The Co-operative Group (Sunwin Services Group)
The Co-operative Group ("the Group") announces that it has completed the deal to sell its Sunwin Services Group business to Cardtronics for a total consideration of up to £41.5m, payable in cash.
The Sunwin Services Group includes the following services:
- Cash & Valuables in Transit
- ATM Support
- Sunwin Managed Security
All 1,500 Sunwin Services Group colleagues will transfer under TUPE regulations to Cardtronics who will also take on the Head Office in Bradford and 14 regional depots.
The Group has also entered into a commercial contract with Cardtronics for the operation of the ATM estate within The Co-operative Food stores.
Cardtronics, Inc. is is the largest ATM owner/operator in the world and is headquartered in Houston Texas.
Pinsent Mason acted as legal adviser to the Group and Mike, Simson, Partner at Regent Evolution, led a team which acted as financial adviser on the transaction.
Access Intelligence plc (Due North)
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."
Access Intelligence plc (Willow Starcom)
Access Intelligence Plc (AIM: ACC), a leading supplier of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for the full life cycle management of a company's governance, risk and compliance, announces that it has today disposed of its wholly owned subsidiary Willow Starcom Limited ("Willow") to K3 Hosting Limited ("K3"), a wholly owned subsidiary of K3 Business Technology Group plc, for an aggregate consideration of £1.75 million. Willow was established in 1990 as a provider of specialist IT services delivering data management and security solutions, hardware and software support and a range of managed services.
J M Huber Corporation (Demica)
JRJ Group, TomsCapital, and 76 West Holdings, today announced the acquisition of Demica—a global, market-leading provider of sophisticated working capital solutions—from the J.M. Huber Corporation
Based in London, Demica provides innovative, bespoke working capital solutions to a wide range of major financial institutions, corporates and boutique clients. A trusted expert in trade receivables securitisation, supply chain finance and invoice discounting, and with technology and service capabilities able to address amongst the most complex trade receivables and supply chain programmes, Demica is a critical partner for funders and borrowers within the working capital finance arena. Demica’s expertise and services are sought by an increasingly diverse set of constituencies – including multi-national corporations, export-oriented SMEs, private equity sponsors and leading banks.
Reflecting the growing complexity of global trade patterns and supply chains, both small and large businesses are increasingly seeking more sophisticated and more flexible working capital solutions. Having already achieved a position as a key participant within the working capital ecosystem, Demica will now also benefit from the knowledge, experience and resources of the new consortium of investors, who have a successful track record of building and managing businesses in the financial services industry, and will continue to advance and expand the value it can provide to clients.
Joanna Nader, Partner, and Chief Investment Officer, of JRJ Group, said: “As the pattern of global trade, and the operating environment for business, grows in complexity, access to intelligent working capital solutions and tools becomes ever more critical, for both funders and borrowers. Together with TomsCapital and 76 West Holdings, JRJ Group looks forward to partnering with CEO Phillip Kerle, and the Demica team. We are convinced that substantial growth opportunities exist within the working capital finance segment, with many needs still inadequately met or underserved. As long-term investors, we are excited to be able to work with Demica to solidify and enhance its strong position in the marketplace, and to participate in the next stage of the Company’s development.”
Phillip Kerle, who will remain Chief Executive Officer of Demica, said: “We are pleased to partner with JRJ Group, TomsCapital, and 76 West Holdings. In addition to in-depth operational knowledge of the financial services industry, JRJ Group, TomsCapital and 76 West Holdings provide access to new capital to further strengthen and expand Demica’s product and service offering to existing and prospective clients. Certainly, the investment attests to the authoritative position that Demica commands in the receivables finance market.”
Tieto Oyj / Pentec Ltd
Version 1 has acquired Pentec Ltd, the UK-based Forest Business Operations of Northern European IT services player, Tieto Corporation for an undisclosed sum. The move is the first in a series of acquisitions aimed at making Version 1 Ireland’s first €1bn services company.
Forest Business Operations develops and supports IT solutions for customers in the packaging and recycling industry.
