Count extends WA footprint
Count Financial is continuing its growth strategy announcing to the Australian Securities Exchange today that its subsidiary, Countplus, had acquired a 25 per cent share in accounting and financial planning firm RLF Bentleys, which was formerly known as Rix Levy Fowler.
The significance of the holding is that RLF Bentleys is the exclusive Bentleys licensee for Western Australia and provides audit, business services and financial planning services.
The ASX announcement said that the business had revenue of $3.6 million and funds under advice of $56 million.
The transaction has seen Count pay $989,000 for the 25 per cent stake, which was made up of $198,000 in cash and $791,000 in Count shares.
Countplus has an option to buy the remaining 75 per cent of the businesses on agreed pricing and at its discretion by July 1, 2011, or by agreement before that time.
Commenting on the transaction, Countplus chief executive Jeremy Wardell said the business was an existing Count franchisee with a large audit and business services client base and a growing exposure to the burgeoning resource industry.
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