Acquisition

Johnson Service Group PLC 13 October 2003 13 October 2003 Johnson Service Group PLC Acquisition of Facilities Management Business Johnson Service Group PLC ('Johnson') announces it has entered into a conditional agreement for the purchase of the whole of the share capital of the Workplace Management (WM) business from Chesterton International plc. The strategic acquisition of the WM business, a UK property and facilities management operation, will give Johnson an immediate and strong presence in a growing market sector. Since Stuart Graham became CEO of Johnson in June 2002 he has carried out a strategic review of the Group. One of the areas that has been identified as a growth market was the facilities management sector and this acquisition provides Johnson with a platform upon which to build a significant business for the future. Johnson already had commercial links with WM through the outsourcing to WM of part of its property management requirements. WM has a substantial client base including blue-chip companies and central government departments. The existing senior management team of WM, which has expanded the business to its current position, will continue to manage the business. The average length of contracts is between 3 and 5 years and WM provides a wide range of property and facility management related services including strategic review of portfolios, space-management and cost-reduction programmes. A significant growth area of the business is linked to the internal planning of working areas, both commercial and industrial, and space management which includes related building refurbishment and fit-out projects. WM also provides a comprehensive range of support and added value services such as energy procurement and management, health and safety and centralised customer help desks. It is intended that Johnson will acquire WM for an estimated net consideration of £9m in cash on completion. There will be an additional cash payment representing the amount of cash in the balance sheet at completion, estimated at £11.4m. The consideration will be financed from existing bank facilities. Completion of the acquisition is conditional upon satisfaction of conditions relating to, inter alia, certain third party contractual matters. WM's turnover (management fee income) and profit before taxation for the year ended June 2002 were £15.9m and £0.3m respectively and net assets at that date were £1.8m. WM employs 650 people. Since that date WM has made progress in building new revenue streams and establishing an activity pipeline to continue its expansion. This expansion will be further assisted by Johnson's financial strength and stability. Over the medium term WM will add an accretive dimension to Johnson. Johnson CEO, Stuart Graham said, 'The facilities management sector is an expanding area of the business services market and represents a new opportunity for the Johnson Group. We are acquiring a strong business, which we believe we can expand significantly both in service provision and customer base'. Enquiries: Johnson Service Group PLC Stuart Graham, CEO Mike Sutton, CFO Telephone: 0151 933 6161 Hudson Sandler Michael Sandler / Wendy Baker Telephone 020 7796 4133 Notes to Editors Johnson is Britain's market leader in workwear rental as well as the manufacture and sourcing of workwear garments. The Group's drycleaning business, is Britain's leading dry cleaner with approx 500 shops. During the last 15 months the Company has taken steps to ensure that both the capability and management capacity are in place to enable it to add on a principal new service offering. Chesterton International plc was fully listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was taken private in June 2003. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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