Acquisition of leading testing services business for £15.0m

23 Apr 2010

NCC Group plc has acquired SDLC Solutions Limited (SDLC), a testing services provider for a maximum consideration of £15.0m in cash.

Based in Wilmslow, Cheshire, SDLC employs over 70 full time staff, most of whom are testers and over 60 associates. It will be managed autonomously within the Group’s Assurance division by SDLC’s existing management team and will trade as SDLC Solutions, a NCC Group company.

Over the last five years NCC Group has secured a leading position in security research, testing, advice and forensics as well as web site performance and load testing through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. The earnings enhancing acquisition of SDLC complements the Group’s existing information security and testing capabilities within its Assurance Division.

The acquisition of SDLC widens the Group’s assurance capabilities by providing a complementary range of software testing services, including business analysis, project management, test resourcing, network and application performance analysis, functional and non-functional testing, test automation, software testing and tools training.

SDLC will benefit significantly from access and exposure to NCC Group’s client base and the opportunities to grow its business as part of a much larger and well established listed group.  

This acquisition also complements the Group’s recent purchase of Meridian Services, a card services auditing and assurance company, that specialises in conducting payment scheme logical and physical security audits, as well as offering global strategic advisory services for card manufacturing, data preparation and card personalisation.

Rob Cotton, NCC Group Chief Executive, said:

"SDLC is one of the UK’s most respected testing services companies. Its addition to the Group will enable us to provide a total assurance service by including functional testing.  We are now able to offer our clients the ability to mitigate risk throughout every stage of their IT infrastructure, software and information security decision making.  

“Introducing our information security services and clients to SDLC’s extensive expertise will further strengthen our position, whilst we will be able to provide a wider range of services to SDLC’s client base. We are confident that the management team will continue to maintain their excellent track record of revenue and profit growth, supported by our resources and the Group’s wider client base.”

For more details of this and other aquisitions, please visit the Investor Relations area on the NCC Group website.

News