Acquisition

21 Dec 2006 07:01

Worthington Nicholls Group plc21 December 2006 RNS release 21 December 2006 Acquisition of Lumenglow Limited Worthington Nicholls Group plc ("Worthington Nicholls" or "the Company") (AIM:WNG), the UK's largest independent installer of air conditioning, heating,ventilation and chilled water systems, has completed its second acquisitionsince listing its shares on AIM in June 2006. On 10 November 2006, the Company reported that it had raised £6 million via ashare placing to accelerate growth, particularly by completing a number ofidentified acquisitions. Today, Worthington Nicholls is pleased to announce that it has acquired theentire issued share capital of specialist electrical contractor LumenglowLimited ("Lumenglow"). Lumenglow has been supplying services to the WorthingtonNicholls group of companies ("Worthington Nicholls Group" or "the Group") since2003. By acquiring Lumenglow, Worthington Nicholls will be adding 2 experiencedmanagers, 2 qualifying managers and a senior supervisor along with six highlyskilled electricians to the Group, all of whom have Joint Industry Board for theElectrical Contracting Industry accreditation. By adding Lumenglow to theWorthington Nicholls Group, the Company will be in a position to reduce itssubstantial yearly outlay on electrical subcontracting and thereby enhance Groupprofitability. In the financial year to 30 September 2006 Worthington Nichollssubcontracted £3.1m of electrical work to electrical subcontractors other thanLumenglow giving significant opportunity to bring these works in house. The Lumenglow acquisition is also important strategically, bolstering theCompany's presence in London and the South East. The Group also seesopportunities to market maintenance contracts to Lumenglow's customer base, andto cross sell its services to existing Worthington Nicholls' clients. Founded in 1984 and based in East Dulwich, Lumenglow's customers includeDebenhams, Royal Doulton, Farebrother and the London Borough ofKingston-upon-Thames. In the year ended 31 July 2006, Lumenglow reported a smallpre-tax loss of £4,000 on turnover of approximately £830,000. Worthington Nicholls has paid a total consideration of £150,000, £75,000 ofwhich is payable in cash and £75,000 in new ordinary shares of 1p each in theCompany ("Ordinary Shares"). As a result, the Company has issued 64,599 Ordinary Shares at 116.1p to thevendors of Lumenglow. All new Ordinary Shares issued to the vendors of Lumenglowwill be locked in for 12 months and subject to an orderly market arrangement forthe following 12 months. Application has been made for the new Ordinary Sharesto be admitted to trading on AIM and trading in the new Ordinary Shares isexpected to commence on 27 December 2006. As part of the acquisition, Ken Sole, managing director of Lumenglow, has signeda new three-year service contract with Lumenglow. In the short term, Lumenglowwill continue to trade under its own name. Mark Worthington, Chief Executive of Worthington Nicholls, said: "This was a family run business with many parallels with how our own businesswas run some years ago. In short, I see plenty of ways to return it quickly toprofitability and to increase the size and scope of its work. With skilledelectricians in short supply, we are lucky to be adding so many talented staffin a single deal. We are very pleased that Ken and his colleagues are joiningthe Worthington Nicholls Group." Enquiries: Worthington Nicholls 0870 609 1829 Mark Worthington, Chief Executive David Levis, Corporate Director Gresham PR Ltd 020 7404 9000 Neil Boom / Tanya Feness Corporate Synergy 020 7448 4400 Rhod Cruwys / Romil Patel Information on Worthington Nicholls can be accessed via the Group's website:www.worthington-nicholls.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange