Rm Regulatory News (RM.)

2 Aug 2007 07:00

RM PLC02 August 2007 2nd August 2007 RM expands Assessment and Data Services Business through Asset Purchase RM announces that it has acquired the assets comprising the business known asSERAP from the University of Bath for a consideration of £580,000. SERAPprovides specialised educational data matching and reporting services forGovernment Departments & Agencies and Local Authorities. SERAP already workswith RM, providing services for the National Pupil Database - Achievement andAttainment Tables (NPD-AAT) contract. RM will acquire SERAP's existing contracts, along with the software, data andexpertise required to fulfil these contracts. Eight members of staff willtransfer to the RM Group under TUPE regulations. SERAP's assets will beintegrated into, and managed from, Forvus, the Group's specialist data servicescompany. The acquisition of SERAP significantly enhances RM's Assessment and DataServices business. SERAP provides additional relationships with exam boards andLocal Authorities, which are key customers for the Assessment and Data Servicesbusiness. Commenting on the acquisition, Tim Pearson, CEO of RM, said: "It's great to welcome the SERAP team to RM. We're excited by the opportunitiestheir skills and market relationships open up for our Assessment and Databusiness. Bringing SERAP into RM also significantly enhances our ability todeliver important contracts for Department for Children Schools and Familiesmore efficiently and effectively." Gordon Brown, Head of SERAP, added: "SERAP has worked closely with Forvus for thirteen years and, since winning theNPD-AAT contract with RM, our relationship has grown closer. Becoming part ofForvus provides an exciting future for the business and its staff. I lookforward to working with them to consolidate and grow the business and extend therange of services we offer. We are particularly pleased that we are joining agroup which shares our belief that educational data provides a significant toolfor the improvement of education." For further information, please contact:Mike Greig/Phil Hemmings, RM plc 08450 700300Mark Antelme, Brunswick Group LLP 0207 404 5959 Notes: Founded in 1973, the RM Group is a leading provider of educational products andservices to schools, colleges & universities, local government, and centralgovernment education departments & agencies. RM works closely witheducationalists to create new products, processes and technology which improveteaching and learning. RM is listed on the main market of the London StockExchange under the symbol RM.L. RM acquired Forvus, which provides outsourced data and analysis services, inJuly 2003. Forvus' customers are primarily public sector organisations and itsbusiness comprises substantial, multi-year contracts. Forvus is based inClapham. SERAP, the Schools Exam Results Analysis Project, was founded by the Universityof Bath in 1978 to provide specialist educational data processing and reportingservices. SERAP provides services to Local Authorities through the NCER (theNational Consortium for Exam Results), a consortium comprising all English localauthorities as well as Jersey, Guernsey, the Service Children's Authority, Isleof Man and Isles of Scilly. SERAP provides services to RM in the delivery of theNational Pupil Database Achievement and Attainment Tables contract for theDepartment for Children, Schools and Families, and has provided data servicesfor the Department for Education in Northern Ireland. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange