Acquisition of BBC Fire Protection Limited

RNS Number : 9392V

Marlowe PLC

03 February 2017

 

3 February 2017

Marlowe plc

Acquisition of BBC Fire Protection Limited

Marlowe plc ("Marlowe", the "Company" or the "Group"), the support services group focused on acquiring and developing companies that provide critical asset maintenance services, announces that it has acquired BBC Fire Protection Limited ("BBC") for £4.1 million on a cash and debt free basis (the "Acquisition").

Founded in 1979, BBC operates nationally from headquarters near Norwich and employs around 100 staff. BBC provides a comprehensive portfolio of fire protection services to over 700 customers with a significant presence in the retail, banking, education and social housing sectors. BBC's services are highly complementary to those offered by existing Marlowe businesses.

The Board believes the Acquisition will:

á      significantly expand the scale of the Group's Fire division, offer synergy benefits and provide additional critical mass and route density in geographical regions that are attractive to the Group;

á      materially increase the customer base and recurring revenues of the enlarged Group, with the addition of large blue-chip organisations to which the Group can cross-sell other services;

á      extend Marlowe's market position to become one of the four largest providers of fire protection services in the UK;

á      immediately enhance Group earnings.

For the year to 31 December 2015, BBC reported audited revenues of £9.1 million, adjusted EBITDA of £1.0 million and profit before tax of £0.6 million. Unaudited net assets on at 30 November 2016 were £5.9 million. The Acquisition will be financed from the Group's existing cash resources.

The total consideration payable is £8.3 million, which includes £4.2 million of net cash held by BBC and a long leasehold property valued at approximately £0.5 million.

The key members of BBC's operational management team will be staying with the business.

Alex Dacre, Chief Executive of Marlowe plc, commented:

"The acquisition of BBC is a further significant step in our strategy of consolidation of the UK fire protection sector. The business benefits from strong recurring revenues, longstanding customer relationships and will further strengthen our national coverage."

For further information:

Marlowe plc	www.marloweplc.com
Alex Dacre, Chief Executive	Tel: [phone]
	[e-mail]
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Nicholas Wells Elizabeth Bowman	Tel: [phone]
FTI Consulting
Nick Hasell	Tel: [phone]
Alex Le May

About Marlowe plc

Marlowe is an AIM-listed company formed to create sustainable shareholder value through the acquisition and development of businesses that provide critical asset maintenance services in the UK.  It is focused on fire protection, security systems and water treatment services - which are essential to its customers' operations and invariably governed by regulation, and where customers require a single specialist outsourced provider with nationwide coverage. Our customers can be found on most high streets, in office complexes and industrial estates, and include SMEs, local authorities, facilities management providers, multi-site NHS trusts and FTSE 100 companies.

This announcement contains Inside Information.

 

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