Acquisition of Ancora Solutions
The board of IPPlus PLC, the software and services business, is pleased to announce that the Company has today completed the acquisition, via its main operating subsidiary IPPlus (UK) Limited, of the business, assets and goodwill of Ancora Solutions Limited for a consideration of £474,000 (the "Acquisition")
Of the amount to be paid, £279,000 is to be settled in cash on completion, £84,000 will be deferred and paid in cash over a period of 42 months, and the balance will be settled through the issue of 1,930,435 ordinary 1p shares in the Company ('new Ordinary Shares') issued at a price for the Ordinary Shares being 5.75p.
Application will be made for admission of the new Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM as soon as it is practicable.
Ancora is an established regional leader in document storage and secure document destruction serving many leading blue chip companies within the legal, medical, property, and transportation sectors. Richard Clement, who has been the lead executive director for the past two years, joins IPPlus bringing his team of archive specialists.
For the year ended 30 November 2009, Ancora had revenues of £720,814, a Profit after Tax of £81,683 and had net assets of £206,479 at the period end. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first full year of ownership.
The acquisition of Ancora extends IPPlus's offering by providing out sourced office services to a wide range of prestigious clients. This attractive bolt on will also provide the opportunity to broaden our activities into both the private and public sector, particularly where compliance and regulatory storage is needed. The Ancora team have built an impressive customer base and an enviable reputation using their bespoke software for cataloguing and indexing vital document management storage.
The dream of the paperless office, first pronounced 30 years ago, is consistently being pushed back. The development of cheap computers, laptops and handheld devices combined with easy access to office printers and copiers means that, in reality, larger volumes of documents and e:mails are being produced and printed for hard copy storage. At the end of the document's life cycle offsite storage is the main solution for a number of businesses whilst the subsequent expiry of regulatory record archiving requires secure destruction which Ancora carry out using its trained CRB cleared staff.
As part of the IPPlus Group, Ancora will benefit from additional resources and complimentary technical and marketing skills that will enable it to maximise opportunities within the specialised markets it serves. The board expects that combining the administration function of Ancora with that of the Company will enable Ancora management to focus on driving growth and increased performance from this division, bringing the same disciplines and KPI methods employed in Ansaback. In addition the ability to use the Ansaback call centre to take client requests and sales enquiries, 24 hours a day, will immediately provide a differentiator from its competitors.
In addition, Richard Clement also brings his experience of buying and selling businesses for Tuddenham Hall Estate with him and will take on a business development brief in the IPPlus management team.
Commenting on the acquisition, William Catchpole, Chief Executive, said:
"The acquisition of Ancora is a significant step for IPPlus. It pushes the Group forward into an exciting and complimentary arena utilising our existing capabilities and opening new market opportunities."
For further information, please contact:
IPPlus Plc - www.ipplusplc.com (0844 544 6800)
William Catchpole - Chief Executive
Stuart Gordon - Finance Director
Brewin Dolphin, Nominated Adviser (0845 213 4729)
Mark Brady
For further information on Ancora please visit www.ancorasolutions.co.uk
