Chelsea Flower Show caterer Mitie hit by Brexit uncertainty

“Together, these factors combined to cause a number of our clients to either delay or cancel projects until after the referendum,” it said as it revealed a 1.8% dip in revenue to £2.2 billion.

Mitie, which warned in March that full-year revenues would fall short of expectations, said it had postponed or scrapped some of its own work and reduced discretionary expenditure as a result.

Boss Ruby McGregor-Smith described Mitie as resilient and said the situation was merely a quarterly trend as a fresh wave of contracts with Ladbrokes and Deloitte has been secured.

Mitie’s profits before tax more than doubled to £96.8 million from £41.5 million a year earlier.

The dividend rises for the 27th consecutive year by 3.4% to 12.1p.

Shares in the FTSE 250 firm edged up 1.2p to 274.8p.

The group also revealed a £20 million share buyback programme, which McGregor-Smith told the Standard was partly prompted by a lack of opportunities for large acquisitions. The Indian-born chief, who has led the company for almost a decade, said growth over the next year would remain “modest” due to the macroeconomic uncertainty.

However, the introduction of the National Living Wage — which in April bumped up minimum pay for over-25s to £7.20 an hour — could create opportunities for the firm.

“Our clients have to work out how to absorb [the extra cost] and we may well see the only way in which to handle it year on year is to move towards more outsourcing.”