UNG.L Regulatory News (UNG)

4 November 2013

Universe Group plc

("Universe", "the Company" or "the Group")

Acquisition

Universe Group plc (UNG), the leading developer and supplier of payment and loyalty solutions to the UK retail fuel industry, is pleased to announce the acquisition (the "Acquisition") of the trade and assets of Retail Service Team Limited ("RST") for a total consideration of £150,000 (of which £75,000 is for the settlement of business-critical trade liabilities), payable in cash on completion.

Founded in 2009, RST has grown to become one of the UK's leading providers of installation, maintenance and support for EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) systems in the domestic retail sector. It employs over forty full-time staff, providing nationwide service coverage for a client base covering a number of major retail brands. RST achieved unaudited revenues of £4.1 million and profit after tax of £0.24 million during the year ended 31 December 2012 and expects to record turnover of £3.0 million and remain modestly profitable for the current financial year. The net book value of assets being acquired was £120,000 at 31 December 2012.

RST provides Universe with an expanded footprint in the general retail sector and broadens the Group's addressable market. Additionally, the Acquisition will provide a greater scale to the Group's existing service operations and brings a talented team with a track record of delivery in a wide variety of customer applications.

The Board of Universe expects the business acquired from RST to make a positive contribution in the next financial year and the Acquisition will be financed through the Company's existing cash resources.

Universe's CEO, Jeremy Lewis commented:

"We are very pleased to announce that we have today acquired RST's trade and assets. RST has, in a relatively short amount of time, built a very strong reputation in the retail EPOS sector. This activity is strongly complementary to our work and presence in the filling station forecourt EPOS space and provides another growth opportunity for the Group.

In order to further extend our market reach and product range, we are continuing our discussions with other potential acquisitions."

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