Leading transport and mobility services business, ESP Group, celebrated its most successful year to date during 2018/19 with turnover breaking through £100m for the first time.  With record results, a management restructure and major contract wins, the Hull and Arbroath-based business is continuing to experience strong growth and performance.

The ESP Group includes subsidiaries Journeycall and Systex, and is principally involved with providing customer services and technology-led solutions focused on mass public transport systems such as rail, bus, taxi and cycle hire.  The business provides smart card technology and customer support for Transport for London (TfL) and West Midlands Trains among others, ensuring smooth passage for millions of rail commuters.

Turnover for the last financial year (ending July 2019) increased to more than £104m from almost £91m in 2017/18. The Group also achieved an operating profit of £4.4m, a 43% increase on the previous year.  With a track record of long-term clients including TfL, which has been with the business for 13 years, ESP also added major contracts with Transport for Greater Manchester, C2C, and Transport for Wales Rail. Sales growth for the year was 15.2%.

This has been a very positive year for the business, with a number of significant internal changes.   Owner and CEO Terry Dunn became executive chairman, with ESP COO/ Journeycall MD Theresa Slevin taking over the CEO role; and CTO Duncan Wilson became Systex MD following outgoing MD Chris Lockwood’s retirement. 

Theresa Slevin comments: “Our people are our business and it is down to them that we have had a record profitable year, major contract signings and the opportunity for our home-grown talent to take on senior roles in the company.

“This success is down to hard work, employing the best team in the business and putting our customer relations first and foremost in our priorities.  We transform lives, businesses and communities through providing the best in customer and client service; millions of people travel every day thanks to our products and services.”

ESP Group is hoping to extend its services into new sectors such as major sporting events which are taking on smartcard technology and mobile apps to deliver customer fulfilment. Backed by contact centre support that is uniquely non-scripted and knowledge-based, it can provide complete support from bespoke technology to customer care. In an age of increasing reliance on smart technology, ESP also prioritises information security by carrying out regular resilience reviews and ensuring the highest levels of data protection.

Terry Dunn said: “Our new senior management team has really hit the ground running. In the last year alone, we have been proud to host Department of Transport visits to Hull City Council’s Smart City initiative; continue to support millions of UK travellers through our Arbroath-based contact centre Journeycall; and continue to work with valued clients such as TfL, West Midlands Trains, and many others. We’re also incredibly proud of our delay repay product DelayCheck, which continues to be a great success.”