Claimar Care

Domiciliary care services provider Claimar Care, originally recommended by GCI at 76.5p, is paying £33.1m in cash and shares for Complete Care and raising £23m at 137p to help finance the deal.

Telford-based Complete Care supplies full-time care to disabled people and represents Claimar’s biggest acquisition since the company came to AIM in early 2006. The acquisition, which should enhance earnings in its first full year, takes the group into the higher value specialist area of complex care, the provision of which the NHS is increasingly looking to outsource rather than manage in house.

GCI remains a big supporter of Claimar, which continues to enjoy robust trading in its existing business. Acquisition opportunities remain compelling in a highly fragmented market and small recent deals have increased the number of local authorities for which the group acts to 43. The number of weekly domiciliary care hours it provides has moved to more than 49,000.

Chief executive Mark Hales is hugely excited about growth prospects in the home care provision sector. Government policy, the prevailing trend towards outsourcing and increasing regulation underpin opportunities.

For the year to September, investors should expect pre-tax profits of £2.2m from £22.7m of sales ahead of expected profits of £5.8m from £56.6m of sales by September 2008. During the current year, earnings are forecast to grow 44% to 8.5p, placing the shares on a forward multiple of 17.8 times. Considering the scope of the organic and acquisitive growth opportunity ahead, that’s not too high a price to pay. Add.

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