Acquisition

17 Aug 2005 11:13

Torex Retail PLC17 August 2005 17 August 2005 EXPANSION OF IRISH OPERATIONS Torex Retail Plc ("Torex"), the leading international retail systems business,is pleased to announce that it has acquired the Retail Petroleum Systems groupof companies ("RPS" or "the Company") for a maximum consideration of €9 million. RPS is based in Dublin and is the leading supplier of forecourt equipment andcomputer systems to the Irish petroleum retail market. The company provides highquality turnkey solutions and ongoing maintenance to all sectors of the marketfrom major oil companies to local independently owned stations. For the year ended 31 January 2005 RPS achieved revenues of €12.3 million with apre-tax profit of €262,000. RPS had net assets of €788,000 at 31 January 2005and employs some 78 staff. The consideration comprises an initial payment of €6.0 million to be satisfiedby the payment of €5.0 million in cash and €1.0 million by the issue of 593,570new Torex shares. Deferred consideration of €3 million is payable dependant oncertain performance criteria. Application will be made for the new shares to beissued pursuant to the consideration for the acquisition to be admitted totrading on AIM. Admission is expected to become effective on 23 August 2005. Chris Moore, Chief Executive of Torex Retail Plc, commented: "The acquisition of RPS significantly expands our petroleum retailing operationsin Ireland and increases the potential for sale of our own IPR products intothis market. RPS has a very strong management team and the increased criticalmass and field engineering infrastructure following the integration of RPS willgive rise to enhanced customer service whilst at the same time creatingeconomies of scale." Enquiries: Torex Retail plc 0870 050 9900Chris Moore, Chief ExecutiveRichard Thompson, Finance Director Citigate Dewe Rogerson 020 7638 9571Ginny Pulbrook / Seb Hoyle Notes to Editors: About Torex Retail plc Torex Retail is a leading independent provider of cutting edge retail technologysolutions to many of the world's principal retailers. Since the company'sflotation in spring 2004 Torex Retail has achieved rapid growth across all ofits markets and has rigorously pursued its goal of becoming the provider ofchoice. As a result, the company now has a presence in all of the major marketsaround the world and has built a strong platform for future growth in line withits strategy. Torex's Retail's product and solution set spans high street andout-of-town retail as well as the petroleum and convenience sector and with over6,000 customer relationships, including Tesco, Woolworth, Selfridges, Shell andArgos, the company has earned a leading reputation amongst retailers. TorexRetail has more than 2500 st Saff based in 17 countries. www.torexretail.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange