Baqus chases new acquisitions
Cheshire-based quantity surveying consultancy Baqus has revealed it is preparing to take over two further businesses after chairman Roger Knowles said the credit crunch meant it could acquire companies at "attractive prices".
The quantity surveying market is worth £1.3bn, and Baqus says the current economic climate has created an ideal environment for companies to consolidate.
The business, which was formed last year from the merger of Liverpool quantity surveying consultancy Fletcher McNeill, and nationwide construction companies Boxall Sayer and Denley King, floated on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in December.
Its revenue rose 16% to £3.68m in the last six months of 2007, in comparison to the same period the previous year.
As it traded on AIM for only 17 days last year, it has compiled a set of "pro forma" results based on the six months to December 31.
The company's pre-tax profit has increased by 878% from £45,000 to £440,000 – a rise which the company puts down to major product cancellations in 2006.
