Disposal of Due North

RNS Number : 8723N

Access Intelligence PLC

03 February 2016

 

FOR RELEASE                                                                                                   

3 february 2016

ACCESS INTELLIGENCE PLC

("Access Intelligence" or the "Group")

Disposal of Due North Limited

Access Intelligence plc (AIM: ACC) a leading supplier of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for reputation and operational risk management, announces that it has disposed of its wholly owned subsidiary Due North Limited ("Due North"), for an aggregate cash consideration of £4.5 million, to Proactis Holdings plc (AIM: PHD, "Proactis"), the global spend control and eProcurement solution provider.

Due North, established in 1993, is a leading provider to the public sector of cloud-based strategic sourcing solutions in the UK. For the financial year ended 30 November 2015, the Group's unaudited management accounts show a revenue contribution from Due North of £1.79 million with EBITDA of £0.36 million and profit before tax of £0.18 million. The purchase price of Due North reflects a multiple of 12.6x EBITDA. For the year ended 30 November 2014, Due North reported turnover of £2.0 million on which it made an operating profit (before depreciation and amortisation) of £0.5 million and its reported net assets were £2.3 million.

The total value of the net assets being disposed of as at 30 November 2015 was approximately £2.5 million.

The net proceeds of the disposal will be used to strengthen the Group's balance sheet and provide additional working capital to support the growth and development of the Group.

Commenting on the disposal, Joanna Arnold, CEO, said: "The divestment of Due North from the Group is in line with our strategy to focus on SaaS solutions in reputation and risk management. Over the last 12 months, we have pruned non-strategic businesses to provide the Group with greater financial flexibility and create value for our shareholders. We would like to thank Malcolm McClen and the fantastic team at Due North for their valuable contribution to the Group and wish them and Proactis every success in the future."

For further information:

Access Intelligence plc	0843 659 2940
Michael Jackson (Non-Executive Chairman)
Joanna Arnold (CEO)
Sanlam Securities UK Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker)	020 7628 2200
Simon Clements/Virginia Bull

 

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