London Stock Exchange-listed company Tavistock has received an offer from the Bank of Ireland for up to £20m to assist with its acquisition strategy.
The company announced the development in its interim half year results for the six months ended 30 September 2022.
Brian Raven (pictured), Tavistock chief executive, said: “We are continuing to achieve strong organic growth and are well placed to pursue a targeted acquisition strategy.
“The group’s cash resources have recently been bolstered by receipt of the first of three deferred consideration payments from Titan Wealth and an offer from the Bank of Ireland for up to £20m to assist with executing our acquisition strategy.”
M&A targets
Over the last year, Tavistock has been very active in the M&A space.
In December 2022, the firm sold financial advice research and data provider LEBC Hummingbird to Aspira Corporate Solutions for £3m. Tavistock acquired the firm in May 2022 for the same sum, after purchasing a 21% stake in parent company LEBC Holdings for £10m.
In March 2021, Tavistock rebuffed an unsolicited £15.2m takeover bid; then in August 2021, it unloaded its £1bn multi-asset arm to private equity-backed consolidator Titan Wealth.
Oliver Cooke, chairman of Tavistock, added: “Investigating acquisition opportunities and exploring different financing options, as well as the wider development of the business, is a time-consuming process involving occasional dead ends at the due diligence stage.
“However, the company is currently engaged in discussions with several well qualified acquisition targets, which it is well positioned to pursue. The company’s cash resources have been bolstered by the recent receipt of the first of three deferred consideration payments from Titan and further strengthened by an offer from the Bank of Ireland to provide a facility of up to £20m to assist with its acquisition strategy.”
In its results, the firm reported that revenues were up 16% compared to same period last year and up 59% compared to same period in 2020.
Tavistock half year results to 30 September 2022
| Results from ongoing activities | 6 months ended 30 September 2022 | 6 months ended 30 September 2021 | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross revenues | £17.3m | £14.7m | 18% increase |
| Adjusted EBITDA | £147,000 | -£268,000 | 155% increase |
| Depreciation & amortisation | -£497,000 | -£461,000 | 8% increase |
| Share based payments | -£120,000 | -£269,000 | 55% decrease |
| Provision for one-off reorganisation costs | N/A | -£500,000 | |
| Reported loss from operations | -£470,000 | -£1.5m | 69% improvement |
| Loss per ordinary share | -0.14p | -0.31p | 55% improvement |
| Net assets at interim end | £42.1m | £49.8m | 15% decrease |
| Cash resources at interim end | £4.1m | £17.2m | 76% decrease |
This story originated on our sister title, International Adviser.
