Panoply Holdings acquires digital consultancy Difrent

Panoply will pay £4.0m in cash for the Newcastle-based company, funded through an extension of the firm's existing revolving facility with HSBC, with a further £4.8m to be satisfied via the issue of ordinary shares in the group to Difrent's current owners.

The AIM-listed group stated the acquisition would be profitable and immediately earnings enhancing, with Difrent most recently reporting full-year underlying earnings of £900,000 on revenues of £7.4m.

Chief executive Neal Gandhi said: "This acquisition is immediately earnings-enhancing for the group, and clear evidence of our continued momentum against our three-year commercial vision.

"As a disruptive, purposeful and forward-thinking company, the Difrent acquisition perfectly complements our strategy of acquiring best-in-class in companies who share the values and deep sense of purpose that runs through the group."

As of 0930 BST, Panoply shares were down 0.77% at 129.0p.