UK Contractors: Optimism within the interim management sector

Contractors will be interested to learn that 89% of the interim management community is optimistic about growth for 2014.

Research from the Interim Management Association (IMA) has revealed that those who were surveyed on whether they were more or less optimistic about the growth of the intern market, just 11% said they were not as confident.

Jason Atkinson, chairman of the IMA, said, “Following on from the recession, there is a revived optimism within the sector. Increasing numbers of briefs are coming in to providers across both the public and private sectors, as organisations realise the value an interim can bring.

“The IMAs members are positive about the growth of the sector in 2014, and it will be interesting to see whether this is reflected in the next set of Ipsos MORI results.”

Ashton Ward, managing partner at Eton Bridge Partners, commented: “Increased demand for interims is being driven by business investment and corporate transaction activity. For the first time in two or three years, businesses are investing in the future, they are looking at IPOs, M&A activity and growth strategies and they are proactively using interims to deliver the skills they need.”

At the end of last year, the IMA’s Iposos MORI survey revealed that there had been an increasing trend in the use of interim managers within the public sector.

The report found that in the final quarter of 2012, just 28% of assignments were with state-run bodies; whereas March of 2013 saw this number rise to 43%.

Atkinson said,  “I’d suggest the results of the survey findings from the second quarter of 2013 will reveal whether we are seeing a real convergence of public and private sector use of interim management.”

“Today interim managers are increasingly in demand because they offer a low risk, affordable way to access specialist skills, manage projects or handle pressing business challenges. They deliver results quickly before moving on to their next assignment.”

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