Business
Acquisition of Shankland Cox Limited
Acquisition of Shankland Cox Limited.
About this update from Built Cybernetics Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 7088O Aukett Swanke Group PLC 11 February 2016 \n\n11 February 2016\n \nAukett Swanke Group Plc (\"ASG\", \"Company\" or \"Group\")\n \nAcquisition of Shankland Cox Limited (\"SCL\")\n \nAukett Swanke Group Plc (\"ASG\") the international group of architects and interior designers is pleased to announce that it has today acquired the entire share capital of Shankland Cox Limited (\"SCL\"), a well established firm of architects and engineers operating throughout the United Arab Emirates (\"UAE\") and incorporated in the United Kingdom. \n \nThe total consideration for SCL is a maximum of AED 16.0 million (approximately £3.0 million) and is being satisfied as to £1.13 million in cash on completion, the balance of approximately £1.87 million to be payable against the collection of SCL's debtors and work in progress following completion. The initial consideration will be funded by a term loan from the Group's bankers, with the Group expected to remain debt free (on a net basis) post transaction. \n \nThe vendor of SCL has agreed to remain with the company for at least two years post completion and will chair our enlarged Middle East operation. \n \nSCL has a staff of 106 which, together with ASG's existing international network of subsidiaries, joint ventures, associates and licensees, creates an enlarged workforce of 146 in our Middle East operation and a total of 483 staff in the Group. \n \nAs we said when we acquired John R Harris & Partners (\"JRHP\") in June 2015, the Board has recognised for some time that ASG's operation in the Middle East, whilst maintaining a presence in the UAE, lacked the critical mass to successfully bid for some of the larger and more prestigious projects available. The JRHP acquisition immediately contributed to achieving that objective with a number of larger projects entering the final negotiation phase and subsequently being won. Whilst this has been a very positive result for the Group, the Directors believe that additional scale is required and that the depth of our skill base in the region could still be enhanced. The acquisition of SCL directly addresses these points and should further enable us to build up our local skill base through organised training and selective recruitment.\n \nThe impact of combi...