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- Johns Lyng Group (JLG) now owns a 60 per cent controlling stake in Unitech Building Services
- John Lyng paid $1.9 million for the South Australian-based insurance building company
- The transaction is debt and surplus cash-free and projected to provide immediate profits growth, according to the company
- Anthony and Deborah Gorle, the current owners and co-directors, will keep the remaining 40 per cent stake in the company and continue to run it day to day
- Shares in John Lyng Group are up 0.1 per cent on the back of the announcement, trading at $4.85 at 11:00 am AEST
Johns Lyng Group (JLG) has acquired a 60 per cent controlling equity interest in Unitech Building Services.
The South Australian-based insurance building company is expected to increase Johns Lyng’s exposure to the SA market.
Johns Lyng paid $1.9 million in cash at closing, with the money coming from existing reserves and a potential future earnout based on the company’s financial success in FY21 and FY22.
The transaction is debt and surplus cash-free and projected to provide immediate profits growth, according to the company.
Anthony and Deborah Gorle, the current owners and co-directors, will keep the remaining 40 per cent stake in the company and continue to run it day to day.
Unitech and its 26 employees will be incorporated into Johns Lyng’s current operations in South Australia.
Johns Lyng chief executive Scott Didier said the purchase was aligned with the group’s mantra and said Unitech would present growth opportunities in SA.
“We’re really pleased to bring Unitech into the Johns Lyng fold. It’s a well-run business with a reputation built on repeat, high quality, customer-centric service provision to both the domestic and commercial building markets,” he said.
“Anthony and Deb have clearly worked very hard to establish the business and build the reputation and the client base they have. The synergies with the Johns Lyng model are clear and Unitech’s success is a credit to them.
“This deal creates multiple opportunities for Johns Lyng to expand parts of our core offering in South Australia by leveraging Unitech’s position and also our own existing relationships.
“These include growing both our Makesafe business and our Large-loss insurance building offering in the local market, and introducing our restoration services business, Restorx, into SA.
“We also now have an opportunity to build our capacity for catastrophe (CAT) response in SA.”
Mr Didier went on to say that the purchase represented the group’s long-term growth strategy of regional expansion through carefully selected acquisitions.
Shares in John Lyng Group are up 0.1 per cent on the back of the announcement, trading at $4.85 at 11:00 am AEST.
