BCT has been a good competitor to EDP, predominantly in the supply of Software Solutions to Builders and Timber Merchants and associated businesses. BCT brings some 100 customers and Annual Customer Service Agreement Revenues in excess of £1 million to the EDP Group. The BCT customer base will have the opportunity to benefit from EDP's extensive portfolio of software products and services, in particular EDP's Quantum VS e-business Solution and Application Hosting Services.

This acquisition makes the EDP Group the largest IT Solution provider to the independent Builders and Timber Merchants market place.

Consideration is £400,000 in cash of which £350,000 is deferred and payable in seven monthly instalments of £50,000. The BCT assets acquired include goodwill, all Intellectual Property, debtors and work in progress. Debtors and work in progress amount to some £250,000. In addition some £75,000 of liabilities have been assumed.

In its last audited accounts, to 31 March 1999, BCT reported turnover of £5.2 million with a pre-tax profit of £70,000. Net assets at that date amounted to £907,000. Unaudited results for the year ended 31 March 2000 indicate pre-tax losses of some £340,000 on turnover of some £4.7 million.

Richard J. Jowitt, Chief Executive, said:
"Post year 2000 we are seeing many competitor businesses in some difficulty and who do not have the financial and technical resources of the EDP Group to enter the new economy IT Solution arena in which EDP has invested heavily during the past two years."

For more information please contact Julian Wassell, Financial Director on Tel: 0114 262 1621 Fax: 0114 262 1126.

To visit the BCT site click here.

© 2000, Electronic Data Processing PLC