TIDMLWDB
RNS Number : 6216I
Law Debenture Corp PLC
15 December 2020
15 December 2020
The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c.
Acquisition of Eversheds Sutherland International LLP's company
secretarial unit of Konexo
A significant step forward in achieving our ambitious growth
plans and underpinning our position as a leading governance
services firm
The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c. ("Law Debenture", the
"Company" or the "Group") is pleased to announce that its
wholly-owned subsidiary Law Debenture Corporate Services Limited
("LDCS") has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the
company secretarial unit ("CSS") of Konexo UK, a division of
Eversheds Sutherland International LLP ("Eversheds Sutherland")
(the "Acquisition").
The Acquisition consists of the company secretarial business and
assets. The total consideration for the Acquisition is GBP20
million, payable in cash.
Highlights:
-- The Acquisition has a compelling strategic rationale for Law
Debenture, in line with its stated strategy to grow the independent
professional services business ("IPS") by way of high quality and
selective external opportunities.
-- This disciplined IPS acquisition, alongside a continued focus
on organic growth, should positively support Law Debenture's
long-term capital growth and steadily increasing income
objectives.
-- For the financial year ended 30 April 2020, CSS recorded
revenues of GBP6.2m and estimated EBITDA of GBP2.2m.
-- The Acquisition will further strengthen Law Debenture's
position as a leading professional services and governance firm and
enhance its customer proposition.
-- The Acquisition complements Law Debenture's existing company
secretarial offering, building on our existing sector knowledge and
expertise. Law Debenture's accounting and company secretarial
offering has shown strong organic growth both in 2019 and year to
date in 2020.
-- Andy Casey, Head of CSS, will transfer to Law Debenture.
Andy, who is a Chartered Company Secretary with 14 years' industry
experience, joined Konexo in 2015 and was promoted to Head of CSS
in 2018. Prior to joining Konexo, he spent 9 years with PwC.
-- The company secretarial sector offers long-term structural
growth opportunities with favourable regulatory drivers. Demand for
governance services is growing strongly for corporates as they face
ever-increasing compliance requirements and disclosure
obligations.
-- CSS offers significant longer-term revenue synergy
opportunities with potential for cross-selling within accounting
services.
-- The Acquisition helps strengthen Law Debenture's earnings
outlook to facilitate dividend distributions and support long-term
capital growth and steadily increasing income objectives.
-- The Acquisition is also expected to be EPS enhancing and
accretive to the Group's long-term strategic vision and to
value.
Denis Jackson, CEO of Law Debenture, commented:
"The acquisition of CSS is an exciting and value-creating
opportunity for Law Debenture and is consistent with our clearly
stated strategy. While IPS has a proven record of organic growth
over recent years, we have remained alert to opportunities to
accelerate our growth.
We are proud to welcome the CSS team to Law Debenture. It is
encouraging to see such a long client tenure, often more than 10
years, and we look forward to working with the team at Eversheds
Sutherland to ensure a smooth transition of the business. The
combination will bring together highly qualified and talented
colleagues, allowing us to widen our existing expertise and
capabilities to better service our clients.
This is an important step in the continued execution of IPS'
strategy that is both strategically and financially compelling with
attractive longer-term revenue synergy opportunities."
Key transaction terms and financing
The purchase price for the Acquisition is GBP20m, to be financed
from Law Debenture's own resources.
Under the terms of the Acquisition agreement, Law Debenture has
agreed to acquire the business on a cash and debt free basis. For
the financial year ended 30 April 2020, CSS recorded revenues of
GBP6.2m, estimated EBITDA of GBP2.2m. Completion of the Acquisition
is expected by the end of January 2021.
Established for 15 years, CSS is a respected part of the Konexo
business with UK and international sector expertise. The
transferring team has 55 employees, with 15 based in London, 1 in
Hong Kong and the remainder in Manchester. The business services a
client base of 480 in more than 100 jurisdictions.
Notice of 2020 Final Results
The Group expects to announce its full year results for the year
to 31 December 2020 on Friday, 26th February 2021.
For further information, please contact:
The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c. +44 (0)20 7606 5451
Denis Jackson, Chief Executive Officer denis.jackson@lawdeb.com
Tulchan Communications (Financial +44 (0)20 7353 4200
PR) Lawdebenture@tulchangroup.com
David Allchurch
Deborah Roney
Laura Marshall
About Law Debenture
Company History:
From its origins in 1889, Law Debenture has diversified to
become a Group with a unique range of activities in the financial
and professional services sectors. The Group has two distinct areas
of business.
Investment Portfolio:
Our portfolio of investments is managed by James Henderson and
Laura Foll of Janus Henderson Investors.
Our objective is to achieve long term capital growth in real
terms and steadily increasing income. The aim is to achieve a
higher rate of total return than the FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index
Total Return through investing in a diversified portfolio of
stocks.
Independent Professional Services:
We are a leading provider of independent professional services,
built on three excellent foundations: our Pensions, Corporate Trust
and Corporate Services businesses. We operate globally, with
offices in the UK, New York, Ireland, Hong Kong, Delaware and the
Channel Islands.
Companies, agencies, organisations and individuals throughout
the world rely upon Law Debenture to carry out our duties with the
independence and professionalism upon which our reputation is
built.
The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c. is registered in England at
8th Floor, 100 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AG, company registration
number 30397. The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c. LEI number -
2138006E39QX7XV6PP21.
About Eversheds Sutherland
As a global top 10 law practice, Eversheds Sutherland provides
legal services to a global client base ranging from small and
mid-sized businesses to the largest multinationals, acting for 66
of the FTSE 100, 73 of the Fortune 100 and 119 of the Fortune
200.
With more than 3,000 lawyers, Eversheds Sutherland operates in
68 offices in 32 jurisdictions across Africa, Asia, Europe, the
Middle East and the United States. In addition, a network of more
than 200 related law firms, including formalised alliances in Latin
America, Asia Pacific and Africa, provide support around the
globe.
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END
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