Rentokil Initial plc acquires Anderson Pest Solutions

Rentokil Initial plc announces the continued expansion of its pest control business with the acquisition of Chicago-based Anderson Pest Solutions ("Anderson").  Its annualised revenues for the 12 months prior to acquisition were $21m.  The acquisition is in line with the Company's strategy of continued acceleration of its pest control business and pursuing acquisition targets in higher growth markets.  It also builds customer density, primarily in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Andy Ransom, Chief Executive of Rentokil Initial plc, said:
"We are delighted to join forces with Anderson Pest Solutions in the Chicago area.  It is a well-established and highly respected business, and with long-term customer relationships.  

"With an 80% commercial portfolio, areas of potential growth include introducing additional services such as Rentokil's bird control and bioremediation expertise to Anderson's customer base, but also the benefits that Anderson's particular expertise in eco-effective pest control will bring to us.  

"North America is an important growth market for the Company and our pipeline of acquisitions in pest control remains strong as we expect to continue the acceleration in pest control and deliver the next phase in our plan for profitable growth."

• Rentokil North America Strategy and Performance
• North America is a key strategic market in our Growth quadrant.
• As set out in the recent Rentokil Pest Control seminar, North America is the largest pest control market worldwide, with an estimated growth rate of ~3.5% in 2014.
• The Company's strategy for strong growth and rising margins in North America is to:  increase scale in commercial pest control; drive profitability through route density building by the in-fill of areas with lower customer penetration; extend coverage and capability for national accounts; accelerate growth through M&A; and target local organic growth using the Rentokil model of targeted sales activity, upselling additional services, investment in brand building and high standards of customer satisfaction leading to customer retention.
• In the first six months of 2015, Rentokil Initial's North America region revenue grew 8.3%, with strong profit growth of 19.5% driven by acquisitions and leverage impact from higher revenues.