OUTSOURCING company Castle View Ventures has posted increased sales and profit for the year ending March 31, deeming its subsidiary Sports and Leisure Management Group (SLMG) the "driving force" behind the growth.

The Bridge of Allan-based group, which also own businesses operating in catering and food production, said pre-tax profits reached £3.5 million in the period, up from £2.5m in the 14 month period to March 2013.

The group, which started out in 1964, said turnover rose to £110.5m from £76.3m.

In 2012 it bought Leicestershire-based Sports and Leisure Management Group, which experienced year-on-year sales growth of almost 14 per cent to hit £96m, with corresponding profit growth of £2.8m.

Castle View said SLMG manages sports and leisure facilities for local authorities in England, and during the year secured seven new contracts with local authorities, namely London boroughs Ealing, Brent and Harrow, as well as Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council.

SLMG operates under the Everyone Active brand, which launched in 2007, encouraging people to do 30 minutes of exercise five times a week.

Martin Bell, Castle View group managing director, said the rise in sales at the subsidiary was due to the new contracts plus "increased throughput" at existing centres.

Predicting a positive future in this area, he added: "We believe that the market for outsourced leisure-management services will continue to grow in the foreseeable future, and that the group is ideally placed to take advantage of that growth and to provide good value, high-quality service to an increasing number of local authorities and facility users."

Mr Bell, the son of the group's founder Frank, took full control of the company in June 2012, aided by funding of £10m from Barclays.

He said Castle View companies "enjoy a great degree of autonomy to develop and grow," which has helped the business to survive.

Another firm on its books is Cambuslang-based Uin Foods, which manufactures pizzas for supermarkets.

While this company experienced a trading loss of £213,781, its parent company said: "The directors are confident however that action taken to rationalise fixed costs and target production efficiencies should see the business move back towards profitability."

Finally, Castle View also owns Croydon-based Supply Direct Limited, a food-supply and catering-management software services business that works with local authorities. That firm experienced a rationalisation of fixed costs and developed the company's new catering brand known as InHouse Manager, the group also said.

"With the final stages of development scheduled to complete, the company's board is enthusiastic about the potential for growth in the coming year," Mr Bell stated.