Acquisition of lens business

14 July 2020

Inspecs Group plc

("Inspecs" the "Company" or "the Group")

Acquisition of lens business

Inspecs Group plc, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of eyewear frames to independent and global retail chains, is pleased to announce it has completed the acquisition of the manufacturing operations of The Norville Group Ltd ("Norville") from the Administrator, BDO LLP, for a total cash consideration of £2.4m. The acquisition includes £1.2m of freehold property for Norville's Gloucester site and the remainder for stock, plant, IP and contracts.

Norville is a long-established manufacturer of optically advanced spectacle lenses, supplying optical retailers with complete spectacles, including well-known brands, and is considered to have the most advanced portfolio of spectacle lenses in the UK. The manufacturing operations are undertaken primarily from the business' headquarters in Gloucester, with smaller operations in Bolton, Seaham and Livingston. Inspecs intends to retain part of Norville's management team and employees as part of the acquisition.

Norville's management accounts for the year to 31-Dec-19 show unaudited revenue of £11.8m, loss before tax of £0.79m and EBITDA of £0.39m. The net book value of the assets acquired was £4.9m including the freehold property. The acquisition is being funded from the Group's existing cash resources. It is anticipated that this acquisition will be earnings enhancing for the Group in the financial year to 31-Dec-21.

Robin Totterman, CEO of Inspecs, said:

"I am delighted to announce our first acquisition as a plc, in line with our stated strategy at IPO, and there is no doubt that Norville is an excellent fit for the Group. With Savile Row (Algha) and Norville, we have combined the two oldest and most respected British optical brands - frame maker with lens maker. With Inspecs' global frame manufacturing, marketing and sale capabilities, we are continuing to grow our vertically integrated business model.

"We are also taking this opportunity to integrate our two UK manufacturing sites, and soon we will offer a bespoke Savile Row lens collection to accompany the frames. Our plan is to similarly offer our many licenced brands with high quality bespoke lens packages.

"The acquisition cements Inspecs' position as the only vertically integrated designer, manufacturer and distributor of eyewear frames and lenses in the UK and provides the Group with a full lens offering domestically and globally. We look forward to welcoming the Norville team into the heart of the Inspecs Group and working together to create a truly cutting edge integrated eyewear business."

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About Inspecs Group plc

Inspecs is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of eyewear frames. The Group produces a broad range of frames, covering optical, sunglasses and safety, which are either "Branded" (either under licence or under the Group's own proprietary brands), or "OEM" (including private label on behalf of retail customers and un-branded). As one of only a few companies that can offer this one-stop-shop solution to global retail chains, Inspecs is well positioned to continue to take market share in the globally expanding eyewear market.

Inspecs customers include global optical and non-optical retailers, global distributors and independent opticians, with its distribution network covering over 80 countries and reaching approximately 30,000 points of sale. In FY19, the Group generated 24.9 per cent. of its revenue in the UK and 75.1 per cent. internationally.

Today Inspecs has operations across the globe: with offices in the UK, Portugal, Scandinavia, the US and China (Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen), and manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, China, London and more recently, Italy.

The Group's growth strategy going forward is to: (i) continue to grow organically; (ii) undertake further acquisitions (and drive value through leveraging the Group's internal capabilities); and (iii) extend the Group's manufacturing capacity.

More information is available at: https://inspecs.com