Version 1 currently employs more than 400 people and operates in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and London.
Forest’s business operations and 23 employees in Kent transferred to Version 1 at the end of October.
Established in Dublin in 1996, Version 1 completed two successful acquisitions with Prose Software and PM Centrix in 2010.
“This acquisition is an excellent fit for Version 1 because the business has a long-standing tradition of customer satisfaction and a team of highly skilled and engaged employees,” said Justin Keatinge, CEO of Version 1.
“This is the first in a series of strategically planned announcements we will make over the coming months. Through this first deal, we will greatly strengthen our platform in the UK market and increase profitability."
“Ambition is at the core of Version 1 and our strategy is to continually expand through new growth and acquisition. In the next 10 to 15 years, we aim to be the first €1bn Irish services company,” Keatinge said.
DCC plc / Altimate Group SA
Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW) announced that the company has completed its previously announced acquisition of the ALTIMATE Group (“ALTIMATE”), a subsidiary of DCC plc. ALTIMATE is a European value-added distributor of enterprise and midrange computing products, services, and solutions.
Headquartered in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France, ALTIMATE has approximately 250 employees. The company’s sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 were approximately $340 million.
Arrow Electronics (www.arrow.com) is a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for more than 120,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and commercial customers through a global network of more than 390 locations in 53 countries.
WCI Consulting Healthcare Division
Health IT group Ascribe Plc has acquired the heathcare division of WCI Consulting for £650,000, with a deferred payment of £300,000 expected in the next 12 months dependent on the company’s performance. WCI healthcare, which provides consultancy and implementation resource to the NHS, posted pre-tax profits of £263,000 on revenues of £3.5 million for the year ended 31 December 2007.
Commenting on the deal, Stephen Critchlow, executive chairman of Ascribe, said: “We are delighted that WCI Healthcare has become part of the Ascribe group. We will now be able to offer consultancy and integration services to our customers.”
Ascribe develops and markets software that supports patient clinical and business processes to primary and secondary healthcare providers in the UK and overseas.
The acquisition brings Ascribe’s staff numbers to over 265 through its operating companies in the UK, Kenya, Australia and New Zealand.
The Co-operative Group (Sunwin Fire and Security)
The Co-operative Group (tCG) is the UK’s largest mutual business, owned by over six million consumers. It is the UK’s fifth biggest food retailer, the leading convenience store operator and a major financial services provider.
Sunwin Services Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of tCG and its Fire Detection & Electronic Security Division provides a multi- faceted design, installation and maintenance service tailored for any business size.
Assay initiated the transaction and advised tCG on the sale of Sunwin Fire and Security to Kings Security Systems.
Kings Security Systems, based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, provides an extensive range of retail loss prevention and commercial security systems to the UK market and has a wealth of experience within this specialist industry.
Mike Simson led Assay’s team, supported by James Pettifer. They worked alongside law firm Pinsent Masons.
Hutchinson Whampoa - Geo
Geo Acquired by Alchemy in £62m Deal.
Geo has been acquired by the Alchemy Investment Plan (“Alchemy”) from the Hutchison Whampoa Group at an important stage in its evolution.
Geo, a provider of optical fibre networks, has achieved a win-win deal with its acquisition by Alchemy.
Alchemy has paid £62m to buy the company from the Hutchison Whampoa Group. Managing Partner of Alchemy’s London adviser Jon Moulton has said he was attracted to Geo by its innovative business model, high quality bespoke services and excellent track record.
“It is in a unique position in a sector full of ‘me too’ operators,” he said. Alchemy, one of the UK’s most successful private equity investors, believes a key Geo strength is its focus on the fastest growing and most valuable part of the telecommunications market – the provision of data services.
In addition, Moulton values Geo’s focus on its target customers – the largest organisations in the UK – and believes that the company’s bespoke solutions, based on dedicated optical fibre, are the most appropriate way of addressing this demanding market.
“Geo owns the highest quality, diverse optical fibre networks in the UK and has an excellent reputation for winning and delivering complex projects,” he said. “In addition, it is profitable after just three years of operations and has a highly capable management team and workforce.”
