Acquisition

Acquisition

Next Fifteen Communications Plc

Next Fifteen Communications Group plc
(“Next 15” or the “Company” or the “Group”)

Acquisition of HPI

Next 15, the digital communications group, is pleased to announce the acquisition of an 85% stake in HPI Research Limited (“HPI”), a market research agency based in London, through its data and insights subsidiary, Morar Consulting Limited (“Morar”).

The initial consideration is £1,282,000 which is to be satisfied in cash, and is comprised of £800,000 for the net assets acquired on completion and £482,000 as an up-front payment for the business. The remaining 15% stake in HPI will be acquired by Morar in June 2018, with the consideration based on HPI’s operating profit for the financial year ending 31 January 2018. The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing for the Group.

For the year ended 30 September 2016, HPI had revenues of £3,405,000, adjusted EBITDA of £230,000 and net current assets of £1,201,000. HPI’s largest clients include Sainsbury’s, Argos and Heineken.

Tim Dyson, CEO of Next 15, commented:

“This acquisition is in line with Next 15’s strategy of growing its data revenue to 20 per cent of Group revenue in the next five years. HPI brings both talent and a history of high quality market research. Meanwhile Morar has developed a technology platform, which provides an end-to-end market research capability for its clients which enables quicker and more accurate research. We believe that a combination of HPI’s team and established client base with Morar’s technology platform will create a better solution for HPI’s customers and enable Morar to reach new customer segments.”

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Enquiries:
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Next Fifteen Communications Group plc
Tim Dyson, CEO				[phone]
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Investec Bank plc
Keith Anderson / Matt Lewis / Dominic Emery				[phone]
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View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161109006379/en/