First Property Group PLC
21 February 2006
21 FEBRUARY 2006
First Property Group plc
Acquisition of business and assets of Direction International plc
First Property Group plc ('Fprop' or 'the Company') announces that it has
acquired 60% of a new company, First Property Services Ltd, which in turn has
acquired the property facilities maintenance business ('the Business') of
Direction International plc, for a cash consideration of £60,000. The remaining
40% will be owned by the management of the Business. It is expected that the
acquisition will be earnings enhancing for the year commencing 1st April 2006.
The Business being acquired is engaged in the provision of facilities
maintenance and building services to clients in the commercial and industrial
property sector. The acquisition brings with it contracts with a value of circa
£500,000 per annum. Clients include a large number of well-known blue-chip
companies. The Business also provides services to buildings managed by Fprop
and it is expected that more contracts will be introduced by the Company.
In the year ended 31 March 2005 the Business achieved a turnover of £2.3 million
and a gross profit of £650,000 before overheads and broke even after the
deduction of these costs. The structure of the Business has been rationalised as
part of the acquisition process and it is expected that it will begin to trade
profitably within a few months. The book value of the assets being acquired is
approximately £60,000.
Ben Habib, Fprop's chief executive, commented: 'We have worked with the
management team of Direction International for some time now and believe that
this is a good opportunity to create a potentially valuable earnings stream for
Fprop. The business fits well with the asset management side of Fprop and
complements our expertise, opening up the potential of acquiring more management
intensive properties, both in the UK and Poland. In addition, we provide a
strong and stable home for the business, which will allow it to continue to
provide its clients with an excellent service.'
This statement should not be taken to mean that earnings per share in periods
following the acquisition will necessarily be greater than those for the
relevant preceding financial period.
Further information:
Ben Habib, Chief Executive Richard Sunderland/Rachel Drysdale
First Property Group plc Tavistock Communications Limited
Tel: 020 7731 2844 Tel: 020 7920 3150
-Ends-
Notes to Editors:
First Property Group is an integrated, internet based, property services and
asset management group. Its various divisions are:
First Property Asset Management ('FPAM') - First Property Group's property fund
management subsidiary, commenced trading in October 2002. FPAM now has five
funds, and in September 2005, Fprop won a mandate to invest up to £50 million on
behalf of the Universities Supperannuation Scheme, substantially increasing the
companys funds under management.
Commercial Property Database ('CPD') - In 2001, Fprop acquired CPD, which
provides access to its interactive database of UK properties exclusively to
commercial property agents via their own web sites, giving multiple searching
of size, location and property type thus also providing agents with an income
generating facility. CPD provides database and web services to about 100
commercial property agents in the UK.
Online Sales of Properties - Fprop operates a web based business-to-business
property transaction platform established to facilitate the buying and selling
of UK commercial property. By combining an email marketing campaign, to its
database of some 35,000 property practitioners, with links to detailed property
details, it sells property entirely online without the assistance of any
traditional services.
Property Transaction Underwriting - the Company also operates a property
transaction underwriting service. This service allows Fprop to target vendors
who have property for sale and offer to act as a buyer of last resort. If the
property is sold on the market, any upside above the guaranteed price is
typically shared 50/50 between the vendor and the Company. The Company only
targets property which it believes it could add value to within a twelve to
twenty four month period, with a view to a resale thereafter at a profit.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.