Picture Photo-Me in your portfolio

The company's strategic direction looks more grounded than ever, despite a rocky start. At the height of the tech boom the business wanted to transform the majority of its UK-based photo booth estate into high-tech locations offering internet and e-mail access in a lucrative deal with telecoms giant BT (BT.A). The public response wasn't overwhelming and the tech crash followed soon after. Once the dust settled, personal computers became far more prevalent, followed by the advent of smart phones, which rendered the idea of internet-connected photobooths virtually obsolete.

Now, new developments such as Photo-Me's agreement with ANTS - the National Agency of Secure Documents in France - feel much more likely to succeed. The group's work there involves the delivery of digitised e-photos and signatures for the purposes of driving licence applications, with the document sent straight from the photobooths via a secure server.

This type of work also accounts for a chunk of the revenue currently generated in Japan. The company has directly benefited from the nation's 'My Number' programme, whereby the government requires citizens to carry new photo ID cards. Admittedly, there have been some administrative problems within local government departments which process the ID applications, prompting two City analysts to recently trim current-year group profit forecasts by £2m. But the scheme is still going ahead and, ultimately, management still expects a ramp-up in photobooth volumes in line with rising demand.

The other side to Photo-Me's business is the supply of laundry equipment and management of outdoor self-service laundry sites. It's new Revolution 2 laundry units have a footprint of only 5 sq m compared with the 10 sq m for existing units, which allows them to avoid planning restrictions and better suit more densely populated cities where space is at a premium. The group is also about to launch Revolution laundrettes (which have already completed a three-year trial) to complement the existing outdoor sites. In short, since 2014, turnover across the laundry business units has trebled.

Looking at the balance sheet, the company has plenty of cash too. True, this sum wasn't as high as analysts expected at the time of recent results thanks to higher working capital and capital expenditure commitments. But such costs represent long-term investments in the business, and the ordinary dividend was pushed up to compensate for the fact the special dividend wasn't as generous as expected either. It's thought ordinary dividends will increase by around 20 per cent for the next two financial years, which should entice income-hungry investors.

It's worth a note on the ownership of the shares too. A fifth of the stock is owned by chief executive Serge Crasnianski, who returned to the group in 2009 after being previously ousted following heavy criticism from two major shareholders over a plan to sell its vending business. But beyond this, there is a healthy slug of institutional interest from the likes of Schroders, Fidelity, BlackRock and Artemis which gives the shareholder register enhanced credibility.