The Group was recently awarded its first significant contract from theDepartment for Education & Learning in Northern Ireland to deliverapprenticeship training which the Carter & Carter Group expects to generate revenues of around £5million in the first three years.

The Group has acquired the Blackwater House training operation from ComponentDistributors Limited, a Northern Irish company specialising in sales,distribution and marketing of automotive aftermarket related products.Blackwater House is one of Northern Irelands leading vocational trainingproviders, specialising in the automotive retail sector. Which should prove a very close match with another large Carter & Carter company ReMIT.

Rodney Westhead, Non-Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive, commented:We are delighted to have made this acquisition which provides Carter & Carterwith a footprint in Northern Ireland from which to grow in the region. Thisimportant contract win, together with our recent success in the Learning &Skills Council tender rounds, clearly demonstrates the organic growthopportunities in the work based learning sector.