Acquisition of minority interest in NBIMv

Norman Broadbent plc

("Norman Broadbent", the "Company" or the "Group")

Acquisition of minority interest in Norman Broadbent Interim Management Limited

Norman Broadbent (AIM:NBB) - a leading London listed Professional Services firm offering a diversified portfolio of integrated Leadership Acquisition & Advisory Services, announces that, it has agreed to acquire the outstanding minority interest of 25% of Norman Broadbent Interim Management Limited ("NBIM") from Angela Hickmore (the "Seller") for consideration of £135,000 to be satisfied by the payment of the initial cash consideration of £65,000 at completion and the issue of consideration shares value of £70,000.

For the year ended 31 December 2019, NBIM generated Net Fee Income (after interim costs) of £2,235,000 (31 Dec 2016: £191,000) and a resulting profit of £248,000 (31 Dec 2016: £60,000). This evidences the success of the overall Group strategy, and the growth NBIM has achieved since its relaunch in 2016 under Angela Hickmore's leadership.

Following the appointment of Mike Brennan as Norman Broadbent's Group CEO in April 2016, NBIM was relaunched as part of a new strategy to build a broader, more balanced, Professional Services business. Angela Hickmore was appointed as NBIM Managing Director in Q4 2016 with the mandate to grow this part of the business thus providing an additional and high impact service to clients whilst generating high value contractually guaranteed annuity revenue for the Group. NBIM is now established in the Group's key areas of market and functional specialisations and has successfully leveraged the heritage/high-end Norman Broadbent brand. As clients face increasingly complex and immediate challenges, much of NBIM's activity is focused on securing the talents of senior level, high impact Interim professionals to meet short-term highly specialised needs.  Unlike many other Interim providers, NBIM does not focus on the transactional/commoditised low margin end of the market.

As the Company already owns 75% of NBIM, the subsidiary's financial information is already fully consolidated into the Group published financial results.

Mike Brennan, Norman Broadbent Group CEO, said: "Angela has played a pivotal role in taking NBIM from being moribund, to something of substance. She has also played - and continues to play - an important role across the Group. Under her leadership, NBIM has grown and impacted positively on the wider Group financially and - critically - in terms of our client proposition. As we streamline the Group and create multi-service, client focussed 'Hubs', the acquisition of this minority interest fully aligns NBIM with the Group. The acquisition also enables Angela, and other senior members of our wider team, to take on more responsibilities across the Group as we move firmly into the next phase of growth."

Angela Hickmore, MD of NBIM, said: "I am delighted that we have successfully closed this chapter on the NBIM growth story - I look forward to many more years of success as we continue to bring the Group together, benefitting our clients and colleagues.  Our Group strategy is clear, and I'm eager to work with my many colleagues to successfully execute the next stage in our strategic growth plan."    

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About Norman Broadbent plc:

Norman Broadbent plc (AIM: NBB) is a leading Professional Services firm focusing on Talent Acquisition & Advisory Services. Since its formation nearly 40 years ago, The Norman Broadbent Group has developed a portfolio of complementary services centered around Executive Search Solutions, Senior Interim Management, Research & Insight, and Leadership Consulting & Assessment. Unusually, Norman Broadbent is one of the few businesses of its type offering clients integrated Search and Interim Management Solutions. This innovative approach gives clients immediate access to business-critical executive-level Talent, meeting both short and longer-term needs.