Mouchel Parkman has achieved an all time high forward order book with future projects worth £1.2 billion already secured.

The professional support services and engineering consultancy revealed the strong uptake for its services as it said results for the year to July 31 were likely to be in line with expectations.

Analysts expect pretax profits of £27 - £27.4 million, compared £22.1 million last year, while turnover is expected to rise from £311 million to somewhere in the range of £360 to £365 million.

Mouchel Parkman, which employs 600 people in the Midlands, said the bidding pipeline of near term opportunities and contract extensions has been sustained at £1 billion.

Chief executive Richard Cuthbert said the Surrey-based group made excellent progress in the second half.

Mr Cuthbert said the strength of the order book, which continues to give the group excellent visibility of future earnings, and the significant pipeline of bidding opportunities maintains the board's confidence in future prospects.

Shares closed up 3.25p at 347.75.