LVD.L Regulatory News (LVD)

6 Aug 2009 07:00



LAVENDON GROUP PLC

ACQUISITION OF THE TRADE AND ASSETS OF EPL ACCESS LIMITED

Lavendon Group plc ("Lavendon" or the "Group"), Europe's market leader in the rental of powered access equipment, today announces the acquisition out of administration of the trade and certain assets of EPL Access Limited ("EPL").

The consideration payable upon completion is £1.3 million satisfied in cash. The consideration will be funded from the Group's existing bank facilities. As part of the transaction, Lavendon will assume certain of EPL's debt commitments, totalling £2.8 million.

EPL is a well-established UK powered access rental business, with a resilient, predominantly non-construction, customer base and with many high-calibre, experienced people. As part of this transaction, Lavendon will be occupying seven depots and acquiring 320 rental units. For the year ended 30 September 2008, EPL generated revenue of £8.1m, EBITDA of £1.0m and an operating profit of £0.5m. The value of the gross assets being acquired is £6.6m.

Lavendon's Chief Executive, Kevin Appleton, commented:

"This acquisition strengthens our UK market position in vehicle-mounted access platforms. Through elimination of overlaps with our existing business, we anticipate a rapid return on our investment following completion of an integration programme, which will generate annualised savings of £1.5m before the end of this year, at a one-off cost of around £0.5 million.

"Whilst our focus on cash generation and debt reduction remains very much in place, given our scale and operational efficiency we can absorb acquisition opportunities such as this on very attractive terms in the current environment".

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