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Eco City Vehicles to acquire software firm in £73m deal

Media and telecommunications investment firm Eco City Vehicles plc has announced it has agreed to acquire tax software company Tax Computer Systems Ltd for £73m.

The London-registered investment group will fund the acquisition through a £45m share rise, already conditionally raise by way of an oversubscribed placing of new ordinary shares, with a further £30m draw from loans and credit facilities.

Tax Computer Systems currently provide tax software solutions to 43 blue chip companies in the FTSE100 as well as 19 of the top 20 UK accountancy firms, with a revenue of £12.8m last year.

As part of the deal Gavin Lyons, partner at MXC Capital who are subscribing for £8.7m of equity, will become Executive Chairman, meanwhile a name change to Tax Systems plc has also been mooted.

Clive Carver, Non-Executive Director of ECV, said: “It has been our stated strategy to seek an investment in the technology sector where we believe there are opportunities for growth.

“TCS is a business that meets these criteria and represents a strong and stable platform from which to build a UK tax automation and compliance software business of scale. We look forward to the future with confidence.”

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