11th Oct 2006 07:01
Wincanton PLC11 October 2006 For Immediate Release 11 October 2006 Wincanton plc Two acquisitions bring leadership in UK home delivery and construction markets Wincanton plc ("Wincanton" or the "Group"), the leading European supply chainsolutions provider, today announces the acquisition of the entire share capitalof two privately-owned UK businesses. RDL Holdings Ltd ("RDL"), the UK market leader in the provision of supply chainservices to the building products and construction industries, is being acquiredfor an initial debt-free consideration of approximately £22.0m. Up to a further£5.0m may be payable subject to the financial performance of RDL in the periodto 31 December 2007. Lane plc ("Lane"), a market leader in the home deliverymarket, is being acquired for a consideration of up to £2.0m, plus theassumption of approximately £6m of debt. The acquisitions will be financed fromWincanton's existing committed banking facilities. In the twelve months to June 30th 2006, RDL reported, on a pro-forma basis,turnover of approximately £57.6m, EBIT of approximately £2.9m, and EBITDA ofapproximately £3.8m. Net assets at 30 June 2006 were approximately £4.5m. In thetwelve months to 30 September 2006, Lane reported turnover of approximately£47m. Both companies operate in growing markets and benefit from strong existingcustomer portfolios. RDL has built an excellent reputation in the building products and constructionmarkets and has established successful long-term relationships with leadingbusinesses in these sectors. Its blue-chip customer portfolio includes suchcompanies as Ibstock, Hanson, Lafarge, Brett Landscaping, H & H Celcon,Forticrete and Omya. RDL employs 350 people and gives national coverage from 200vehicles on 38 sites across the UK. Supply chain services for the constructionindustry are growing but fragmented. Continuing growth is anticipated fromsustained demand for housing new builds, commercial development and large-scaleinfrastructure projects. As the market leader, RDL is very well-positioned tobenefit from the trend away from in-house operations and regional serviceproviders as the major companies in the sector seek increased supply chainefficiency. Lane has expanded rapidly in recent years, its national home delivery networkbenefiting from the strong growth in internet shopping and multi-channelretailing. Supply chain services in this market are fast-growing but fragmented,and are believed to offer opportunity for both strong continuing growth and forthe consolidation of the currently under-developed industry infrastructure.Lane's existing customers include Bosch, Electrolux, Homebase, and Magnet. Lanealso offers warehousing and transport services to other organisations includingThe Body Shop and Aqualux. It employs some 750 people on 15 principal sitesacross the UK and operates a fleet of some 330 vehicles. Graeme McFaull, Wincanton's Chief Executive, commented: "Wincanton has a strong track record of growing both organically and throughacquisition. These two businesses enable us to build further on our leadingpresence in the UK, enter new sectors and expand our service offering. We see continuing opportunities for growth, both organically and throughacquisition, across all our business areas, in both the UK and ContinentalEurope." For further information please contact: Wincanton plcGraeme McFaull, Chief Executive 01249 710 000Gerard Connell, Group Finance Director Buchanan CommunicationsCharles Ryland / Jeremy Garcia 020 7466 5000 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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