuel demand for Citation’s services.

Clients include veterinary clinics, dentists, doctors, children’s nurseries, independent schools, care homes and funeral directors as well as trade associations, professional bodies and companies operating in sectors such as retail, manufacturing and construction.

Citation’s customers typically employ between six and 200 staff. It currently acts for 6,500 clients and competes against rivals such as Croner and Manchester-based Peninsula Business Services.

Mr Hill, a solicitor who worked as a lawyer in the City of London prior to joining Citation in 2001, said: “We are on track for a strong year as we take on more clients and win more business. The market is fairly brisk but we think we look after our clients well and are anticipating increased revenues and profits for 2011. We are pleased with the way things are going this year.”

Citation operates a 24-hour helpline which currently handles about 6,000 calls a month from clients.