Acquisition

RNS Number : 7235E

Volvere PLC

15 May 2013

 



15 May 2013

Volvere plc

Acquisition

Volvere plc ("Volvere"), the growth and turnaround investment company, is pleased to announce the acquisition of certain of the assets of JMP Consultants Limited ("JMP") with a view to carrying on the trade of that business as a going concern ("the Transaction").  The assets will be held in a wholly owned subsidiary of Volvere which will trade under the name JMP Consultants Limited ("Newco").

JMP's principal activities are the provision of transport planning and engineering consultancy services from a network of 9 offices in the UK.  The business has approximately 150 full-time employees serving both the public and private sectors.

Consideration and Deal Structure

Volvere is acquiring the assets of JMP for a cash consideration of £0.415 million. It is expected that Volvere's shareholding in Newco over time will be reduced by up to 25% through the issue of new equity in Newco to key stakeholders.  Volvere will also make a working capital facility available to Newco.

The estimated fair value at completion of the net assets being acquired, which relates principally to amounts recoverable on client contracts, is approximately £0.6 million.  In the 12 month period ending 31 March 2013, JMP's unaudited revenue was £10 million with an adjusted* profit before tax of £0.06 million.

Commenting on the Transaction, Jonathan Lander, Chief Executive Officer of Volvere, said "I am pleased to be making this investment in such a long-established and well-regarded consultancy.  JMP's existence was under threat from a legacy pension scheme deficit, which was unsustainable for the business going forward.  The management and staff now have an excellent opportunity to grow their customer offering once again. We are looking forward to working with them."

* certain costs relating to the restructuring of the company, its defined-benefit pension scheme and properties that are not being retained have been added back.

For further information:

Volvere plc

Jonathan Lander, Chief Executive

+ 44 (0) 20 7634 9700

N+1 Singer

Aubrey Powell, Director, Corporate Finance

+ 44 (0) 20 7496 3000

 

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