Access acquires rival and is back in profit

The York-based group made an annual 600,000 profit for the year to November 30 compared to losses of 4.6m the previous year.

The group, which won contracts with RBS and Aviva over the period, said all divisions had traded profitably.

Access said it is in a better position at the start of 2010 than a year ago and it has seen a strong start to trading this year.

That said, it warned that economic conditions remain tough and it is difficult to predict how spending will be affected after the election, particularly in the public sector.

Access also announced that it has bought compliance software specialist Cobent, whose customers include the United Nations, Barclays, DSG and Ladbrokes.

The 5.2m payment is made up of 33.3 million new shares, 3m in cash and up to 200,000 in a deferred consideration.

In addition 3m is being raised through a placing of 60 million new shares at 0.5p each. The placing was oversubscribed and the size of it was increased to meet excess demand.

Cobent was founded in 2003 and is based in the UK with a small presence in Texas, USA.