Acquisition

NCC Group PLC
07 July 2006


7 July 2006


NCC Group PLC


Acquisition of second US escrow software business


NCC Group plc (AIM: NCC), the independent provider of IT assurance, security and
consultancy services, has acquired its second US-based software escrow solutions
business, Source Harbor Inc, for a maximum consideration of $1.5m (£0.8m) in
cash.


The business was established three years ago and operates out of the San
Francisco area.  This acquisition strengthens NCC Group's US operation, based in
Silicon Valley.  NCC Group initiated its US expansion strategy with the
acquisition in January of one of the top five US escrow providers based in San
Jose.



Source Harbor is expected to deliver circa $0.2m (£0.1m) per annum of renewals,
with the business making a contribution to the profits of NCC Group immediately.
The acquisition is net working capital neutral.



NCC Group is publishing its preliminary results for the year to 31 May 2006 on
18 July 2006.


Rob Cotton, NCC Group Chief Executive, said:



'This second US acquisition confirms our commitment to the US market and our
strategy to build a presence in this important market both by acquisitive growth
and organically.   It is earnings enhancing and fits neatly with our San Jose
operation.'





Enquiries:


NCC Group  (www.nccgroup.com)                                    0161 209 5432
    Rob Cotton, Chief Executive
    Paul Edwards, Group Finance Director

College Hill
    Adrian Duffield/Corinna Dorward                              020 7457 2020






Note to editors



Software escrow



A software escrow agreement is a contract made between three parties: the
software vendor (the licensor), the software customer (the licensee) and an
independent third party (the escrow agent, such as NCC Group). Under the terms
of the agreement, the licensor agrees to send a copy of the source code to the
escrow agent and the escrow agent agrees to hold the source code securely, and
to release it to the licensee only in the event of certain predefined trigger
events. These include the insolvency of the licensor or its failure to provide
support services as defined in the software license agreement.



Source code is one of two software application codes.  It is the humanly
readable version of the software written in a computer programming language
intelligible to the software engineer. The software vendor almost always
withholds the source code from users as access to it could enable the creation
of a competing product. The source code is essential in rectifying any problems
arising with the software application.



Verification testing



Verification services are designed to provide customers with an increasing level
of assurance, over and above that which they receive through the basic integrity
testing included within escrow solutions agreement, ensuring that the software
source code held in escrow is correct and complete, should a trigger event
occur.



Within NCC Group's offerings, different levels of verification are available
depending on customer requirements. For example, under its most popular full
verification service, NCC Group, with the consent and support of the licensor,
compiles the source code and builds it into the licensee's application. The
licensee would then test the escrow-built application to ensure it is fully
functional and correct. A full report of the process is sent to both the
licensee and the licensor.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange