Idox Group Regulatory News (IDOX)

3 May 2012

IDOX plc

Acquires grants advisory business for £3.8m

IDOX plc (AIM: IDOX, 'IDOX' or the 'Group'), a leading independent supplier of software & services, has acquired Currency Connect Holdings BV ('Currency Connect'), a significant Dutch based grants advisory business, for a maximum cash consideration of €4.7m (£3.8m).

Currency Connect provides expertise and knowledge that helps clients obtain funding for innovation projects through grant-based subsidies and research & development tax credits. It monitors and informs customers of innovation subsidies, prepares grant applications and administers the end-to-end process. In addition, Currency Connect provides grants management software and advises clients on process change to enable them to accelerate their innovation and consequent eligibility for related grants. Currency Connect is based in Goor, Netherlands where it employs 34 staff.

IDOX will pay an initial consideration of €4.3m (£3.5m), with a further payment of €0.4m (£0.3m) in 2013 dependent on the achievement of certain performance conditions. Currency Connect reported revenue of €2.7m (£2.2m) and operating profit of €1.1m (£0.9m) in the year ended 31 December 2011 and has €0.3m (£0.25m) of cash. The acquisition will be funded from IDOX's cash and existing debt facilities.

IDOX Information Solutions is already the leading grants information provider in both the UK and the Netherlands. This acquisition will extend the current offering, particularly in the growing innovation funding space. Leveraging Currency Connect's advanced processes, software and skills will accelerate the move into providing a full grants consultancy service in the UK, the Netherlands and other European Union countries such as Germany and France, utilising IDOX's existing infrastructure.

Richard Kellett-Clarke, CEO of IDOX, said:

"This acquisition is an important step in our strategy to expand our current grants information service to deliver a full range of grants advisory solutions. Innovation funding by both national governments and the European Union is an increasingly key element of economic development and this acquisition will further reinforce our position in the lead up to the European Union Horizon 2020 Framework for Research and Innovation, which starts in 2014 and has a grants budget of €83bn.

"Currency Connect has a strong track record in delivering successful grants solutions to its customers in the Netherlands. The combined capabilities of Currency Connect and IDOX Information Solutions position us as a key adviser in the growing innovation funding market across Europe."

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About IDOX plc

IDOX plc is a supplier of specialist document management and related software solutions and services to the UK public sector and increasingly to highly regulated asset intensive industries around the world in the wider corporate sector.Its public sector software and service division is the leading applications provider to UK local government for core functions relating to land, people and property, such as its market leading planning systems and election management software. Over 90% of UK local authorities are now customers. The Group provides public sector organisations with tools to manage information and knowledge, documents and content, business processes and workflow as well as connecting directly with the citizen via the web. These capabilities were extended via the acquisition of McLaren Software in 2010 and CTSpace in 2011 into the related area of engineering document management and control applications, to form its engineering information division. This serves many leading companies in industries such as oil & gas, mining, utilities, pharmaceuticals and transportation around the world. IDOX also supplies decision support content such as grants and planning policy information as well as related specialist services via the IDOX Information Solutions business. In addition, it provides knowledge and content management skills to customers through its TFPL branded recruitment division. The company employs over 400 staff located in the UK, the USA, Europe, India and Australia."

For more information see www.idoxplc.com