Acquisition

10 Jan 2005 07:00

Clarke(T.) PLC10 January 2005 T. CLARKE WIDENS GEOGRAPHICAL OPERATIONS WITH £4.2M SCOTTISH ACQUISITION The Board of T. Clarke plc ("T. Clarke"), the electrical engineering andcontracting company today announces the acquisition of Smith ContractingServices Ltd. ("SCS") for £4.2m, of which £1.0m will be satisfied by the issueof new shares in T. Clarke and the balance by the payment of cash. SCS is a privately owned electrical and mechanical contractor with 170 employeesbased in Falkirk and Aberdeen. The company specialises in electrical contractingfor large new build residential projects and has a strong reputation in itslocal markets. It is the largest electrical contractor to private housingdevelopers in Scotland. In the year to March 2004, SCS reported turnover of £10.894m, a pre-tax profitof £338,000, following an exceptional bad debt of £320,000 and had net assets of£1.313m. The Board of T. Clarke is confident that as part of the larger groupSCS will continue its growth. Trading Update The Board of T. Clarke has reviewed trading during the second half of 2004 andis able to confirm that the results for the year ended 31 December 2004 willbe in line with market expectations. The positive trend noted for tradingconditions in 2005 and beyond has continued to gather momentum and the Directorshave confidence that this trend will not weaken in the foreseeable future. Pat Stanborough Chief Executive commented, " I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Smith Contracting Services. Itis an excellent local business, with a first class reputation in its Scottishmarkets. The company has grown well in the past few years, both organically andthrough acquisition. We are confident that as part of the larger T. Clarkegroup, the business can continue its growth pattern. This is our firstacquisition in Scotland and SCS will form the backbone of our Scottishoperations. We have always placed a strong emphasis on broadening the base ofour regional operations and this acquisition fits our strategy perfectly. " We are pleased with current trading, which remains in line with ourexpectations. Our core markets in London and the South East are continuing toshow significant signs of recovery. Consequently, our order books are improvingand we are pleased that we have won a number of large projects that extend intothe next trading year and beyond. Our regional businesses are also reportingencouraging progress and we are hopeful of reporting further major project winsin March." -ends- Date: 10 January 2005For further information contact: T. Clarke plc City Profile GroupPat Stanborough, Chief Executive Simon CourtenayJohn Daly, Finance Director Tel: 020-7448-3244Tel: 020-7358-5000Web: www.tclarke.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange