HOMESERVE PLC

ACQUISITION OF CET STRUCTURES LTD

LONDON - 27 October 2021 - HomeServe, the international home repairs and improvements business, has completed the acquisition of CET Structures Ltd ("CET"), a leading, digitally-enabled UK home emergency assistance business, for c.£53m.

The transaction brings together two well-positioned, complementary businesses - HomeServe UK in home assistance cover and CET in home emergency assistance. In combination, they serve c.4.9m homes (FY21: 1.6m HomeServe customers, 3m policies served by CET and 0.3m customers served through HomeServe's existing home emergency assistance arrangement with Aviva). In FY21 the two businesses completed c.700k jobs, with a combined network of c.4,000 directly employed and contractor engineers. Over time, there will be significant opportunities to share technology and service expertise between the businesses.

CET provides emergency plumbing, heating and electrics services to home insurance policy holders on behalf of leading consumer brands, via its digital claims handling and job management platform. It has a track record of strong growth, with a 12% revenue CAGR in its 2019-21 financial years.

The acquisition of CET is a significant step forward in HomeServe's strategy to broaden its UK business in home assistance cover, HVAC and home emergency assistance.

Ross Clemmow, Chief Executive, EMEA, HomeServe, said: "CET has a leading market position and provides home emergency assistance for one in eight UK households. We are very impressed by the business, its customer partnerships and its digital capabilities, and there are exciting opportunities to develop the plumbing, heating and electrics services which are core to both of our operations."

Richard Harpin, Chief Executive of HomeServe, said: "HomeServe's UK business continues to deliver attractive returns and market leading service to our customers. The acquisition of CET represents a new avenue of growth closely aligned to our core business, as part of the UK team's re-energised strategy to deliver growth through digitisation, improved marketing and new partnerships."

Richard Thomas, Senior Investment Director at Palatine, the previous owner of CET, commented: "The CET team have done an excellent job in growing the business through digitalisation, employee engagement and operational improvement. It's been a pleasure partnering with the team and we wish them all the best on the next phase of their growth with HomeServe."

Next scheduled update

HomeServe will announce its interim results on Tuesday 16 November, and confirms that the year is progressing well, with trading continuing to be in line with previous guidance.

Transaction details

HomeServe has acquired the CET property assurance business for c.£53m on a debt free, cash free basis, and is funding the acquisition through existing debt facilities. The transaction is expected to be modestly enhancing to HomeServe's adjusted EPS in the current financial year.

Post acquisition, the CET team will continue to focus on growing the business, and the two businesses will work together to explore opportunities to share resources, expertise and technology to further improve their service offerings.

In the financial year to March 2021, CET delivered revenue of £32.3m (FY20: £29.2m¹) and underlying EBITDA of £3.9m (FY20: 2.5m¹). The business is expected to deliver strong growth in FY22.  

¹FY20 comparatives show CET's Property Assurance business only, and not the Infrastructure business which does not form part of this transaction.

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Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements, which have been made in good faith, with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of HomeServe plc. These statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors which could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. These statements have been made with reference to forecast price changes, economic conditions, the current regulatory environment and the current interpretations of IFRS applicable to past, current and future periods. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.

ENDS