17th Nov 2009 07:00
Savile Group plc
17 November, 2009
Savile Group acquires the right to take a controlling interest in Ashbourne
Further to the announcement of 22 October 2009, Savile Group plc ('Savile'), the AIM listed human resources consulting group, is pleased to announce that it has acquired the right to take a controlling interest in Ashbourne Assessment Systems Limited ('Ashbourne'). Ashbourne is based at Weston on the Green, Oxfordshire and provides assessment, selection and training services to the public sector. Savile has agreed to provide a loan facility of up to £300,000 with the right to acquire more than 50 % of Ashbourne on or after 1 July, 2010. The option to acquire a majority stake is at a valuation of £1m adjusted by actual performance of 2009 and 2010. Founded in 1992 by South African born occupational psychologist, Trevor Pons, Ashbourne has a strong track record within the public sector and is accredited by HM Treasury's Office of Government Commerce to supply its services across the public sector. Notable public sector clients include the Ministry of Defence, H M Revenue Customs and the NHS. Having made a pre-tax profit of £0.5 million on turnover of £4.2 million in the year ended December 2008, Ashbourne now expects to make a pretax loss in the current year on turnover of approximately £2m. However, the board of Savile will work closely with Ashbourne's management team going forward and are hopeful of a return to profit in 2010.
Jonathan Cohen, Chairman of Savile Group, said "We are convinced that Savile and Ashbourne will make a powerful and complementary combination. Partnering through this strategic alliance with such a well established and respected brand will open up additional opportunities in the public sector for our group. Given the immediate outlook for public expenditure, combined with expected comprehensive reforms in the delivery of public services, we confidently foresee strongly rising demand for the career management services as well as for coaching, mentoring and assessment. The Savile Group's brands, Fairplace, IDDAS, Cedar Talent Management along with Ashbourne are well positioned to provide the experience and capabilities in this HR arena. Under the guidance and direction of Lord Freeman (Savile Non Executive Director and former Conservative Cabinet Minister) we are now well positioned to extend our expanded portfolio of services into this strategically important market for HR services."
Trevor Pons, Managing Director of Ashbourne, said: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Savile Group and believe that Ashbourne's experience in the public sector and access to government contracts (Ashbourne is on six of the preferred supplier frameworks with OGC Buying Solutions) brings a real opportunity to grow Savile's public sector business. Our core business of attracting, selecting and developing potential is a natural fit with Savile's talent and career management offerings and we share a real focus on delivering the best solutions for our clients". Note to Editors
Savile Group is a human resources consulting group with three centres of excellence:
CEDAR Talent Management, Fairplace and IDDAS. These provide coaching, mentoring, career transition and talent management to leading companies, professional services firms and the public sector.
CEDAR Talent Management offers extensive expertise in coaching, leadership assessment and development.
Fairplace has a reputation for providing high quality career transition and career management services.
IDDAS provides a range of board level career and business mentoring, coaching and talent management services, including leadership development.
Savile Group operates nationwide from offices in:
Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle ,Northampton and Reading Further information on the Company can be found on its website, at www.savile.com
Ashbourne is one of the leading specialist suppliers of assessment and development centres for managers, senior leaders and executives in the UK. Founded in 1992 by Trevor Pons, Ashbourne initially focused on the delivery of competency based assessment and selection systems and has grown to incorporate a wide range of people based services, including organizational development, talent management, leadership, career development and recruitment. Earlier this year, Ashbourne was awarded places on six of the preferred supplier frameworks with OGC Buying Solutions, the Government procurement platform. Its public sector clients include: HM Revenue & Customs, DVLA, Met Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for Transport, Department for Work and Pensions, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, NHS and Royal Mail.
Enquiries:
Savile Group plc 020 7204 6990
Jonathan Cohen, Chairman
Mark Sidlin, CFO
FinnCap 020 7600 1658
Geoff Nash
Ed Frisby
Cardew Group 020 7930 0777
Richard SpiegelbergJames Milton
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