Petards nicks QRO in speedy deal

A Northants firm which provides technology used in speed cameras for the police has been sold in a deal worth up to £1.26m.

Petards, the AIM-quoted developer of advanced security and surveillance systems, has bought Northants business QRO, which provides Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) security and speed enforcement systems..

QRO employs 11 permanent staff all of whom will remain with the business post acquisition.

In the year ended 30 November 2015 QRO generated revenues of £1.78m and profit before tax of £101,000.

Raschid Abdullah, Petards chairman said: “We are delighted to welcome QRO and its staff to the Petards Group and look forward to working together to grow the business both in the UK and overseas. This acquisition marks a first step towards expanding the Group into a broader earning base and the Board is continuing to pursue other earnings enhancing acquisitions.”

Gary Austin, QRO’s joint managing director and co-founder added: “We are looking forward to the opportunity to build upon the past success of QRO which will now operate as an independent company within the Petards Group while benefitting from the greater international reach and financial resources of the Group.”