31st May 2006 07:04
Innovation Group PLC31 May 2006 For Immediate Release 31 May 2006 THE INNOVATION GROUP PLC Acquisition of Australian Outsourcing Company The Innovation Group (the "Company"), which provides outsourcing services andsoftware solutions to insurance providers, today announces that it has acquiredthe trading assets of Sureplan Australia Pty Ltd, together with furtherassociated assets from the Sureplan group of companies (together "Sureplan") forAus $7.75m (approximately £3.1m), of which $6.75m (approximately £2.7m) is paidupfront with deferred consideration of up to Aus $1m (approximately £0.4m)depending upon future business performance. The consideration will be met fromexisting cash resources. Sureplan is the leading provider of outsourced accident and risk managementsolutions to the automotive leasing and self insured fleet sectors in Australia.The transaction enables the Company to expand its client base into this marketand, when combined with the Company's existing operations, creates Australia'sleading outsourced provider of accident and fleet management solutions to theinsurance industry. The acquired business had unaudited turnover and pre-tax profit for the year to30 June 2005 of approximately Aus $2.9m (approximately £1.2m) and Aus $1.1m(approximately £0.4m) respectively. Hassan Sadiq, Chief Executive of The Innovation Group, said: "Sureplan is a good business with a strong understanding of the automotiveleasing and fleet sectors. This acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancingin our next financial year and will increase the recurring revenue element ofour business. In line with our strategy of becoming a single client-centricorganisation, it enables us to extend our product offering in Asia Pacificwhilst widening our client base for outsourced services. Enquiries: The Innovation Group plc 01489 898300Hassan Sadiq, Chief Executive Officer Paul Smolinski, Group Finance Director Smithfield 020 7360 4900Sara Musgrave Notes to editors: At the Innovation Group, we provide outstanding depth into the insurance valuechain and leverage our software and outsourcing expertise to devise a solutiondesigned for maximum impact. Our clients-insurers, banks, retailers,manufacturers and government-have the flexibility to choose how to use oursolutions and offerings. From outsourcing to insourcing to licencing software inthe world's largest insurance markets, including North America, the U.K.,Germany, South Africa, Australia and Japan, our clients use our expertise togenerate positive change within their organisation and on their bottom-line. The Group's proposition is modular, offering a range of solutions from 'buildingblocks' for step change to complete solutions for radical transformation. Wework with clients to generate new products and support their sales, employingour call centres to convert prospects into policyholders, and our software toquote and manage these policies moving forward. In the event of an incident-beit home, auto or manufacturer warranty-our call centres, claims professionalsand software manage every step of the claims process to realise greaterefficiency, improved customer satisfaction, and higher profits. Key market facts: • BPO Market to grow to $110 Billion in North America by 2009. The growth of the BPO market continues to outpace other IT services. In North America, BPO will grow by an 8.8 per cent compound annual growth rate by 2009. (Gartner 2005) • Due to the high systems maintenance costs of mature insurance organisations, only 30 per cent of IT budgets are available for developing new systems and technologies to improve business support. (Gartner, 2005) • Two of the top five priorities of these insurers are regulatory compliance and cost containment. (Forrester Research, 2005) • 79 per cent of insurers polled are planning to or are currently executing system consolidation in the next 12 months to address critical issues. (Forrester Research, 2005) • Of those planning system consolidation, 55 per cent are planning to address policy systems; 48 per cent are expected to address claims systems. (Forrester Research, 2005) • Claims system replacement is more prevalent in the US P&C insurance industry. Research shows that 35 per cent of insurers are assessing this approach versus 22 per cent of insurers that are simply renovating their existing system. This trend is being fuelled by the advancement in the vendor market and need to deploy solutions rapidly. (Gartner, 2005) This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Team Internet