8 February 2021

Begbies Traynor Group plc

Acquisition

Begbies Traynor Group plc (the "group") today announces the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Hargreaves Newberry Gyngell Limited ("HNG").

HNG is a London based firm of chartered surveyors employing 13 staff who will all integrate with Eddisons, the group's property advisory and transactional services division. HNG provide commercial property management, agency and lease advisory services to a range of clients including private investors, property funds and commercial businesses.

In its financial year ended 30 September 2020, HNG reported revenue of £1.5m and normalised pre-tax profits of £0.2m. It had net assets of £0.3m as at 30 September 2020.

Reasons for and benefits of the acquisition

The group's strategy is to increase the scale and quality of its businesses both organically and through value-accretive acquisitions, enabling increased shareholder value through the delivery of strong, sustainable financial performance.

Our strategy in property services is to enhance and broaden our service offerings and geographical coverage. Since the creation of the division through the acquisition of Eddisons in December 2014, the group has built a strong track record of acquisitions that have met these criteria. This strategy has increased the scale of the division from annual revenue of c£13m at inception to a current run rate of c£22m.

The acquisition is in line with our strategy, as the HNG team will:

·    enhance the group's existing commercial property management services;

·    improve the national coverage of the commercial property agency team; and

·    increase the capabilities of our lease advisory team.

Principal terms of the acquisition

The acquisition is for an initial cash consideration of £0.4m on a cash free, debt free basis. Contingent cash consideration of up to £0.6m will become payable subject to the achievement of stretching financial targets in the two years following completion. 

Anthony Spencer, Director at Eddisons, commented:

"I am very pleased to welcome the HNG team to Eddisons; they have an excellent reputation for high quality professional advice, and we look forward to working with them and developing our combined service offering. The acquisition significantly strengthens our property advisory capability in London and the South East, and we continue to seek opportunities for further growth there and across the UK."

Ric Traynor, Executive Chairman of Begbies Traynor Group plc, commented:

"The acquisition of HNG is in line with our strategy to develop our property advisory and transactional services division, by increasing both its scale and market position, as well as the scope of its service offering and geographical coverage. HNG has excellent relationships with a broad range of clients which have been developed over many years."

Enquiries please contact:

Begbies Traynor Group plc                                                            0161 837 1700

Ric Traynor - Executive Chairman

Nick Taylor - Group Finance Director

Canaccord Genuity Limited                                                            020 7523 4588

(Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)

Emma Gabriel / Angelos Vlatakis

Shore Capital                                                                                    020 7408 4090

(Joint Broker)

Mark Percy / Anita Ghanekar

MHP Communications                                                                     020 3128 8168

Reg Hoare / Katie Hunt / Florence Mayo                                           begbies@mhpc.com 

Information on Begbies Traynor Group can be accessed via the Group's website at
www.begbies-traynorgroup.com/investor-relations