Chesire-based workwear and linen rental company Johnson Service Group (JSG) said its 2016 revenue rose 36.4% to £256.7 million and profit before tax soared 49.7% to £25.9 million.

JSG said the acquisitions of Zip Textiles, Afonwen and Chester Textiles significantly increased the group’s presence in the high volume hotel linen rental market.

Full year dividend will rise 19% to 2.5p.

JSG shares rose more than 3% to 115p, giving it a stock market value of around £418 million.

JSG is a leading supplier of workwear and protective wear in the UK and also provides linen services for the hotel, catering and hospitality markets.

Johnson Service Group CEO Chris Sander said: “These are strong results, with profit delivery ahead of original market expectations, reflecting both encouraging organic growth and the benefits of recent acquisitions.

“These acquisitions have expanded our geographic coverage and helped to further build our presence in specific market segments, especially high volume linen. 

“We expect further benefits to come from our acquisitions as we complete the integration and investment programme.

“Looking ahead, the group is very well positioned for the new financial year and performance to date has been in line with our expectations.

“The disposal of Drycleaning in January leaves us focused on driving the growth of our higher margin textile rental activities and we will continue to look at further complementary acquisitions and investment opportunities.”