CSG.L Regulatory News (CSG)

2 February 2010

Cyril Sweett Group plc

('Cyril Sweett' or the 'Group')

Acquisition of Padgham Australia and India

Cyril Sweett, the international construction and property consultancy, is pleased to announce that the Group's wholly owned subsidiary, Cyril Sweett Australia Pty Limited, has agreed to acquire the entire share capital of Padgham & Partners Pty Limited and its subsidiary company Padghams Cost Management Private Limited, (together "Padghams"), an Australian and Indian based quantity surveying and cost management business. The completion date for the acquisition is expected to occur by 26 February 2010 at the latest.

The initial consideration, amounting to AUD1,453,000 (£807,000), is to be satisfied by a cash payment of AUD974,000 (£541,000) and the balance by the issue of ordinary shares of 10 pence each in Cyril Sweett ("Ordinary Shares"), the number of which will be determined with reference to the average closing share price for the 10 business days prior to the calculation, which will immediately precede completion. This represents a multiple of 5.5 times the average post-tax earnings for the Australian company's years ended in 2007 to 2009 together with 5.5 times the Indian Company's post-tax earnings for the year ended 31 March 2009. The initial consideration is subject to downward revision should the net tangible assets in the financial statements to be drawn up at the completion date be less than AUD825,000 (£0.46m).

Padgham Australia and Padgham India prepare financial statements to 30 June and 31 March respectively and the deferred consideration will be payable contingent upon the financial performance of the companies in the years ending in 2010 and 2011. The directors of Cyril Sweett anticipate, based on current forecasts, that the deferred consideration will be approximately AUD860,000 (£478,000).

The total consideration is therefore expected to be approximately AUD2.3million (£1.3 million) and in any event, will not exceed approximately AUD2.7 million (£1.5million).

The unaudited financial statements of Padgham & Partners Pty Limited for the financial year ended 30 June 2009 recorded turnover of AUD 2.1 million (£1.16m), a profit after tax of AUD 0.1m (£0.05m) and net assets of AUD 0.2 million (£0.11m). The audited financial statements of Padghams Cost Management Private Limited for the financial year ended 31 March 2009 recorded turnover of INR 61.8 million (£0.82m), a profit after tax of INR 9.2m (£0.12m) and net assets of INR 15.0m (£0.20m).

About Padghams

·; Padgham & Partners Pty Limited is a private limited liability company. Peter Cox is the Group Managing Director and David Jones is Chairman. All directors are both fee earners and business developers.

·; Padghams Australia was established in 1964 and currently has 12 fee earners operating mainly out of Melbourne, Victoria. The Company provides quantity surveying and allied services, predominantly to the health and education sectors. It has a strong reputation for providing high quality services within these sectors.

·; Padghams India opened in 2001 and currently has 43 fee earners providing quantity surveying services to the Hospitality, Residential, Health, Research and Technology sectors. Most of its staff are engineers by training and therefore are highly skilled. The main office is in Chennai with satellite or project offices in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Dean Webster, Chief Executive Officer at Cyril Sweett, said:

"We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Padghams; international expansion is core to our strategic plan and we believe that this acquisition is an excellent fit for the Group. The acquisition enables us to add a quantity surveying and cost management offering to our existing project management expertise in Australia and at the same time consolidates our presence in India.

"We intend to combine both Melbourne activities into a new office almost immediately, whilst in India, we inherit a presence in a number of strategic locations. It therefore significantly strengthens the Group's Asia Pacific network and we look forward to working with the Padghams team."

Peter Cox, Group Managing Director of Padghams, said:

"The directors of Padghams are delighted to be joining a growing and successful international business.  We were attracted to Cyril Sweett's strong international network, but also to its diversity and depth of professional experience and range of services, all of which will help Padghams to grow and thrive.

"Given our established footprint and contacts within both Australia and India, Padghams will be able to make a strong contribution to Cyril Sweett's objectives in these markets; namely, both developing a quantity surveying capacity in Australia to complement its existing business, as well as capitalising on its existing clients' plans to enter the Indian market, This is an exciting opportunity for the Company and we look forward to working with the Cyril Sweett team".

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Notes to editors

About Cyril Sweett

·; Cyril Sweett is a leading international construction and property consultancy offering expertise in cost consultancy, project management, building surveying and a comprehensive range of specialist consulting services.

·; Cyril Sweett floated on the AIM market of the LSE in October 2007.

·; Founded in 1928, the Group has 29 offices throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, France, India, Ireland, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.