Dublin-based engineering consultant, PM Group, has announced the acquisition of Belgian engineer, Magnet Group.

The purchase will enable PM Group to diversify and grow in the region, delivering more projects locally for its Pharma and Data Centre clients, while also providing a range of services to the Food, Advanced Manufacturing and Energy sectors. With 60 people now based in the Benelux region, plans are in place to double this number by 2020.

The deal was reported as the company published its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017. With revenue of €290 million and operating profit of €9.1m for the year, operating profit dropped by 14% mainly due to the impact of Brexit and currency exchange effects of a strong euro.

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Dave Murphy, Chief Executive Officer at PM Group, said: "Despite a number of challenging external factors, 2017 was another strong year for PM Group. We delivered a range of complex projects for multi-national clients around the world. Unsurprisingly, some UK clients are hesitant about committing capital to projects with ongoing uncertainty regarding Brexit.

"We have seen very strong growth in 2018 and this has been boosted with the acquisition of PM PROjEN in the UK in January and more recently Magnet Group in Belgium boosting our personnel numbers to 2,400. We are continuing to seek acquisition opportunities to increase our presence in key markets."

Dan Flinter, Chairman, added: "Last year, PM Group achieved solid results across revenue, operating profit and net assets with minimal year-end debt and strong cash balances, providing significant support to the Group's ongoing development plans. The performance to date in 2018 has been really positive and a great tribute to the Group's management and staff."

(LM/CM)