Business
Acquisition of NST
Acquisition of NST.
About this update from Harbour Energy Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Holidaybreak PLC\n01 October 2007\n\n\n1 October 2007: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\n\n Not for release, distribution or publication, in whole or in part, in or into\n the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan\n\n HOLIDAYBREAK\n £47.2m acquisition of NST to grow Group's Education Division\n\n\nHolidaybreak, the European specialist holiday and activity group, today\nannounces the acquisition of UK and Ireland educational tour organiser NST\nHoldings Limited for a total cash consideration of £47.2 million. NST will be\nintegrated into the Group's Education Division, created earlier in the year with\nthe acquisition of PGL.\n\n\nSummary:\n\n * NST is the UK's leading provider of group travel to schools and colleges\n throughout the UK. It has a strong brand name and reputation within the\n sector, enjoys long-term relationships with schools and achieves high levels\n of customer retention.\n * Established in 1967, it provides a full range of tours for schools and\n colleges all over the world. In 2006, it carried 172,000 students and\n education staff on over 4,000 trips for groups from the UK and Ireland to\n destinations in the UK, Europe and Worldwide.\n * Under the slogan 'Bringing the Curriculum to Life', NST organises trips\n for schools and colleges to the UK and destinations around the world,\n including India and China. Its specialist trips range from Media Studies\n tours to Los Angeles to Literature Visits to WW1 Battlefields.\n * NST owns Le Chateau d'Ebblinghem, a 19th century French country house 8km\n east of St. Omer in Flanders, which is used as hotel accommodation. It also\n operates activity centres in Lancashire and the Ardeche (part of the\n Rhone-Alpes in the administrative division of Languedoc).\n * NST will form part of the Group's Education Division. PGL, the Group's\n existing education business, is already the market leader in the\n residential, outdoor education and adventure sector for UK schools, which\n organises trips for over 250,000 children each year.\n * The Group's expanded Education Division has the opportunity for further\n growth given the active promotion of the benefits of non-classroom learning\n by the UK government and the ongoing trend of schools to outsource outdoor\n learning programmes to commercial providers.\n * The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for Holidayb...