Business
Acquisition of Anders+Kern U.K. Limited
Acquisition of Anders+Kern U.K. Limited.
About this update from Built Cybernetics Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n17 July 2023\n \nAukett Swanke Group Plc\n(\"Aukett Swanke\", the \"Company\", or, together with its subsidiaries, the \"Group\")\nAcquisition of Anders+Kern U.K. Limited\n(\"Anders+Kern\" or \"A+K\")\n \nAukett Swanke (AIM: AUK), the group providing Smart Buildings, Architectural and Design Services, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Anders+Kern, a distributor of smart workplace systems (the \"Acquisition\").\nThe Acquisition adds meaningful Smart Building revenues and expertise to the Group.\nSummary of the Transaction\nThe Company has entered into a share purchase agreement pursuant to which it has acquired the entire issued share capital of A+K from Easter Road Holdings Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SmartSpace Software plc (AIM:SMRT) (\"SmartSpace\"). The consideration of £515,057 is payable in cash following completion, which occurred on Friday 14 July 2023.\nShortly prior to the Acquisition, A+K completed the disposal of a freehold property asset and settled various intragroup transactions. The net assets acquired are estimated to be approximately £250,000. The Group has received customary warranties and indemnities from the vendor, guaranteed by its parent, SmartSpace. The consideration is subject to a working capital adjustment. This is expected to be minimal and is limited to a further £45,000. Accordingly, the maximum total consideration is £560,000.\nFor the year ended 31 January 2023 SmartSpace reported A+K revenues of £2.09m and a trading loss before tax of £169k. During that period it employed an average of 11 people. Earlier in the current financial period it carried out a restructuring including transfers to other businesses owned by SmartSpace. At the point of acquisition there are seven A+K employees joining the Group. The business is trading profitably with revenue expected to exceed the prior year.\nAcquisition Rationale\nSmart Buildings bring tremendous benefits to their users, their owners, and to the environment. There remain significant barriers to their adoption, including changing the status quo. Architecture firms are well placed to persuade their clients to implement Smart Building methodologies, but most lack the capital and expertise to make the necessary investment in hardware, software, and systems as well as people. As the UK's only quoted architecture group, Aukett Swan...