LONDON (Alliance News) - CareTech Holdings PLC on Wednesday said it has struck a deal to acquire Spark of Genius Ltd, a Scottish residential care and education services provider, for GBP9.2 million in cash.
Spark of Genius provides residential care and education for challenging and vulnerable young people in Scotland and operates 48 residential places in nine residential homes in the country and 100 education places in three schools. It also operates a joint venture with a local authority in England.
For the year to the end of March, Spark of Genius posted a pretax profit of GBP1.2 million on revenue of GBP10.9 million.
The consideration will comprise an upfront payment of GBP7.48 million in cash, with a further GBP1.75 million due based on Spark of Genius hitting earnings targets. It will be financed from existing cash resources, and CareTech said the deal will be earnings enhancing in its first full year of ownership.
"We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Spark, whose impressive growth in the past few years reflects the quality and innovation of its services and the strength of its local authority relationships," said CareTech Executive Chairman Farouq Sheikh.
Shares in CareTech were up 2.1% to 244.10 pence on Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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