Wey Education PLC (LON:WEY) announced today that it has now completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of “Target” which is a UK based on-line education business called Academy 21 Limited (“A21”) for a cash consideration of £1,593,376 which may rise to £1,600,000 million dependant on the collection of certain debtors.
The terms of the acquisition were varied since the aforementioned announcement to provide for a slightly higher payment upfront but with no earnout. The Vendors of A21 (Mr and Mrs Sullivan) resigned as directors of A21 on completion of the acquisition.
For the year ended 31 August 2017, A21 had unaudited turnover of £1,030,032 and recorded a profit after tax of £137,654. It had net assets of £389,877. The sale and purchase agreement for the acquisition contains warranties and indemnities appropriate for such a transaction.
A21 is an online educational business that provides a range of Key Stage 3, GCSE and iGCSE programmes to pupils who have been referred by local authorities and schools across the UK. Its customers tend to engage A21’s services for short periods of approximately six weeks, which may be extended or repeated, in contrast to typical students of Wey’s principal school, InterHigh, who tend to be at InterHigh for several years. As such, the A21 business complements Wey’s existing business giving access to short term tuition teaching which can extend the Wey customer base.
It is Wey’s intention to integrate A21 and its own B2B sales force in the near future and for the enlarged team to sell the Group’s combined product range. Students on A21’s electronic Learning Platform will be migrated to Wey’s newly enhanced Learning Platform as a commercial movement, probably after the end of the current academic year.
The transaction is funded from part of the proceeds of Wey’s £5 million (gross) placing, which completed in November 2017.
The placing included provision for Wey to expand its sales and marketing efforts, both in the UK, and internationally and the Company is currently finalising its plan for this expenditure for the balance of the current financial year. Such expenditure is anticipated to provide a significant boost to student numbers and revenue from the beginning of the financial year, 2018/19. Part of the strategy is not only to maintain Wey’s online advertising presence through Google, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets, but to increase brand awareness through more general advertising on other mediums. An indication of such initiatives is that InterHigh will be utilising electronic display advertising at Waterloo station throughout January, including a concentrated campaign on the large, major electronic screen above the platforms. The Company has put in place procedures to measure the impact of such advertising.
Proposed Investor Evening Event
As previously announced, on 10 January 2018 and following on from the positive response to the private investor briefing evening held in July 2017, Wey Education PLC will host an investor briefing for existing and potential investors at the Hilton London Paddington, 146 Praed St, London W2 1EE, commencing at 5:30 p.m..
Numbers are limited and entrance is by invitation only. To obtain an invitation, those wishing to attend should email david.massie@wedu.co.uk giving:-
1. Their name and address; and
2. A contact email or telephone number
For statistical purposes, it would be helpful if those seeking an invitation would advise in their application whether they are an existing shareholder or not.
