FRP Advisory acquires Lexington Corporate Finance for £3m

19th Jul 2024 13:04

(Sharecast News) - Business advisory firm FRP Advisory Group announced the acquisition of Lexington Corporate Finance on Friday, for total consideration of £3m, plus an additional amount for net assets acquired of about £0.5m.

The AIM-traded firm said the total consideration would comprise around £2.2m in cash and new shares valued at £1.3m.

It said the acquisition marked its first foray into Wales, as Lexington is based in Cardiff and provides corporate finance services to both local and national clients.#

Gary Partridge, director and founder of Lexington, would join FRP as a partner, along with the entire Lexington team, including 14 colleagues.

For the financial year ended 30 April, Lexington reported unaudited revenue of £2.3m and an unaudited EBITDA of £0.6m.

Looking ahead, Lexington was expected to contribute about £2.7m in revenue and £0.7m in adjusted EBITDA annually to FRP, although timing volatility could occur based on transaction completions.

"Wales was a target region for FRP and this acquisition further strengthens our National Corporate Finance business," said FRP chief executive officer Geoff Rowley.

"The team will go to market locally as FRP Corporate Finance.

"We are pleased to welcome Gary and the team to FRP; they share our values and I have no doubt will make a strong contribution, as we continue to grow."

The board said the acquisition aligned with FRP's strategy of achieving sustainable, profitable growth through a combination of organic growth and selective acquisitions.

It said that approach aimed to increase market share, expand service offerings, and broaden the geographical footprint.

The acquisition of Lexington is the 10th since FRP's initial public offering in March 2020.

As part of the transaction, FRP said it would issue 996,168 new shares, with trading expected to start on AIM at 0800 BST on 24 July.

Following the issue, FRP would have 254,683,760 shares in circulation, each carrying one vote, with no shares held in treasury.

"We are delighted to be joining FRP Corporate Finance and are excited at the opportunities that being part of FRP presents for our team and our clients," said Lexington founder Gary Partridge.

"We are all immensely proud of what we have achieved as a team at Lexington over the past nine years and being part of FRP will be a launch pad to enable us to offer a broader range of services to our clients.

"We are confident that by building upon our shared values of quality and professionalism with FRP, we will accelerate our growth."

At 1252 BST, shares in FRP Advisory Group were down 1.13% to 131p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.