£5m deal for digital agency
A DIGITAL agency with an office in Manchester’s Northern Quarter has been snapped up in a deal worth £5.6m.
Reading Room, which is based at Phoenix House on Spear Street and works with major organisations including the NHS, Visit England and HMRC, Manchester’s National Football Museum and Knowsley Council in Merseyside.
It is being bought by AIM listed software company Idox, which is developing a number of new online platforms, including one for local government.
The deal for Reading Room which was founded in 1996, includes its Manchester and London operations, and not its subsidiaries on the Asia-Pacific region.
For its financial year ended 31 March 2015, Reading Room reported, for the businesses being acquired, as yet unaudited revenue of approximately £9.8m, with EBITDA of approximately £0.3m and a loss before tax of approximately £0.1m. As at 31 March 2015 net assets were £1.4m.
Richard Kellett-Clarke, chief executive of Berkshire-based Idox, said: “The acquisition of Reading Room is a major step in our strategy to build a sophisticated digital platform from which we can leverage our sector and domain knowledge to provide value adding solutions across the UK and Europe.”
Sarah Vick, managing director at Reading Room, added: “I am delighted that we have joined the Idox Group, with all the opportunities that will become available to us from being part of such a business. It is a great fit for us and the beginning of an exciting new era for Reading Room.”
