Acquisition

Tribal Group PLC 07 August 2002 Tribal Group plc 7 August 2002 Acquisition of Yale Consulting Tribal Group plc ('Tribal Group'), the provider of professional support services to the UK public sector, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Yale Data Management Consultants Limited ('Yale Consulting') for a total consideration of up to £9.6 million. Yale Consulting, which was founded in 1983, supplies a wide range of IT, IS and management consultancy services to public sector organisations in healthcare, local government and central government. Yale Consulting is also a prime contractor for the provision of services under the S-CAT arrangements established by the Office of Government Commerce. The use of S-CAT by the public sector is growing rapidly and Yale Consulting is benefiting from being one of only eight organisations that are contracted to supply services in all thirteen categories covered by S-CAT. The acquisition will strengthen Tribal Group's consulting operations and will also provide its clients with a streamlined procurement process for many of its services through Yale Consulting's S-CAT arrangements. Tribal Group has purchased the entire issued share capital of Yale Consulting. In the year ended 31 March 2002, Yale Consulting had operating profit (after normalised directors' remuneration) of £695,000 on turnover of £6.9 million. Net assets at 31 March 2002 were £1.1 million. The initial consideration of £5.7 million is to be satisfied by: • £5.0 million in cash; and • the issue of 301,033 new ordinary shares of 5p each in Tribal Group ('New Tribal Group Shares'). At 31 July 2002, Yale Consulting held cash balances of £1.0 million. Deferred consideration of up to £3.9 million will be paid based on the growth in operating profit of Yale Consulting in the periods ending 31 March 2006. The deferred consideration will be satisfied by the issue of new Tribal Group shares or, at Tribal Group's option, loan notes, save for the first £250,000 of deferred consideration which will be satisfied in cash. Commenting on the announcement, Henry Pitman, Chief Executive of Tribal Group, said: 'We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Yale Consulting. It will further strengthen our public sector consulting business, in which we now employ over 200 consultants, and allow us to offer a comprehensive range of IT and IS consulting services to our clients. Through Yale Consulting, other Tribal Group businesses will now be able to tender for an extensive range of IT, IS and management consulting contracts procured through S-CAT.' 'We see particular opportunities through this acquisition to develop our presence in e-government initiatives in our core markets of education, health and local government.' Application has been made for admission of the New Tribal Group Shares to trading on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange. It is expected that the New Tribal Group Shares will commence trading on the Official List on 12 August 2002. The New Tribal Group Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of 5p each in Tribal Group. END For further information contact: Henry Pitman, Chief Executive Tribal Group plc Tel:01285 886020 About S-CAT S-CAT was established by the Office of Government Commerce, in collaboration with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency. It is designed to reduce the time and costs associated with the procurement of a wide range of consultancy services by offering a simplified, pre-tendered call-off facility to public sector organisations and the privatised utilities. It leaves full control of purchasing decisions with customers who remain free to develop direct working relationships with their selected contractors. The scheme aims to provide the following main benefits: compliance with EC procurement regulations; the ability to call-off urgent requirements quickly; competitive fees available to users; a choice of suppliers and consultants; easy ordering based on standardised procedures; sound contractual protection and an Internet catalogue. In the year ended 31 March 2002, total spending through S-CAT was approximately £200 million. Further information on S-CAT is available on the S-CAT website: www.s-cat.gov.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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