8 April 2011
G4S plc
G4S acquires The Cotswold Group
G4S, the world's leading secure solutions group, today announces the acquisition
by G4S Managed Services (UK) Limited of The Cotswold Group Limited ("the
Cotswold Group") , the UK's market leader in surveillance, fraud analytics,
intelligence and investigations services from Tom Scott and other members of its
management team. The Cotswold Group had revenues of £10 million in 2010 and G4S
will pay a maximum consideration of £10.2 million in cash, comprising an initial
payment of £8.0 million with the remainder to be paid upon the achievement of
specific PBITA targets in 2011 and 2012.
The acquisition will significantly strengthen the strategic development of G4S's
covert surveillance and investigations capability, allowing it to embed
increased intelligence offerings into its service portfolio and introduce these
offerings as part of its existing solutions based contracts. Adding to similar
services offered in the US, Middle East and Asia Pacific, with this acquisition
G4S will become the global leader in the investigation of insurance fraud which
is estimated to cost in excess of $200bn each year. The Cotswold Group will
provide an intelligence-based fraud investigation services platform and give G4S
the capability to pursue major opportunities within UK central and local
government in areas such as benefit fraud investigation.
The Cotswold Group is the largest provider of surveillance and investigative
services to insurance clients within the UK, with a strong emphasis on personal
injury fraud. It provides a range of surveillance and investigation services in
property, motor and personal injury insurance claims, employers and public
liability, employee screening, housing benefit fraud and corporate
investigations. The Cotswold Group was founded in 1990 by Tom Scott, its current
CEO and a former police officer who specialised in covert surveillance,
combating serious and organised crime. Tom will continue to manage the business
following the acquisition. The Cotswold Group is headquartered in Gloucester
and currently employs 260 staff, 120 of whom are investigators located across
Europe.
David Taylor-Smith, Regional CEO, G4S UK & Africa, commented: "We are very
pleased to welcome Tom and his team to G4S and expect them to make a real
difference to our business. We believe their market leadership, extensive client
base and unmatched track record of delivery in this highly specialist area will
underpin our consultancy offering here in the UK and overseas."
Tom Scott, CEO of The Cotswold Group, commented: "We are very excited about the
opportunities for our employees and our company through becoming part of the G4S
family. We believe the Cotswold Group is highly complementary to G4S's existing
operations around the world and will bring many new capabilities to G4S and its
customers. The opportunity to create a major force in investigation services and
to work with G4S teams in the UK and globally is an extremely exciting
prospect."
For further enquiries, please contact:
Helen Parris - Director of Investor Relations +44 (0)
1293 554423
Media enquiries:
Kevin Smith - Citigate Dewe Rogerson +44 (0) 207 282 1054
G4S plc
G4S is the world's leading security solutions group, which specialises in
outsourcing of business processes in sectors where security and safety risks are
considered a strategic threat. G4S is the largest employer quoted on the London
Stock Exchange and has a secondary stock exchange listing in Copenhagen. G4S
has operations in over 120 countries and 625,000 employees. For more information
on G4S, visit www.g4s.com.
[HUG#1504708]
Acquisition
| Quelle: G4S plc