Acquisition

26th Jul 2007 07:01

Renew Holdings PLC26 July 2007 Renew Holdings plc("Renew" or the "Group") Acquisition of Specialist Engineering business Renew is pleased to announce that it has acquired the whole of the issued sharecapital of Seymour (C.E.C.) Holdings Limited ("Holdings"), the holding companyfor its operating subsidiary Seymour (Civil Engineering Contractors) Limited ("Seymour"), the engineering services provider specialising in the water sector,for a cash consideration of £6.8 million. Seymour, based in Hartlepool, was founded in 1978 and is one of the leadingcivil engineering businesses in the North East of England. It providesspecialist environmental services including water infrastructure development andmaintenance, flood alleviation and coastal protection, as well as urban renewaland other infrastructure services to customers in both the public and privatesectors. Further information on Seymour's activities can be obtained from itswebsite, www.seymourcec.co.uk The acquisition is in line with the Group's stated strategy of developing itsSpecialist Engineering activities through making complementary acquisitions.Alongside a natural association with Renew's Land Remediation activities,Seymour's Water capability adds a third major specialism to the Group'sSpecialist Engineering business stream, which also includes Nuclear. Three quarters of Seymour's work is generated from longer-term frameworkagreements and negotiated contracts, including the benefit of a £10 million perannum framework agreement with Northumbrian Water Limited, with whom Seymour hasworked for over 20 years. Seymour's expected margins are in line with theGroup's target margins for its Specialist Engineering activities. Theacquisition is expected to enhance Renew's earnings per share in the year ending30 September 2008. Seymour's management, who did not own a material percentageof Holdings, is remaining with the company following acquisition. Seymour's turnover for the financial year ended 30 June 2007 was £20.7 millionwith an operating profit of £0.7 million. At the date of acquisition, Seymourhad tangible net assets of approximately £2.1 million including a net cashbalance of £0.9 million and an order book of signed contracts of £13.8 million. Brian May, Chief Executive of Renew, commented: "Seymour is an excellent business with a highly experienced workforce andmanagement team. It provides a very good fit with Renew, both operationally andculturally, based on quality of service and developing long term relationshipswith key customers. It has a proven track record of delivering projects to ahigh standard, safely, on time, within budget and with a high degree ofinnovation. This is an important step forward in the expansion of our highermargin Specialist Engineering activities, which now make up more than 25% ofRenew's turnover. The Group's existing business continues to trade in line with expectations andwe expect to provide further information before the end of our financial year." 26 July 2007 Enquiries: Renew Holdings plc Tel: 020 7522 3200Brian May, Group Chief ExecutiveJohn Samuel, Group Finance Director College Hill Tel: 020 7457 2020Matthew Gregorowski This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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