Europe’s oldest stocktaking business acquired in £5m deal | TheBusinessDesk.com

Global stocktaking group RGIS Inventory Specialists has acquired Europe’s oldest stocktaking business Orridge Holdings for £5m.

Founded in 1846, Orridge specialises in all fields of stocktaking including high street retailing, warehousing and factory operations, pharmacies and supply chain services from its bases in the UK, Germany and Belgium.

It forms part of the Christie Group, a provider of professional & financial services and stock & inventory systems to a range of sectors including leisure, healthcare, education and retail.

Orridge’s disposal from Christie comes as the board looks to ‘improve the quality of earnings’ and is set to use proceeds to strengthen the balance sheet and focus on growth opportunities in its core businesses.

Birmingham-based RGIS has more than 3,500 customers across the globe and bases in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. It has recently worked with Midland Metro Limited on the metro’s Wednesbury depot, to manage stock take where it scanned more than 45,000 parts.

The consideration for Orridge is structured on a cash free/debt free basis, and comprises an upfront cash payment of £4m and up to a further £1m of retained consideration to be payable 12 months after completion.

As at 31 December 2023, Orridge held gross assets of £4.5m and generated a loss before tax and extraordinary items of £1.2m.

Dan Prickett, Christie Group Chief Executive Officer commented: “Following a review of its performance and potential future funding requirements within the Christie Group, the Board unanimously concluded that we should explore opportunities for divesting the Orridge brand. We are therefore delighted to have completed a sale which eliminates the exposure to the Group of future operating losses from the brand, while providing Orridge’s clients and staff with the opportunity to benefit from being part of RGIS’s commitment to their own international expansion strategy and the enhancement of their service proposition in their key European markets.”

Simon Herrick, Christie Group Chairman commented: “We are delighted with this significant step towards improving the value of Christie Group plc for the benefit of its stakeholders and thank all involved for their hard work in achieving it. This transaction will improve the Group’s near-term profitability and cash flow by reducing the funding of subsidiary trading losses. It will release both time and resource to invest in the profitable growth of our core businesses and our strategically important international expansion.”