RNS Number:7043J
XKO Group PLC
07 April 2003


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               7 April 2003


                                  XKO GROUP plc

                     XKO GROUP plc ("XKO" or the "Company")

              ACQUISITION OF THE CONTROL GROUP LIMITED ("Control")


The Board of XKO is pleased to announce that completion took place on 4 April
2003 in respect of the acquisition by XKO of Control for a total cash
consideration of #1.2 million, paid as at completion.

At the date of completion, Control had no net borrowings or indebtedness and an
estimated cash surplus, after adjusting for agreed creditors payable in April
2003, of #55,000.  An agreed element of this working capital surplus will be
remitted to the vendors of Control at the end of the six month retention period.



INFORMATION ABOUT CONTROL

Control is an ERP vendor and author established some 15 years ago with offices
in Deeside, Cheshire and Birmingham.  Control has approximately 40 employees and
for the twelve months ended 31 March 2002 Control recorded a consolidated
turnover of #4.6 million and a profit before taxation of #23,000.  As at 31
March 2002 Control had consolidated net assets of #478,000.  For the accounting
period to 31 March 2003 it is currently estimated that Control will show a small
operating loss before exceptional items and non recurring directors' emoluments.

REASONS FOR THE ACQUISITION

XKO has a strong market position in the mid range ERP market with a large
installed base of some 950 customers generating significant recurring annual
revenues.  XKO is the owner and developer of a number of applications for these
customers with particularly strong market shares in products for the
distribution industries and larger scale SMEs.

Control also operates in these markets and competes directly with XKO.

The acquisition of Control therefore offers a number of important commercial and
financial benefits:

*         Additional contracted revenues of approximately #1 million, increasing
XKO Group's comparable recurring revenues to approximately #15 million.



*         A large installed base of approximately 75 customers with significant
cross selling opportunities.



*         An extended product range which will be developed for the enlarged
group including important Supply Chain Management functionality and RF
technology which will improve the XKO Group offering to customers.



*         Increased scale and improved market positioning.



XKO believes that Control customers will welcome the opportunity to be supplied
by a substantial public group with the capability to fund product development
and the scale to offer the full range of IT services required by SME and
corporate customers.



The acquisition of Control is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing.


TERMS OF THE ACQUISITION



The total consideration paid at completion was #1.2 million.  There are no
deferred payments.



The acquisition is being financed from new bank facilities arranged with The
Royal Bank of Scotland plc.  XKO will make use of a new #3.4 million term loan
supplemented by a

#3.0 million working capital facility.





CURRENT TRADING OF XKO



XKO has recently completed its year end to 31 March 2003.  The Directors
currently estimate that, subject to audit and internal review, XKO can be
expected to report an adjusted pre tax profit for the year recently ended within
the range of current market expectations.  The market expectations for adjusted
pre tax profit have been stated before goodwill amortisation in respect of
recent acquisitions, exceptional restructuring costs primarily in respect of
recent acquisitions and a small loss incurred from a discontinued business.



The Directors also estimate that cash generation for the year has been
satisfactory.



XKO Group plc expects to report audited results in mid June.  In the event that
the above estimates are confirmed in respect of profitability and cashflow, the
Board would expect to ask shareholders to approve a final dividend of 0.5p per
share which, when aggregated with the interim dividend already paid, will
comprise a dividend increase of 40%.





Commenting on the acquisition Brian Beverley said:



"XKO enjoys a robust and highly cash generative business model.  We intend to
use our market strength to continue to build market share by acquisition.  The
acquisition of Control is an important opportunity for the Group and brings with
it important skills, new products in the Supply Chain Management area and a
strong customer base"









FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:


XKO Group plc:

          Brian Beverley, Chairman                          07770 680085 or 01253 731015

          Simon Beart, Chief Executive                      07710 444370

          Rob Kimber, Group Finance Director                01932 575208

Teather & Greenwood:

          Mike Sawbridge or Nick Bankes                     0151 242 0610

Buchanan Communications:

         Richard Darby                                      020 7466 5000
         Nicola Cronk





                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

ACQILFFISVIDIIV