Wiltshire audit firm IMSM acquired by Marlowe

By Stephen Emerson

28 July 2023

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Auditing firm IMSM has been acquired by software firm Marlowe in a move to bolster its compliance capabilities.

Wiltshire-based IMSM, which has around 5,000 UK and international clients, was established in 2004 and provides tools to companies that allows them to verify the quality of their output.

Marlowe has acquired the company for £17.4 million to broaden its GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) capabilities in the ISO certification market

The London company will pay an upfront cash consideration of £12.9 million and a further £3 million payment through the issue of 597,609 ordinary shares of 50 pence each in the capital of the Company in addition to an estimated £1.5 million in performance-related contingent consideration payable after the first year of ownership.

IMSM audits the quality of SME and larger clients' business processes and internal systems to ensure compliance with ISO standards in areas such as safety management, information security and environmental management.

In the year to 31 December 2022, IMSM generated revenues of £12.2 million and had an EBITDA of £1.9 million with net assets of £6.7 million.

Alex Dacre, Chief Executive of Marlowe plc, said: "The acquisition of IMSM broadens the capabilities of our Governance Risk and Compliance division into the attractive and highly complementary ISO auditing and certification market. This is a large and fragmented market, and the addition of IMSM will enable us to address a core component of our clients' compliance requirements. This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to selectively execute on bolt-on acquisitions whilst maintaining leverage in the region of 2x EBITDA, within the Board's guided range."

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By Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset.

Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users.

He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.