Shares in Dublin-based property services group Veris rose 10 per cent yesterday after it announced its entry into the British market with the £10.1 million (€14million)cash acquisition of Orange Environmental Building Services and Orange Support Services.
Veris's shares closed in Dublin at €2.75, up 25 cent. It is now valued at €70.9 million.
Founded in 1985, Orange is a facilities management company headquartered in Hampshire, in the south of England. It generated after-tax profits of £900,000 for the year to the end of December 2006. Its net assets, including cash balances acquired, amount to £2.3 million.
Orange provides facilities management services to a range of blue-chip clients including British government agencies, multinationals and financial institutions. Its clients include Thames Water, Farnborough Airport, Barclays Asset Finance, Tussaud's Group, Vodafone, Burger King and Dell.
Orange will be merged into Veris's facilities management division - called Vector - and will report to Martin McMahon, an executive director of Veris and one of the company's biggest shareholders.
Veris chief executive Bernard Farrell said the deal represented "a significant step" in the development of the company.
In September, Veris reported pre-tax profits of €2.1 million on turnover of €31 million for the first six months of the year. The company's chairman and largest shareholder is financier Niall McFadden.
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