Driver Grp Regulatory News (DRV)

2 Jun 2006 13:44

Driver Group plc02 June 2006 DRIVER GROUP PLC ("Driver Group" or "the Group") Announces Acquisition of Edinburgh Property Driver Group, which provides specialist commercial and dispute resolutionservices to the construction industry, is pleased to announce that it hasacquired freehold commercial premises in central Edinburgh for a totalconsideration of £0.725 million plus VAT. The acquisition will be funded fromthe Group's cash resources prior to the funds raised at the time of itsAdmission to AIM in October last year. The property comprises 2,600 sq ft of space at 71 Hanover Street, Edinburgh. Itwill be Driver Group's new base for its operations in Scotland and its purchaseis part of the Group's strategy to expand significantly its presence in thearea. The acquisition follows the appointment, in May, of Alexander Dickson asdirector of the Group's Scottish office, a newly created position. Driver Groupcurrently has an operation based in Glasgow. The property is located in the City centre, very close to Edinburgh Castle. Thebuilding, dating from 1850, is of traditional stone-built construction andprovides office space on the basement, ground and three upper floors. Steve Driver, Chief Executive of Driver Group, said, "We believe there is significant scope to expand our presence in Scotland, wherecurrently we operate from a base in Glasgow and I am delighted to announce theacquisition of these new premises. Construction is a significant contributor to the Scottish economy and I amconfident of our ability to expand our presence here over time. Last month, wecreated the new role of director of Scotland, appointing Sandy Dickson, who has22 years' experience of the construction industry and I am confident that hewill help us to achieve our ambitious expansion plans here." Enquiries: Driver Group plc Steve Driver, CEO T: 01706 244 172 WH Ireland David Youngman T: 0161 832 2174 Biddicks Katie Tzouliadis T: 020 7448 1000 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange