Cavendish

Cavendish advises on the sale of James Harvard International Group Ltd

Cavendish Corporate Finance ("Cavendish") is pleased to announce the sale of James Harvard International Group Ltd and James Harvard International Asia Ltd ("James Harvard") to Hays plc for an initial consideration of £23.9m. An estimated further consideration of £19m is payable over the next 3 years depending on achievement of growth and profitability targets.

James Harvard is a recruitment business specialising in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology sectors and in the IT financial markets sector. Backed by venture capital funding from Octopus Investments, the Company has become one of the fastest growing and innovative staffing companies in the sector. Clients include the world's leading life sciences companies and financial institutions. Two thirds of the James Harvard business is based in the United Kingdom with the remainder overseas, primarily in Japan where the Group operates from its Tokyo office. In the year ended 31 December 2006, James Harvard generated estimated net fees of £10.7m and estimated operating profits of £3m.

This strategic acquisition moves Hays into the attractive growth markets of the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology sectors and significantly strengthens Hays' recruitment offering in the high end IT financial markets sector. James Harvard also provides Hays with an excellent platform to introduce its existing businesses to Japan, which is the largest specialist recruitment market in Asia and the third largest in the world.

Cavendish was appointed by the James Harvard shareholders to facilitate the completion of this international transaction following an unsolicited approach from Hays. [Raymond Fagan] and Edward Lethbridge of Cavendish led the assignment, working closely with the management team of James Harvard in the UK and with Andrew Cavaghan, Assistant Director at Octopus Investments. A key factor in securing the assignment was Cavendish's membership of M&A International Inc. and the ability to call on the services of M&A International's alliance partner in Japan, Morgan Evan & Company, to facilitate Japanese-UK liaison.

Cavendish contacts for further information:
[Raymond Fagan], Director
Edward Lethbridge, Executive

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