Property services group Irish Estates has reported an 85 per cent jump in pretax profit to €952,000 for the first half of the year. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 20 per cent to 7.3 cent.

The group's property management business displayed strong growth due to new contracts won in the commercial, residential and retail sectors, coupled with the impact of contracts which commenced last year.

The facilities management side of the business also benefited from "significant new contract wins", including the group's appointment as the Irish facilities manager for Ulster Bank and BT.

Irish Estates acquired moving and storage group Beverly Smyth on July 12th, 2006, which will be integrated as a new division within the business.

However, this acquisition was not reflected in the first-half results, and will only be recognised from the date of completion onwards.

"Overall, the business appears to be in great shape," commented Davy Stockbrokers analyst David Jennings. "The goal remains to deliver double-digit growth organically across all divisions, while supplementing this growth with acquisitions."

The group also announced plans to change its name to Veris plc to "reflect the expansion of the business from a single property management business to a focused and integrated property services group," according to Ross Ivers, who was appointed as group chief executive during the first half of 2006. No dividend was declared.