GB Group acquires CRB organisation

Identity management specialist GB Group has acquired tmg.tv, the UK's second largest Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) umbrella organisation.

GB purchased the group for a total of £3.0m, including an initial payment of £2.25m, with the remaining £0.75m in June 2014, although this is dependent upon TMG achieving stretching growth targets. The acquisition is excected to be earnings-enhancing in its first year as part of the group.

In TMG CRB's unaudited accounts for the year to June 2012, the company had net revenue of £1.8m and profit before interest and tax of £0.5m.

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TMG's CRB checking system currently processes over 170,000 checks a year and is used predominantly by organisations who recruit individuals working with children and vulnerable adults.

The firm has made the purchase to access the growing market for online CRB disclosure checks and broaden the service offering that it is able to offer its growing CRB client base. It will also enable the company to package together an integrated online employment screening solution from across the group's data sets to provide ID Verification, criminal record disclosures and entitlement to drive checks.

GB Chief Executive Officer Richard Law said: "The CRB checking sector is currently going through the same transformation that we saw in the ID Verification sector, with online processes replacing out-dated and paper-based systems. TMG CRB has built a strong foothold in this area and we consider that it will be an excellent fit with our other group offerings.

"We will combine TMG CRB's capability to check criminal records with our existing ID Verification service which will help organisations make safer recruitment decisions more quickly and more efficiently. Although currently small, the TMG CRB business adds a strategic capability to our overall Identity Management portfolio and the prospect for very positive growth."

NR