Car service plan operator EMaC sold for up to £46m
A CHESHIRE company which offers service plans to car manufacturers and retailers has been sold for up to £46m.
EMac, which was founded in a basement in Bolton in 2004 and is now located on the Crewe Business Park, has been acquired by The Innovation Group, the listed business process services and software specialist.
For the year December 2013, EMaC reported EBITDA of £2.9m on revenue of £7.4m. Its forecast for the current financial year is for EBITDA to rise to £3.5m.
The Innovation Group has paid £36m in cash now. wioth a further £10m cash payment due in early 2017 based on “stretching profit target” for the calendar year to December 2016. This is dependent upon profit growth both in the UK and also across Europe.
EMaC’s chief executive Angela Barrow, who owned more than 50% of the sharwes in EMaC’s holding company Ingleby (1879) Ltd has agreed to stay with the business for two years.
She said: “This latest chapter in the EMaC story is a very exciting one, which will support our aims to broaden our proposition and move into new markets.
“The EMaC brand will continue to be an active part of the UK motor retailing landscape and all of our customers can be assured that they will continue to benefit from our distinctive service led ethos. I am excited to join the Innovation Group and will use this change to accelerate our development plans.
EMaC is the UK’s leading outsourced provider and administrator of service plans for motor vehicles and is the only company solely focused on the provision of service plans for the retail motor industry in the UK and Eire. It has around 100 staff, the majority based in Crewe.
It provides motor retailers with a key tool to achieve customer retention rates in the face of increasing competition in the motor industry, by working together to deliver service plans to vehicle owners through user-friendly web-based technology.
EMaC counts some of the motor industry’s most recognised manufacturers as its customers, as well as some of the UK’s largest car dealership brands. EMaC has sold 1.5 million service plans since inception, with 300,000 plans sold in the last financial year
Andy Roberts, chief executive of Innovation Group, a £200m+ revenue business with nearly 3,000 staff worldwide said: “We are delighted to welcome the EMaC team to The Innovation Group. We have always stated our ambition to build out the motor service plan offering across our group and we have taken the time, energy and effort to make sure we find the right fit for this need. I
“It is clear that EMaC will make an excellent addition to our Group – not only in terms of the service and scale that it brings but also in the culture and ethos of its people. Together we have big plans for growth in Motor – not just here in the UK but internationally where the opportunity is large and within our reach.”
