Acquisition of Amscreen M2M

RNS Number : 4691X

Brulines Group PLC

07 December 2010

 



Press Release

7 December 2010

Brulines Group plc

("Brulines" or the "Group")

Acquisition of Amscreen M2M

Brulines Group plc (AIM:BRU), the leading provider of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the leisure and forecourt services sectors, is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary Comtech M2M Limited ("Comtech") has today acquired the machine-to-machine business ("Amscreen M2M") of Amscreen Limited, the digital signage group.

Comtech has paid an initial cash consideration of £2.0 million to acquire the trade, intellectual property and stock of Amscreen M2M with a further element of deferred consideration of up to £1.4 million which may become payable in the future depending upon Amscreen M2M achieving certain milestones.

Reported gross assets of Amscreen M2M as at 31 October 2010 were £208,000.

Amscreen M2M is based in Bolton and employs nine staff, all of whom will transfer to Comtech as part of the transaction.

Amscreen M2M is involved in delivering next-generation data collection and monitoring platforms.  The Group has been using Amscreen M2M's patented technology for the last two years for hardware design, development and associated data collection, particularly in relation to Brulines' i-draught™ product.  Amscreen M2M typically generates its revenue from a sale of hardware products, followed by a software licence for a period of between three and five years.

The Directors believe that the acquisition of Amscreen M2M is extremely complimentary as it  underpins the leading edge technology the Group has in relation to the services it provides with its' i-draught™ and vending telemetry solutions.  The acquisition also provides the Group with a dedicated technology business to further develop and enhance its products and services, and to reduce the time to market, as it seeks to achieve globally scalable market penetration for its' i-draught™, fuel and vending solutions.  Amscreen M2M also provides the Group with significant further expansion opportunities through its telemetry product lines and customers.  As a division of Amscreen Limited, there is no statutory financial information for Amscreen M2M; however, in the year ended 30 September 2010, the management accounts for Amscreen Limited showed that Amscreen M2M generated revenues of £1.4 million, including turnover to the Group.

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Enquiries:

Brulines Group plc
James Dickson, Chief Executive Mark Foster, Finance Director	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]	www.brulines.com

Cenkos Securities plc
Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume	Tel: [phone]
	www.cenkos.com

Media enquiries:

Abchurch Communications
Sarah Hollins / Joanne Shears / Mark Dixon [e-mail]	Tel: [phone] www.abchurch-group.com

About Brulines

Brulines Group is focused on the provision of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the UK's leisure and petrol forecourt sectors. Since its admission to AIM in 2006, the Group has grown both organically and through a series of strategic acquisitions to give the Group access to key vertical markets. The Group operates two divisions which comprise five key products:

LEISURE DIVISION

Dispense Monitoring (DMS)	The Group's core product, DMS, is widely used by owners and operators within the UK licensed on-trade, especially the tenanted / leased pub sector. Flow meters connected to draught beer dispense lines send data via an on-site communication panel to a secure central database. Liquid volumes by fount, draught wine or post mix are tracked as they are served, thereby helping customers to maximise sales, service and quality as well as managing their costs. DMS is installed in over 22,000 pubs and manages data for more than one in three UK pubs.
i-draught (formerly BQM)	A more recent and rapidly growing product offer is i-draughtTM, an extension of the Group's DMS, which scrutinises the quality of products running through beer lines in a bar; measuring volume, temperature, flow rate and liquid type (e.g. beer, cleaning fluid or water) at the point of dispense. i-draught is the first system to provide effective measurement of true yields on draught products. Actual dispense volumes are compared with till transactions to identify shrinkage from products given away, pilferage and wastage. i-draught measures the precise temperature of every pint as it is dispensed, the time taken to dispense each drink, and automatically identifies the liquid allowing customers to know exactly when lines are cleaned. Wherever they are, customers can stay in control through accessing their information on a secure web site.
Gaming  Machine Data Services	The acquisition of Coin Metrics in May 2007 was a strong strategic fit with Brulines' existing Machine Insite business which already provides gaming machine data management and consultancy services to operators within the pub, club and leisure markets. Customers benefit from state-of-the-art real-time data capture and reporting systems that deliver improved machine profitability and operational security.
Vending  Telemetry	The Group's subsidiary Vianet is a pan-European provider of telemetry solutions and data applications to the vending industry. Vianet provides services for all vending management needs; from operations, sales, field services, national accounts to senior management.

FUEL SOLUTIONS DIVISION

UK Petrol Forecourt Data Services

The Group's wholly-owned subsidiary, Edensure, supplies key management information to independent, multi branded owner, and supermarket petrol forecourt operators in the UK which helps reduce loss of fuel and improve profitability. Edensure provides petrol retailers with an unrivalled level of accuracy in the monitoring and management of their wet stock, using the most sophisticated analytical techniques available worldwide. This division has been further strengthened by the acquisitions of Energy Level Systems in March 2010, the UK distributor of OPW Fuel Management Systems tank gauging solutions, and Retail & Forecourt Solutions in June 2010, the market leader in fuel pump calibration, adjustment and legal verification, and also a leading provider of forecourt audit and compliance services.  The acquisition of LBI Installations Ltd, also in June 2010, brought additional expertise in the area of web-based contract management solutions for forecourt operations.

Headquartered in Stockton-on-Tees, Brulines employs more than 240 people. 

For further information, please visit www.brulines.com

 

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