CorpAcq, the Manchester investment group started by entrepreneur Simon Orange and backed by betting tycoon Fred Done, is targeting another "three or four" deals this year after posting a 64 per cent rise in annual turnover.
The company reported sales of £55.6m in the year to 31 December 2010, up from £35.1m a year earlier. EBITDA for the year was £5.2m, up from £3.4m. The figures were boosted by the acquisition of Lancashire forklift truck and handling equipment business Carrylift Group.
"2010 was a good year, but we're not getting carried away," group legal director Gary Black told Insider. "If we repeat last year's performance we'll be happy although we look like we're going to improve on it."
Since the year end CorpAcq has returned to the deals market, picking up Hessle Fork Trucks in June for an undisclosed sum. The newly-acquired business posted revenues of £7.7m in 2010 and a pre-tax profit of almost £800,000.
Group financial controller Michael Bradbury added: "Turnover should be more than £60m and EBITDA will be about £10.5m in 2011, but given the economy we are cautious and maintaining consistency is the aim.
"However, we've had a very good start to the year and the results for the first six months are looking promising. Hessle's figures will also be taken into account during the second-half."
CorpAcq was founded in 2006 and buys standalone owner-managed businesses, providing owners with an exit. It currently holds nine investments in companies operating in the plant hire and building services sectors.
Last year, Betfred founder Fred Done invested £5m into the group and took a position on its board, with an aim to propel it into a £1bn-turnover business within ten years.
Bradbury said the company was in early-stage takeover talks with a number of businesses and expects further deals to be completed before the end of the year.
"We are looking to do another three or four deals in 2011 and I'm fairly confident we'll complete two before the end of the year," he said. "But after acquiring a company the size of Hessle, our focus at the moment is integrating it into the group and ensuring the change of ownership doesn’t affect performance."
Black also told Insider the company was looking to diversify its investment portfolio to help mitigate risk. "The areas we are looking at currently are not in the plant machinery or building products sectors," he said.
"We've always wanted to build a diverse portfolio of investee companies and that's our strategy. If a good business comes along, we'll take a look at it. We like industries that have a good asset base."
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Insider Article 12th July 2011