26 deals
Advanced Computer Software acquires Computer Software Holdings for £110m
Advanced Computer Software Group plc, a leading provider of healthcare and business management software and services, based at Cobham, has acquired Computer Software Holdings (CSH) of Maidenhead from HgCapital (HG) for £110 million in cash. The transaction has been financed through Advanced’s existing cash resources, by a recent share placing that raised £44m, and by new bank debt.
CSH is a leading provider of accounting and back office software to the UK professional services market (legal and coroners) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for the not-for-profit (NFP) market.
It
also provides accounting software to SMEs, as well as mobile solutions for field services operations.
The acquisition marks the group’s biggest deal to date and will enlarge Advanced’s Business Solutions and 365 Managed
Services divisions. It is highly cash generative and will be immediately earnings enhancing.
Vin Murria, chief executive of Advanced, said: “This immediately earnings enhancing acquisition is a tremendous opportunity for both Advanced and CSH which will also significantly enhance the scale of our Business Solutions and Managed Services divisions. The business and many of the management team are well known to us which will simplify the integration process.
“CSH has strong recurring revenues and cash generation and proprietary software IP. The addition of this business will enable us to widen our addressable markets and, in particular, to grow our back office solutions capabilities. The enlarged Group will be highly cash generative with over £160m recurring and repeating revenues and we expect our net debt to decrease swiftly.
JCA Coatings gets £8m backing from Santander to support suppliers
Specialist JCA Coatings, headquartered in Reading, has completed a £8 million financing with Santander Corporate & Commercial, including a new supplier payments package to help speed up payments to suppliers.
In addition to supporting its supply chain, the new finance package will help JCA Coatings to protect margin and maintain its competitiveness in a very tough market that has been experiencing decreasing volumes year-on-year.
Supplier payments, also known as supply chain finance, enables buyers to pay suppliers directly through their bank on approval of an invoice, often helping to strengthen relationships with their supply chain. Payments can be made within a few hours, cutting payment periods and providing reliable and prompt invoice settlement to suppliers – often smaller companies reliant on dependable cashflow.
JCA Coatings established in 1980 and purchased in 2000 by Richard Steer, is now the second largest distributor of specialist paint and related equipment to the car body repair market employing 135 staff across its
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nine sites in Bugle, Exeter, Bristol, Bridgend, Melksham, Southampton, Slough, and Crawley.
Richard Steer, managing director, said: “We are delighted with this new finance package from Santander. Not only have we secured funding at very competitive prices but the supplier finance product should help strengthen our relationships with our suppliers by improving our service to them. It’s great to see a bank offering this facility to a company of our size, and shows a genuine appreciation of how important our supply chain is to the overall success of our company.”
Paul Robinson, relationship director for Santander Corporate & Commercial, said: “We are committed to supporting companies like JCA. This is a great business which has found a niche market and has quickly grown to be one of the most successful in its field. Innovative businesses need innovative and flexible support to help them grow, and we are delighted that we have found the right package to fit JCA’s needs. We look forward to developing our relationship with Richard and his team going forward.”
“The acquisition also provides multiple opportunities for cross-selling our growing portfolio of products and services, as businesses and organisations increasingly seek technology solutions to improve business performance and deliver economies.”
The Group has published a trading update for the year ended February 28, 2013. Revenues from continuing operations are expected to be up 21% to no less than £119m (2012: £98.2m) with adjusted EBITDA up 10% to no less than £26.6m (2012 £24.1m). Cash conversion remains strong at over 100%.
The enlarged Group is expected to deliver pro-forma revenue of £193.2m for the year, of which £160m is recurring (contracted and repeating), and adjusted EBITDA of £42.3m.
The Group has also announced that Guy Millward, an Advanced non- executive director, will become chief financial officer and Barbara Firth, currently CFO, will become chief operating officer responsible for acquisitions and integration. Paul Gibson remains as chief operating officer responsible for operations across the Group.
Details:
www.advancedcomputersoftware.com
Ancoris acquires Appogee to boost cloud services
Ancoris, the Bracknell-based cloud services provider, has announced the completion of the acquisition of Google Cloud development specialist Appogee, headquartered nearby. The acquisition brings Google Cloud Platform and Android development, Lotus Domino migration skills and further enterprise project management experience into the Ancoris stable.
Ancoris is developing an ecosystem of products based around the Google Cloud, with applications such as Google Apps for Business and through partnerships with other product developers in the Google Marketplace. This addition will enable Ancoris to build custom applications for specific customer requirements, helping more organisations to take full advantage of cloud computing.
Founded in 2010, Appogee was among the first Google Cloud Service partners in the UK.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – APRIL 2013
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