Home emergency business HomeServe said trade was improving after re-focusing its UK business following a well-publicised mis-selling scandal.

The Walsall-based firm suspended sales and marketing activity in late 2011 following the scandal and hundreds of jobs were axed and the affair cost HomeServe an estimated £24 million.

However, the firm said that adjusted pre-tax profit for the six months to September 30 is expected to improve on the same period last year after being boosted by French firm Doméo.

The improvement in fortunes comes against a backdrop of a Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigation continuing into miss-selling claims.

In the UK HomeServe says it on track to achieve its full year customer number target of between 2.2 million and 2.4 million and a policy retention rate of around 80 per cent.

It said in a statement: "We have successfully renewed two of our larger water company relationships. We are continuing to develop and implement our marketing plans, focusing on different creative propositions, with the next phase of testing expected to begin in the next few weeks."

HomeServe says it is continuing to implement business improvement initiatives relating to governance and controls, sales and marketing and customer service all of which are consistent with the feedback received from its supervisory team at the FSA.

"We are already beginning to see benefits of these initiatives with increasing customer satisfaction and reduced complaints being received. We have also started our customer re-contact exercise," it said.