In line with its strategic plan, sports and leisure equipment designer ABEO announces the acquisition of Sportsafe UK, a specialist in sports equipment maintenance. ABEO will acquire an 80% controlling stake alongside the CEO and founder, who will remain in charge of operational management. The acquisition enables ABEO to extend the scope of its UK operations and shore up its services business, a strategic focus for the Group given that services build customer loyalty and result in recurring revenues.

 Founded 19 years ago, East London-based Sportsafe UK inspects, services and installs sports and fitness equipment. The company forecasts 2016 revenue of €9million, more than doubling 2014 revenues and earns a solid profitability. Backed by close to 90 employees, the company operates various multi-year repairs and maintenance contracts that generate 60% of its revenues on a recurring basis. Sportsafe UK has a base of over 15,000 customer sites primarily in schools and universities, and practices a dynamic sales approach to penetrate new domestic and international markets.