Engineering support services firm Babcock yesterday hailed "budgetary constraints" in the public and private sectors, which it said would lead to more outsourcing opportunities.

In a short pre-close statement released ahead of November's interim results, Babcock said its order book currently stands at around £12 billion.

Babcock said: "We remain confident the current economic climate will continue to create significant medium and long-term growth opportunities for our businesses where we are well placed to benefit from the scale of our operations, the breadth of our experience and our track record of delivering both operational and financial efficiencies."