Scott Wilson Group completes two acquisitions at cost of £30m

Scott Wilson, the consultancy group, has announced that it has completed two more acquisitions at a total cost £30m. Safely on board are Cameron Taylor and DGP International.

Scott Wilson has now made a total of five acquisitions since it floated earlier this year. The deals have broadened its presence in what it sees as “attractive segments”. The flurry of corporate activity is not likely to have ended yet as the group points out that it still has “capacity to finance acquisitions and continued organic growth”.

Cameron Taylor is a player in the UK property sector, operating from 10 offices and employing 330 staff.

In the year to 30 June, turnover of £21m generated a pre-tax profit of £900,000. The operating margin was said to be 7%.

Since the year-end, Cameron Taylor has seen double-digit growth and continued improvement in operating margin. The secure forward orderbook stands at £21m.

DGP was formed in 1972 and is 76% owned by its directors. It operates in the nuclear, petrochemical and pharmaceuticals sectors.

It employs 180 people in offices in Manchester, Sellafield, Dounreay and Warrington. It is a framework consultant for the £3.6bn upgrade of the Home Office Prisons Estate and is design consultant for two multi-billion pound nuclear decommissioning projects, B38 (Wet Silos) and B41 (Dry Silos) at Sellafield.

In the year to 31 December 2005, there was a pre-tax profit of £800,000 as turnover ran to £14m. The operating margin was put at 8.2%. Management accounts for the 10 months to 31 October 2006 show “revenues [i.e. turnover] and profits ahead of last year’s full-year performance” while the secure orderbook running to £12m.