The support services sector is a bit like the stock market's pick 'n' mix segment. Constituent companies come from a wide variety of industries and sub-sectors, with often little to link them to each other.
Yet substantial investment returns are possible, as a look through the sector's best performing stocks of the last three months illustrates.
In top spot is Berendsen (BRSN), a company that provides laundry services for hotels and hospitals on an industrial level. Its 63.8% share price hike to £12.20 is down to the company accepting a take-over bid from its French rival Elis, which values Berendsen at around £2.2bn.
The UK firm probably became more attractive after sterling sank following Brexit, making foreign buyers more interested in UK assets.
A similar story for the second in our list, engineering and project management consultancy WS Atkins (ATK). On the day that the UK company agreed to be taken over by Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin, Atkins share price rallied by 5% and has been going up since.
Support Services movers and shakers
| COMPANY | EPIC | Percentage increase over three months | |
| Berendsen | BRSN | 63.8 | |
| Atkins (W S) | ATK | 37.3 | |
| Acal | ACL | 36.4 | |
| SIG | SHI | 31.9 | |
| Homeserve | HSV | 31.1 | |
| Mitie Group | MTO | 27.3 | |
| Andrews Sykes Group | ASY | 26.0 | |
| Equiniti | EQN | 26.0 | |
Niche electronic components manufacturer Acal (ACL) released a strong set of preliminary results earlier this month for its year ending 31 March. The company has transitioned from a distributer to a manufacturer of specialised items such as those needed in CAT scanning machines.
Acal has also been driving through cost savings such as removing an entire level of management.
Shares reported on another high flying company, building products distributer SIG (SHI) earlier this year. Its success may be down to a change in CEO, with former Brammer boss Meinie Oldersma taking over.
We backed Homeserve (HSV) back in April, impressed with its 80% UK customer retention rate and insulation from Financial Conduct Authority disclosure rules. Seems we were on the money with our ‘buy at 647p’. It’s now at 734p.
Facilities management company Mitie (MTO) produced unspectacular results yet, as Shares reported on 12 June, the numbers were not as bad as market expected.
Two very different companies, air conditioning company Andrews Sykes (ASY) and technology and finance services firm Equiniti (EQN), share the last place on our list. Both are up by 26% over three months. The divergence between these companies is indicative of the wide ranging support services sector.
