Journeo PLC - Acquisition of MultiQ

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the UK version of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (2014/596) which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended and supplemented from time to time.

20 September 2023

Journeo plc

("Journeo, the "Company" or the "Group")

Acquisition - Investment in geographic expansion and SaaS

Journeo plc (AIM: JNEO), a leading provider of information systems and technical services to transport operators and local authorities, is pleased to announce completion of the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of MultiQ Denmark A/S ("MultiQ") for a total consideration of €2.5m on a debt free cash free basis (the "Acquisition").

MultiQ is a leading full-service provider of Intelligent Transport Systems ("ITS") with customers in Denmark, Sweden and Iceland. The Acquisition will provide opportunities for cross-selling of products, technologies and software and strengthens Journeo's presence in the Nordic market, where it already operates in Stockholm.

Based in Aarhus, Denmark, MultiQ is one of the market leaders in developing and supplying public information systems for bus travel, such as fleet management software and on-board passenger infotainment, indoor and outdoor real-time display systems. Founded over 15 years ago, MultiQ has a reputation for high quality design and installation of travel information display systems. Its customers include Passenger Transport Authorities ("PTAs") and local authorities Passenger Transport Operators ("PTOs").

MultiQ was part of a larger group which was acquired by Vertiseit, a Swedish based retail technology company specialising in digital in-store media in May 2022. In January 2023 the retail digital media assets and a number of employees of MultiQ were transferred out to Dise, a Vertiseit subsidiary, leaving MultiQ as a purely ITS focussed business.

The cash consideration of €2.5m is being satisfied through the payment of €2.1m on completion of the Acquisition, with two deferred payments of €0.2m at 12 months and 24 months following completion, all funded from the Company's existing cash resources.

The consideration for the shares is €1.7m after the repayment of an intercompany balance of €0.8m.  The acquired net assets are €1.1m, with goodwill expected to be €0.6m.  Management expects MultiQ's revenue for the current year to 31 December 2023 will be approximately €3.3m, with an operating profit of €260k, representing an acquisition multiple of 2.3x.

Russ Singleton, Chief Executive of Journeo plc, commented: 

"The acquisition of MultiQ provides Journeo with an established, full-service provider of Intelligent Transport Systems in Denmark and further strengthens our expansion into the Nordic markets. MultiQ has a leading position and strong SaaS based sales approach with approximately 40% recurring revenue that will complement our existing offering and bring further scale to our cloud-based applications".

A digital copy of this announcement will be available on the Group's website: www.journeo.com.

For further information, please contact:

Notes to editors:

Journeo plc is a leading Intelligent Transport Systems provider, delivering solutions in towns, cities, airports, and the public transport networks that connect them. The Company works extensively with local and combined authorities, Network Rail and many of the largest multinational transport operators, supporting them as systems converge towards a more efficient and sustainable future.

Prior to the acquisition, the business had three operating companies:

·    Journeo Fleet Systems Ltd: CCTV video surveillance to improve passenger & driver safety, telematics for vehicle and driver performance monitoring, real-time communications for remote condition monitoring and automatic passenger counting.

·    Journeo Passenger Systems Ltd: design, manufacture, installation, and management of hardware and software for electronic public transport information systems, in and around towns, cities, ferry terminals and airports which includes smart-ticketing and wayfinding.

·    Infotec Ltd: design, advanced manufacture, installation and software management of information displays hardware for rail applications in stations, on-platform and on-vehicle.

In the last 4 years, the Company has invested over £5 million in research and development, enabling it to design and supply powerful innovative solutions for customers' complex requirements and the demands of modern public transport. With an Internet of Things ("IoT") approach and open standards, together with field-proven and reliable engineering, Journeo is able to offer flexible, scalable products and services that can integrate with existing technology while preparing for future advancements.