TPXimpact offloads Questers in £7.5m deal

18th Sep 2023 12:41

(Sharecast News) - Technology services firm TPXimpact confirmed on Monday that it has finalised the sale of Questers Resourcing and Questers Bulgaria, collectively known as Questers, to Pwrteams.

The AIM-traded company described Pwrteams as an outsourcing and team augmentation enterprise owned by Nortal, adding that the acquisition was settled for a cash consideration of £7.5m.

Questers, based in Sofia, Bulgaria, employs around 300 dedicated to delivering cross-border IT support and associated services to the commercial sector.

In the financial year ended 31 March, Questers reported £13.1m in revenue, alongside an adjusted EBITDA of £1.3m.

The company's gross assets as of 31 March totalled £7.6m.

TPXimpact's board noted its ongoing objective to refine its focus on core competencies, notably in digital transformation and digital experience.

That led to the assessment that Questers' contributions were separate from its focal areas.

There was also a sentiment within the board that the Questers brand and its offerings might realise its true potential more effectively under the guidance and ownership of Nortal.

From the £7.5m procured from the deal, TPXimpact said it intended to channel up to £5m towards repaying existing borrowings.

The surplus would be invested to foster growth in its fundamental capabilities.

As a result, management was working to bring down net debt, excluding lease liabilities, to a bracket of £11m to £12m by 31 March next year.

That would represent a substantial reduction from the £17.9m reported on 30 June.

Additionally, in compliance with banking covenant mandates, stipulations were in place to ensure a certain monthly cash liquidity threshold and meet minimum adjusted EBITDA performance benchmarks quarterly.

With the exit of Questers from the group's portfolio, the banking partners had consented to modify the adjusted EBITDA prerequisites.

Discounting the contribution of Questers, TPXimpact said its current trading projections aligned with both budgetary estimates and management's anticipations.

The board was forecasting like-for-like revenue growth ranging from 15% to 20%, which would translate to revenue of between £81m and £85m and an adjusted EBITDA bracketed between £4m and £5m.

Based on those figures, it said net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA would fall to below 2.5x by the end of the financial year, if not earlier.

Extending its foresight further, the outlook for 2025 was also promising, with a 10% to 15% surge in like-for-like revenues, compounded by a margin escalation of 2% to 3%.

"At our preliminary results in July, we set out a three-year plan to ensure we continue to drive efficiencies across the group and capitalise on the sizable market opportunity ahead," said chief executive officer Björn Conway.

"Today's announcement aligns with this strategic vision for TPXimpact by enabling us to concentrate our resources and energies around those prospects within the UK public sector and broader digital transformation market where there is considerable scope for further growth.

"I would like to thank all our colleagues at Questers for the important work they have contributed to the group over the past five years, and I am confident Nortal represents an excellent fit for the business going forward."

At 1054 BST, shares in TPXimpact Holdings were up 2.86% at 41.66p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.