Tavistock acquires Northern Ireland's Precise Protect

Financial services group Tavistock has acquired Northern Ireland-based insurance and protection business Precise Protect in a deal valued at as much as £7.0m.

Tavistock said on Tuesday that following the transaction of Precise Protect, the group will have more than 400 advisers and other business introducers looking after over 110,000 private clients with estimated assets of over £5.0bn, as well as 350 corporate and affinity clients with some 16,000 employees.

Integration of Precise into the Tavistock group was expected to provide the AIM-listed company with opportunities for operational cost savings.

The total consideration for the transaction, assuming the achievement of all performance related earn-outs, will amount to up to some £7.0m, with £250,000 to be settled through the issue of 3.57m new ordinary shares at an issue price of 7.0p per share, with the balance being settled in cash from existing cash resources and its debt facility with the Bank of Ireland.

Chief executive Brian Raven said" "We are delighted to welcome Tony and his team into the group and to add Precise Protect's products to the wider group's service proposition. We look forward to benefitting from numerous synergies, including operational cost savings, increased profitability and new business leads."

As of 0955 BST, Tavistock shares were up 3.23% at 8.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com