Access Intelligence in £2.5m Solcara sell-off

The York-based group, which said most of its first-half trading had been in line with expectations, bought Solcara in November 2008 for £750,000. Solcara sells federated search technology to the legal profession and in-house legal teams.

Access sold Solcara, a wholly owned subsidiary, to Thomson Reuters (Professional) UK. The money is payable in cash at completion other than £250,000, which will be held against warranties and indemnities for 12 months.

It said the proceeds from the sale will be applied to general working capital.

When Solcara was bought it was also selling into the stakeholder communications and crisis management areas but the Access board decided to create a specialist search business concentrating on the legal market.

It said: “Since December 2009 the reshaped Solcara has been growing strongly, building its customer base amongst law firms and in-house legal departments whilst investing in its software. Solcara is a stand alone company and its disposal has no impact on any other element of the group.”

In the year to November 30 Solcara had sales of £749,644 and operating profits of £19,341. The net assets of the company at 31 May 2011 were £149,986.