LONDON, UK: Franchise Brands (LON: FRAN) has acquired the entire issued share capital of Azura Group Ltd, a leading franchise management software system developer.
The gross consideration for the acquisition is £1,000,000, payable as £850,000 in cash and £150,000 in Franchise Brands shares. It is warranted by the vendors that the cash in Azura’s balance sheet at completion will not be less than £175,000 resulting in a net consideration of £825,000.
Having worked in partnership with Azura in recent years, the acquisition enables the Group to consolidate its software development and secure ownership of the related intellectual property (“IP”) created to date, as well as bring Azura’s skilled team in-house.
The Board also believes there is an opportunity to use Franchise Brands’ experience and expertise to grow Azura’s business, by improved development of its end-to-end franchise management Software as a Service (“SaaS”) platform, to enhance sales to other franchise businesses in the UK and overseas.
Established in 1990, Azura is a leading franchise management software system developer. Franchise Brands has partnered with Azura since 2018 to develop and customise the “Vision” works management system for Metro Rod and Metro Plumb which is built on Azura’s core system.
The acquisition consolidates and secures Franchise Brands’ technology development and IP at a time when the Group is embarking on a further, still more ambitious digital journey.
The acquisition is in addition to the Group’s announcement earlier in 2021 that an additional £1.5m would be invested in systems development over the next three years to automate as many processes and interactions as possible.
Simon Pullum has agreed to continue as a Director, and Sean McAree will continue as Software Architect. Azura will operate on an arms-length basis within the Group.
The Board believes the acquisition will be earnings enhancing in the first full year following acquisition.
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman of Franchise Brands, said: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Azura, which represents an important step in the Group’s digital journey. Given the ever-increasing importance of technology to the Group and the role Azura has played in the development of our “Vision” works management system at Metro Rod and Metro Plumb, the acquisition of Azura has a strong strategic and commercial rationale in that it consolidates and secures our software development and key IP, as well as bringing an excellent team.”
“We also see an opportunity to grow Azura through combining Franchise Brands’ resources, expertise and experience with Azura’s pre-eminent franchise management SaaS platform to enhance sales to other franchise businesses both in the UK and overseas.”