Disposal of Ventura

RNS Number : 5832J

Next PLC

01 July 2011

 



Contacts:	Lord Wolfson, Chief Executive
	David Keens, Group Finance Director
	NEXT PLC
	Tel:  [phone]
	Alistair Mackinnon-Musson
	Nathan Field
	Hudson Sandler
	Tel:      [phone]
	Email:  [e-mail]
Photographs:	Photographs available at:  http://www.next.co.uk/press

Sale of Ventura and Further Share Buybacks

Next has today sold Ventura, its third party customer services operation, to Capita plc.  Ventura is the trading name of Club 24 Limited.  In the year to January 2011 Ventura reported turnover of £156m and operating profit of £8m.

Ventura has been a valuable part of Next since its inception in 1977.   Ventura operates largely independently of Next and has an extensive list of third party clients.  Next intends to continue to use the services of Ventura that are currently provided to Next.  The sale does not include Next Directory's customer and account management services which are provided through the Next UK call centres, these will continue to  operate from the Next  offices in Leicestershire.  We wish Ventura, its employees and its new owners well in the future.

The sale consideration is £65m on a cash free, debt free basis, of which £63m is payable in cash on completion.  Next intends to use the majority or all of these proceeds to buy back and cancel its own shares.  Earlier this year Next outlined the potential for £160m of share buybacks in the current year and is now updating that guidance to £225m.

For the year to date, Next has purchased and cancelled 7.9 million of its own shares at a total cost of £173m, 4.36% of the shares in issue at the start of the year.

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