Acquisition

Spice PLC 01 June 2007 1 June 2007 Spice plc Acquisition of Homerton Heating Limited Spice plc ('Spice' or 'the Group') is pleased to announce the acquisition of Homerton Heating Limited ('Homerton'), the public sector gas and heating services business, for a total initial consideration of £1.48 million. Homerton will become part of Spice's Public Services Division. The price paid represents a multiple of 3.0 times maintainable operating profits for the year ended 31 March 2007. Additional contingent consideration of 2.0 times annualised operating profit for the 13 months period ending 30 April 2008 will also be payable based on the performance of Homerton over that period. The total initial consideration is subject to adjustment based on the working capital at completion with upto £0.5 million becoming payable following the production and agreement of completion accounts. There will be a cap on the maximum total consideration, including contingent consideration and the working capital adjustment, of £4.0 million. Homerton was established in 1996 and is wholly owned by its directors and their families. One of the two current directors of the business, Tony Ward, will remain with the business following the acquisition. Homerton employs 22 people, including 12 CORGI registered gas engineers. Homerton installs, services and maintains gas appliances and heating systems in domestic and commercial properties owned by social housing bodies and local authorities predominantly based in the South of England. It currently has service and maintenance agreements covering approximately 7,000 properties, such agreements typically being for periods of between two and five years. The range of services provided includes the annual review of appliances and systems, the production of certificates for landlords confirming compliance with safety regulations and any related servicing and repairs. The financial statements of Homerton for the year ended 31 March 2007 show turnover of £2.10 million and adjusted operating profits of £0.50 million. Net assets of Homerton at 31 March 2007 were £0.35 million (including cash balances). Simon Rigby, Chief Executive Officer of Spice, said: "Homerton complements Spice's other recent gas acquisitions and enhances the strength of our Public Services Division. Spice remains committed to its strategy of achieving national coverage in the UK market, using established regional businesses and brands. When we achieve national coverage we anticipate significant cross selling opportunities in Meter Operations and Commercial Maintenance. "Since the formation of our Public Services Division we have been able to grow the existing businesses, through being part of a larger quoted group which provides access to larger clients and through offering first response services in the North West as well as the South of England. Across the Public Service Division, we now have access to nearly 315 CORGI registered gas engineers which provides us with an excellent platform to provide our clients with a responsive and effective service." Tony Ward, Managing Director of Homerton, said: "We are delighted that Homerton is joining Spice. We see significant scope to further develop the business as part of a larger group. There is a strong strategic fit between Homerton and Spice's existing activities and we are confident that Spice will be able to enhance the portfolio of services we provide to our clients." - Ends - For further information, please contact: Spice plc Tel: 0113 384 3838 Simon Rigby, Chief Executive Officer Oliver Lightowlers, Group Finance Director Carl Chambers, Corporate Development Director Financial Dynamics Limited Tel: 020 7831 3113 Billy Clegg Caroline Stewart KBC Peel Hunt Tel: 020 7418 8900 Julian Blunt NOTES TO EDITORS Spice plc Spice is a support services business operating in the Commercial Services, Public Services and Utility Services sectors. The Group's operations were founded in 1996 and have their origins in the electricity industry, though the range of activities has since been expanded into the water sector, niche telecommunications services, the public sector, energy management and commercial facilities management. Spice's businesses have a common theme of delivering and co-ordinating infrastructure services to customers, and the technological element within the product mix has been built up significantly over the course of the last three years. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange BMLTMMTJBLR
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