New tool removes gamble from company acquisitions

A new commercial tool is claimed to transform the way companies go about acquiring other businesses, according to its developers.

VIBE, which has been devised by Plimsoll Publishing, draws on a database of information covering virtually every company in Britain and Northern Ireland. It shows at a glance if a company is ripe for takeover – and why.

Plimsoll, which has a track record of predicting commercial success or failure and is one of the leading business analysts in the UK, France and Japan, says the service can be tailored to any one of around 1200 commercial sectors. The resulting report provides a detailed picture of the top 500 companies in each sector and delivers its verdict in both text summary and in graphics, under the categories ‘eye-catching’, ‘desirable’ or ‘unattractive’.

Plimsoll’s senior analyst David Pattison said: ‘This is not just a snapshot of company fortunes, but a package of key information that is not available anywhere else in a single document. It covers everything from the age of a firm’s directors to illustrations of where the company’s strengths and weaknesses lie. We also identify the firms we describe as hidden jewels, where the fees paid to directors have been distorting the profits for years.’

VIBE stands for Valuations, Industry analysis, Business acquisitions, and Electronic delivery, since each report is supplied via email, on CD or on USB memory stick. It comes in PDF format for clear and easy viewing.

David Pattison continued: ‘All the work that any potential acquirer needs to do has already been done by Plimsoll. You can search the information by size of company, geography, directors’ ages, losses and much more. We also add internet links to allow further research. In addition, monthly updates to the analysis are available on request to assist those companies that are planning an acquisition but are not ready to act immediately.’