Opencast grows revenues to £50m

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Independent tech consultancy Opencast, one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies, grew revenues to £50m during its last financial year, according to accounts for 2023 just filed at Companies House.

Newcastle-headquartered Opencast, recently recognised in the Sunday Times as one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies, has just published its accounts for 2023, which showed that turnover rose from £36.3m to £49.9m. Operating profit fell slightly to £3.3m as the number of people working for the business grew by 15% from 403 to 464.

Opencast Chief Executive Tom Lawson said: “Our people-focused, purpose-driven business model continues to deliver positive social impact at the same time as growth and profitability.

“It’s great to have been able to report another year of growth for Opencast – particularly at a time when the tech sector and economy face challenges that are affecting business growth plans across the board.

“Our growth helps us to deliver the important services and impact our clients need, including in government, healthcare, utilities and renewable energy. We will continue to work to make a positive impact on society through solutions that are simpler, more sustainable and fairer for everyone.

“We have built and continue to grow a resolutely independent business that cares about its people and that contributes to the tech community and wider society. Our people-focused, purpose-driven business model delivers positive social impact at the same time as growth and profitability.”

The company has grown an enviable reputation for providing digital transformation for large government departments – early this month it announced a £32m, two-year contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

While planning to deepen its relationships with government departments and other parts of the public sector, Opencast has identified the healthcare sector as an area for further opportunity. It has already delivered projects for NHS England and NHS Business Services Authority, as well as healthcare businesses including eConsult.

Tom Lawson: "positive social impact and profitability"

Consolidation as well as growth

Opencast Chair Charlie Hoult said: “Despite being a year of growth, 2023 was in many ways a year of consolidation against a backdrop of increased volatility in the economy and macroeconomic environments.

“The UK technology sector slowed overall, leading to increased competition for work in government, alongside downward pressure on departmental spending and several large contractual transitions/renewals.

“Our people-focused approach has continued to resonate; especially given the strong strategic position we took to prioritise our people through a more challenging economic period.

“Whilst we held off on further investments in physical hub locations, investments were made into Manchester and Birmingham as virtual hubs, Leeds was moved to the virtual hub model alongside maintaining our physical locations in Newcastle, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow.”

Earlier this year, Opencast was confirmed as one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies when it was placed 75^th in the 2024 edition of The Sunday Times 100 – the prestigious annual ranking of Britain’s fastest-growing private companies. Opencast was one of only three North East businesses to make the list.

And this month, the company was ranked second in Insider Media’s 2024 North East Tech Growth list.

Despite being a year of growth, 2023 was in many ways a year of consolidation against a backdrop of increased volatility in the economy and macroeconomic environments