Project managers complete £13m sale of own business
PROJECT management firm DBK has been bought in a deal worth up to £13m.
The Birmingham-based firm, which employs 120 people across its four offices, is to become part of stock market group RPS. DBK made a £2.0m pre-tax profit on revenues of £12.1m in 2015.
RPS has paid £10.6m in cash now, which included £4.0m to settle shareholder loans, with two further tranches of £1.2m due after one and two years dependent on performance. The company was owned by 14 shareholders.
DBK’s three founding managing directors – Tim Downing, Duncan Berry and Steve Kelly – have signed three-year employment agreements with RPS.
RPS told the stock market that the deal “represents an important enhancement of our project management capability in the UK and adds to our international presence in this market”. DBK will become part of the BNE:Europe division of the group.
It added: “Our largest business, BNE:Europe, outside Norway, is not exposed to the oil and gas sector and has continued to perform well, underpinned again by the UK planning, development, infrastructure and water markets.
“The group will be going into 2017 with a far smaller exposure to the oil and gas sector and an attractive long term opportunity in project management markets internationally.”
