Shearwater Regulatory News (SWG)

1 Jun 2006 07:01

Scott Wilson Group plc01 June 2006 For immediate release Thursday, 1 June 2006 Scott Wilson Group plc Acquisition Acquisition of Roscoe Postle Associates In line with its strategy to complement organic investment with selectiveacquisitions, Scott Wilson Group plc ("Scott Wilson"), the internationalconsultancy offering integrated professional services in the transportation,property, environmental and natural resources sectors, announces that it hasreached an agreement to acquire Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (RPA) for amaximum consideration of C$5.0 million (£2.42 million). Completion is expectedtomorrow. RPA is a renowned specialist consultancy involved in the evaluation andexploration of the world's mineral resources, working mainly for banking clientsand blue-chip mining companies. The Company's headquarters are in Toronto,Canada, which is one of the main worldwide mining centres. The initialconsideration for the acquisition is C$2.0 million (£0.97 million) in cash, plusa further C$2.0 million (£0.97million) in aggregate in cash payable over thenext three years. In addition a sum of up to C$1.0 million (£0.48million) inaggregate will be payable by the issue of up to 233,100 Scott Wilson Group plcordinary shares based on the achievement of agreed performance targets over thenext five years. Turnover for the year ended 30 September 2005 was C$5.2 million (£2.5 million)with net assets at that date of C$0.6 million (£0.3million). In its currentfinancial year to date RPA has continued to make excellent progress. Thebusiness will be integrated with Scott Wilson's existing mining consultancyoperations enabling both organisations to benefit from a wider client base andcomplementary skills. In total the combined business will employ 60 staff andhave pro-forma turnover of C$11.4 million (£5.5 million), with a growth plan tobecome one of the top 10 mining consultancies in the world. Geoff French, Chairman of Scott Wilson commented: "I am delighted that we have acquired Roscoe Postle Associates, which is in linewith our strategy of growing our interests in the Natural Resources sector. Theacquisition significantly expands our client base and geographical coverage inthe mining sector." For further information please contact: Scott Wilson Group plc www.scottwilson.comGeoff French, Chairman 01256 310 200Stephen Kimmett, Finance Director Smithfield 020 7360 4900Katie Hunt 07884 494 112Reg Hoare 07831 406 117 Print resolution images are available for the media to view and download from www.vismedia.co.uk Notes to editors: Scott WilsonScott Wilson is an international consultancy offering integrated professionalservices for civil and structural engineering projects, transportation,environmental studies and institutional development. It was ranked as the ninthlargest UK-owned engineering consultant by fee income for the calendar year 2005in the New Civil Engineer 2006 annual survey. The Company earned approximately 67 per cent. of its revenue over the threeyears to 30 April 2005 in the UK and approximately 33% overseas. The Company hasan existing network of international offices controlled through six regionalcentres in Warsaw, Johannesburg, Dubai, Delhi, Bangkok and Shanghai/Hong Kong. Scott Wilson has strong relationships with UK government departments,non-governmental agencies, multinational companies, national governments andsupranational funding bodies. In the financial year ended 30 April 2005, 32 ofthe Company's clients were billed over £1 million and the top 55 of theCompany's clients (which exceeded 1,500 in total) accounted for aggregate feesin excess of £100 million. Important clients and partners include Network Rail, the Highways Agency,Balfour Beatty, Alfred McAlpine, Cross London Rail Links, English Partnerships,Defence Estates, tie and the Roads Service Northern Ireland. Well known projects on which Scott Wilson has worked include The Eden Project,Bangkok Airport, Manchester Airport, Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower, the UK WestCoast Route Modernisation and Victoria Station and a number of LondonUnderground stations. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange