Business and IT consultant Charteris has warned year-on-year profits growth is unlikely. Major growth remains chief executive David Pickering’s ultimate goal but, having reviewed the business, and with annualised sales already north of £20m, he will invest heavily to ‘move the company into the next tier of consultancy services providers’.

Long-term, the move will allow Charteris to access bigger projects and hone its skill in the areas of ‘business agility’. Short-term, profits will suffer. The news accompanied encouraging half-time figures to the end of January, revealing flat pre-tax profits of £562,000 (£560,000) reflecting investment in management and the business development capabilities of its practises. Turnover grew 20% to £10.7m.

Charteris now has a broader business base, with revenues split across the retail, manufacturing, financial services, media, government and utilities sectors, as well as high levels of repeat revenues, with 75% of business coming from existing clients. Recent highlights illustrating the group’s close ties with Microsoft include the successful delivery of a system for a major UK broadcaster enabling its strategists to determine the most competitive schedules, as well as playing a role in the delivery of BBC Jam, a new broadband learning service for five to sixteen year olds.

This latter project used the latest Microsoft technology and proved Charteris’ status as a trusted partner on large leading-edge programmes. Charteris, backed by Growth Company Investor at 28.5p, has come off a fair bit of late, but we remain convinced of its long-term attractions. Hold firm.