ASTO Assetco Plc

RNS Number:5888K
AssetCo PLC
24 December 2007



For immediate release                                           24 December 2007


                  AssetCo plc ("AssetCo" and or the "Company")
                                        
   Acquisitions of TVAC - The Vehicle Application Centre Limited ("TVAC") and 
                        UV Modular Limited ("UVM")
                                        
AssetCo plc, (AIM : ASTO) a leading provider of support services to the UK Fire
and Rescue Service, is pleased to  announce that it has acquired the issued
share capital of TVAC, an established provider of engineering solutions to, 
inter alia, the UK Fire and Rescue Service and UVM, a leading designer and
manufacturer of ambulances for the emergency  and local authority sectors. The
consideration payable for TVAC is an initial amount of GBP2.08million comprising
GBP780,000 in cash and GBP1.3 million in AssetCo plc shares together with
potential deferred consideration of up to  GBP6.87 million.  The consideration
payable for UVM is an initial amount of GBP700,000 in cash with potential
deferred  consideration of up to GBP800,000.

TVAC

TVAC is a leading manufacturer of a full range of fire engineered equipment,
vehicle appliances and vehicle conversions  to, inter alia, the UK Fire and
Rescue Service. As one of the most professional, innovative and R&D focused 
manufacturers, the company is the UK franchise holder for Plastisol, the
preferred fire appliance body in the UK, and  has been involved in the build of
vehicles for the majority of Fire and Rescue Authorities in the country.  As
well as  assembling fire appliances, TVAC has a long and successful tri-partite
development partnership with AssetCo and the  London Fire and Emergency Planning
Authority to supply the most advanced fire appliances to the London Fire
Brigade.  The acquisition will bring a complementary set of technologies and
expertise to enhance the design, engineering and  build capability offered by
the Group's Papworth Specialist Vehicles subsidiary.

This acquisition will make AssetCo the largest provider of fire appliances to
the UK Fire and Rescue market and leaves  the Company well positioned to take
advantage of the growth anticipated in a number of overseas markets. The
Directors  expect the transaction to be earnings enhancing in the first full
financial year of ownership.

In the year ended 31 August 2007, TVAC reported PBT of GBP625,000 on turnover of
GBP18.4 million and had net  liabilities of GBP1.38 million.

Under the terms of the share purchase agreement, AssetCo (through its subsidiary
entity, AssetCo Specialist Vehicles  Limited ("AssetCo Specialist Vehicles" or
the "Purchaser")) has acquired the entire issued share capital of TVAC for 
consideration comprising:

-  an initial consideration of GBP2.08 million which is to be satisfied as to  
   GBP780,000 in cash and as to GBP1.3 million in shares by the issue of 724,233 
   new ordinary shares in AssetCo at 179.5 pence

-  a deferred payment of up to GBP6.87 million in cash, in part dependent upon 
   the trading performance of the specialist vehicles division of AssetCo (of 
   which TVAC will form a part). Up to GBP2.87m may be payable on 31 May 2009 
   with the balance potentially payable by 31 May 2010.

Application will be made for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading
on AIM. The new ordinary shares will  rank pari passu with the existing ordinary
shares of the Company.

UVM

UVM is the UK's largest specialist designer and manufacturer of ambulances for
the emergency and local authority sectors.. Since its formation in 2002, UVM has
achieved a strong reputation for the build quality of its vehicles and gained a
significant share of the market for box conversion ambulances in the UK. In
addition to manufacturing ambulances, UVM also builds mobility vehicles
primarily for delivery to UK local authorities. Two types of coach built
ambulances are sold by UVM: the modular (aluminium) and the premia (fibreglass).
In addition, UVM also supplies a small number of van conversion ambulances and
"hybrid" ambulances (a cross between a patient transit services vehicle and an
ambulance).

Combining UVM with AssetCo's existing ambulance conversion expertise, capacity
and state of the art CAD/CAM systems at  Papworth Specialist Vehicles will
consolidate UVM's position as the largest provider of ambulances to the UK and
will  deliver economies of scale and offer the market greater choice of design,
build, conversion, and assembly options from  one, dedicated supplier.

UVM is currently a loss making business; however the Directors expect to
establish a break even position during the  first full year of ownership.

In the year ended 30 June 2007, UVM reported a loss before tax of GBP1.5 million
on turnover of GBP26.2 million and had  net liabilities of GBP2.1 million.

AssetCo Specialist Vehicles has acquired the entire ordinary share capital of
UVM for a total consideration of up to  GBP1.5 million, comprising GBP700,000 in
cash payable at completion and a maximum deferred cash consideration of 
GBP800,000 to be paid in accordance with a gross profit based earn-out
agreement.

John Shannon, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are pleased to announce these two acquisitions, both of which help us
deliver additional engineering solutions to not only the UK Fire and Rescue
Service, but also extend our supply reach into the UK Ambulance Service. This is
consistent with our stated strategy of establishing a more stable and secure
supply chain to our core Fire & Rescue Service market and also expanding our
operation beyond the UK Fire and Rescue Service, into the NHS market where our
managed service offering is receiving increasing interest.

These acquisitions will allow the scale, innovation and reputation of TVAC and
UVM to be combined with the capacity and  state of the art design and
manufacturing systems already offered by AssetCo. It is our aim to build on
these unique  strengths to develop a recognized centre of excellence for the
emergency services. This will provide them with wider  choice, greater
innovation, and a more robust, financially secure, supply chain when choosing
where to place their  major investment programmes. This is an issue of long term
concern for public sector clients.

We continue to evolve our overall offering to the emergency services and are
pleased to have recently completed these  important synergistic acquisitions."



For more information please contact:

AssetCo plc                                            Tel: +44 (0) 20 8515 3999
John Shannon
Frank Flynn

Hoare Govett Limited                                   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7678 8000
Stephen Bowler
John MacGowan
Richard Crichton

Buchanan Communications                                Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Tim Anderson
Isabel Podda



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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