4 November 2015 – acquisition and placing
Records management group Restore has significantly expanded the scale of its operations with the acquisition of the records management business of Wincanton plc. Wincanton Records Management is one of the largest records management businesses in the UK as well as having a significant presence in the Republic of Ireland. The acquisition is costing £55.7m and is being funded partly through debt and partly through funds raised in a share placing with institutional investors. The latter saw just over 13m shares placed at 260p each to raise some £34m. The acquisition will strengthen the group’s position as the second largest records management business in the UK as well as establishing a presence in the Republic of Ireland. It is expected that significant synergies will be available to the group with opportunities to reduce costs and the acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in its first full year of ownership. Although shares in Restore have performed well we continue to believe that they are ATTRACTIVE