Empresaria Group Regulatory News (EMR)

15 December 2014

Empresaria Group plc ("Empresaria" or the "Group")

Acquisition of majority interest in Ball and Hoolahan

Empresaria (AIM:EMR), the international specialist staffing group, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 75% interest in Ball and Hoolahan Limited, an established UK based recruiter serving the marketing industry.

Ball and Hoolahan, which has been operating for 25 years, focuses on servicing the corporate marketplace working with a range of leading brands in the UK and Europe. It will be a complementary addition to Empresaria's Become group of companies, which specialises in the Creative, Media and digital sectors. The Become group currently operates out of offices in London, Manchester, Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong and focuses on providing permanent and freelance staff to predominantly advertising, design, media and digital agencies.

The consideration of up to £1.5 million comprises an initial cash payment of £1.0 million, with an earn-out up to a maximum value of £0.5 million, contingent on the performance of Ball and Hoolahan for the financial year ended 31 March 2015. In the year ended 31 March 2014, Ball and Hoolahan generated revenue of £1.8 million. The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings accretive. Ball and Hoolahan's Managing Director, Roy Hoolahan, retains a 25% interest in the business and will continue to manage the business going forward.

Joost Kreulen, CEO of Empresaria said:

"I am delighted that Ball and Hoolahan, a well-established business that has an unrivalled reputation within the marketing recruitment sector, has joined the Group. This investment is in line with our ongoing strategy of developing leading brands within the sectors in which we operate. We believe there is a great opportunity to replicate their success in the UK within our network both in the UK and overseas."

Enquiries:

Notes for editors:

§ Empresaria Group plc is an international specialist staffing group with 20 brands operating in 20 countries across the globe including UK, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, China, Chile and Australia.

§ The Group offers both temporary and permanent staffing solutions in several sectors including Financial, IT Digital & Design, Technical & Industrial and Retail.

§ Empresaria applies a multi brand, management equity philosophy and business model, with Group company management teams holding significant equity in their own business.

§ The Group is listed on AIM under ticker EMR. For more information: http://www.empresaria.com/