“The things that attracted Alchemy to Geo was its strong asset base, in particular its high quality fibre-rich network which is well future-proofed,” said senior executive Eric Lakin, who worked on the deal. ”We are at the early stages of a period of high growth demand for dedicated fibre connectivity.”
Lakin commended Geo’s ‘high quality management team’: “In only a few years, this team has grown from having one customer to become a strong and stable business, executing its strategy well and looking at new revenue streams. You only need to look at new projects like FibreSpeed to see where it’s heading. The Alchemy acquisition is good news for all stakeholders – customers, suppliers, shareholders and employees.”
Chris Smedley, Geo’s Chief Executive, says the deal is indeed a positive one in every respect for Geo and its customers and partners. “We have replaced one experienced and well-funded investor with another,” he says. “There are no adverse consequences for the company, its customers or key partners as a result of this transaction. In Alchemy we’ve found an investor that believes in our strategy and wants to back our ongoing rapid growth. There will be no merger of operations, no redundancies, and no change of personnel that might affect customers.”
“Alchemy is the best possible buyer for us,” said Smedley. “It fully understands and believes in what makes us unique, and has a track record of taking new ideas to market. This is the most positive affirmation of our business model we’ve ever had from one of the industry’s most experienced investors.”
Smedley says he is delighted with ‘a nice, simple deal’ with the buyer taking a 100% stake in Geo, including cash balances, with no change to existing plans or structures: “There’s been no need either for the buyer to raise a whole lot of debt,” he said.
“Alchemy will be an active investor, and we look forward to working together and benefiting from its reputation for adding value to what it buys,” he added. “Alchemy is a specialist in companies at exactly our stage of evolution.” Smedley pointed out that Geo is no longer a start up business, but is now well into its next evolutionary phase, delivering services to some of the UK’s most demanding users: “We have well developed relationships with customers like Carphone Warehouse, Tiscali, 3UK, and have signed a number of new customers in new markets for us, like financial services,” he says. “We look forward to penetrating more new sectors.”
Regent Partners LLP acted as exclusive Corporate Finance advisor to Hutchison Whampoa, the parent company of Geo.
iTEX
Claverley has divested its subsidiary iTEX to C5
Channel Islands' IT consultancy, C5 Alliance has confirmed its purchase of fellow Channel Islands' consultancy and data hosting firm, iTex.
The move creates a full service technology company with "150 IT experts". According to the merged company, the acquisition "will create opportunities for growth, both on and off-island, helping to support the local economy and employment."
C5 has bought Itex from Claverley Group, which also owns the Guiton Group, publisher of the Jersey and Guernsey local newspapers. The purchase is for an unknown amount but C5 has confirmed that it has been funded through retained profit and says that it will be "actively investing in the group."
“The completion of this deal is a strategically important development, creating the only locally owned, full-service, technology player in the marketplace, meaning that these essential capabilities are retained for the economic and social benefit of the Channel Islands," said Mark Loane, CEO of the C5 Alliance Group.
"My aim for the future of the new C5 Alliance Group is quite simply to provide the highest quality business solutions, IT services and outsourcing in the Channel Islands, working in partnership with our customers to enable them to change and run their businesses better."
As a result of the deal, the iTex board will be replaced by Mark Loane, Rob Leader and Mark Lainé, directors of the C5 Alliance Group. No immediate reductions in the work force are expected, instead Mark Loane has confirmed that the company will be seeking to recruit "smart people who are interested in being rewarded for doing innovative work."
In addition to the possibility of recruitment, a number of promotions of both C5 and iTex staff are expected to be announced in the near future.
The newly enlarged C5 Alliance Group is doing away with the Itex brand for all areas of its business except for eGaming but the firm has moved to reassure clients that such changes will not affect the services they are currently receiving and the group will use its full resources to ensure all support and maintenance contracts are honoured.
Regent Partners LLP acted as exclusive Corporate Finance advisor to Claverley, the parent company of iTex.