AN INTERNATIONAL consultancy group with offices in Northallerton has seen pre-tax profits grow by 47pc in the 12 months which ended on July 31 last year.

Mouchel established a base in Northallerton almost two years ago, when the consultancy in the environmental services directorate of North Yorkshire County Council was effectively privatised in the quest for best value ordered by the government.

Profits of Mouchel went up from £2.4m to £3.5m against a turnover increase of 12pc from £55.6m to £62.4m. Operating margins rose from 4.4pc to 6.2pc.

Mouchel has 1,250 staff providing private and public sector clients with services for the development, management and operation of infrastructure.

It has 75 staff in North Yorkshire, mostly at the Northallerton office in Racecourse Lane, with some at Skipton and Pickering.

Mr Jim Harding, chairman and chief executive of Mouchel, said the group's financial success was based on the significant extension of its services, combined with improvements in commercial and operational management.

He said new services now accounted for more than half of group turnover, compared with 40pc a year ago.

Many employees gain directly from Mouchel's improved profits because in-house share schemes mean that staff now own or hold an interest in 87pc of the group's shares.

Mr Harding said: "This year marked another step in the realisation of our strategy, to win contracts across the range of our key clients and to achieve a strong and growing financial performance.

"With the continuing increase in contract opportunities, we are confident that we will achieve further significant growth next year.''

Following the North Yorkshire County Council changes, slightly more than 60 county council staff on temporary and permanent contracts switched their employment to Mouchel, based in West Byfleet, Surrey, on April 1, 1999.

The consultancy had previously employed just under 100 people, but during the reorganisation some staff were taken on by Halcrow, the Highways Agency trunk road agent for County Durham, North Yorkshire and parts of West Yorkshire; six were transferred to other county council departments and others opted for early retirement.

The number of compulsory redundancies was kept to single figures.

The work of the Northallerton consultancy includes bridge engineering, preliminary and detailed designs for major road schemes, ground testing, land and property management and environmental projects.

It began work with a five-year county council contract, with the possibility of a staged extension up to seven years, but its new freedom under Mouchel means that it can also compete on the open market for contracts with other local authorities, the Highways Agency, contractors and developers.