Acquisition

28 Feb 2006 07:02

Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc28 February 2006 Date: 28th February 2006On behalf of: Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc ("the Group" or "Dowlis")Embargoed: 0700hrs Dowlis Corporate Solutions plcAcquisition of Ross Promotional Products Ltd Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc, the marketing solutions group, is pleased toannounce today that its subsidiary Dowlis Corporate Solutions (UK) Limited hasacquired the entire issued share capital of Ross Promotional Products Ltd ("Ross"), a Glasgow-based promotional gift company, for £825,000. The consideration will be paid £725,000 in cash and 210,526 ordinary shares inDowlis, expected to be admitted to trading on 3rd March 2006. Turnover for Ross for the 2005 financial year was £1.81m (2004: £1.39m) with aprofit before tax of £0.28m (2004: £0.18m). Net asset valuation of Ross was£0.26m, including cash of £0.265m. Commenting on the acquisition, Martin Varley, the Group's Chief Executive, said: "Today's acquisition supports the Group's strategy for expansion in the UK and Iam delighted to be able to welcome The Ross team into the Group. There arestrong synergies between the existing Dowlis businesses and Ross, in particularthe transaction gives the Group a Scottish base from which to serve theincreasing client base in Scotland . The Ross team share our desire for quality,customer service and innovation and I am confident that customers from bothcompanies will benefit from the combined resources." - ENDS - Enquiries: Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc 0870 224 6677Martin Varley (Chief Executive) 07775 848 252 Redleaf CommunicationsEmma Kane/Miranda Good 020 7955 1410 Corporate Synergy PLCRhodri Cruwys 020 7448 4450 Zeus CapitalAlex Clarkson 0161 831 1512 Notes to Editors: • Publication quality photographs are available via Redleaf. • Dowlis has an experienced Board which comprises: Colin Cooke, Chairman, who has 21 years' experience as a public company director; Martin Varley, Chief Executive Officer, who has 17 years' experience in the promotional merchandise industry and has gained an extensive knowledge of the supply and distribution sectors of the market; David Gray, Finance Director, formerly finance director of Gowrings PLC for 10 years; and, Keith Willis, Non Executive Director, who recently received a lifetime achievement award from PROMOTA in recognition of his 30 years' contribution to the industry. • It is estimated that the annual UK market for promotional merchandise is £1 billion (source: PROMOTA), which comprises approximately 2,000 distributors supported by 600 UK based suppliers of a wide range of products and services. • The Group's maiden set of results are scheduled for announcement in March 2006 • The Group currently has four primary sales channels: Promotional Products - the Directors believe Dowlis is the second largestdistributor of promotional products in the UK. It sources products from aroundthe World which are then personalised in accordance with the client's brand anddesign guidelines in support of their wider marketing campaigns. Trade OnlyTM - suppliers to independent distributors via an annual catalogue,exhibition and website. Trade OnlyTM receives orders from approximately 25 percent of the UK's distributors who access the Trade OnlyTM range which features600 products all of which are branded to the distributors' specification. Information Services - a bespoke, industry specific website that containsdetailed information on over 1,000 products including full details of thesupplier and also detailed product information. Revenue is generated fromsuppliers wishing to be featured on the website. Dowlis Communications - a design agency based in Manchester, providing a rangeof services which cover all aspects of design and marketing, including print andbrochure production, media planning and buying. It is expected that DowlisCommunications will provide the platform for a number of potential additionalservices that can be added to the Group's offering as the strategy to focus onmarketing services is developed. The Group's offering is underpinned by its investment in software andinformation technology. Its bespoke sales order processing system and productdatabase was carefully designed to complement the strategy of the Group. TheDirectors believe that it will provide the Group with a competitive advantageover others in the industry. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange