RPS buys Australia's Corview for AUD32m, trading in line

RPS Group has announced the acquisition of Australia-based transport advisory consultancy Corview for up to AUD32m (£17.8m).

It said Corview is "a leading player" in the New South Wales and Queensland transport advisory market. It is a "pre-eminent" consultancy for government infrastructure business with a strong and respected brand, particularly in the investment and finance of infrastructure projects and programs, RPS said.

Chief executive John Douglas said: "Corview is known for its expertise in enabling clients to make informed investment decisions and manage complex infrastructure transactions across all phases of project development and delivery. This makes them a natural fit for our business and I am delighted to make Corview our first major acquisition under my tenure as CEO of RPS."

RPS also provided an update on its performance for the year to the end of December 2018, which it said was in line with market expectations.

Unaudited results suggest profit before tax and amortisation of £50.2m, down from £53.9m the year before. Meanwhile, net bank borrowing at 31 December 2018 was £73.9m versus £80.6m at the end of December 2017.

Douglas said: "We continue to make good progress on our strategic priorities and this is reflected in our trading performance. The group has healthy margins, excellent cash conversion and a robust balance sheet. RPS is a good business and the investment that we have made to date will make it an even better business in the future. We look forward to updating the market further when we report our full year results later this month."

Liberum said the acquisition "adds density" to the company's Australia/Asia Pacific segment and re-balances towards infrastructure. "An EV/EBIT of 6.4x seems reasonable," it said.

The broker said the New South Wales and Queensland transport advisory is market is strong, with positive prospects and allows RPS to shift its focus away from property and towards infrastructure.

At 1050 GMT, the shares were up 8.4% to 151.06p.