Takeover gives Brulines more forecourt presence

Mar 23 2010 by Karen Dent, The Journal

DATA management group Brulines has added another company to its portfolio and signed a partnership deal which will take its technology into more petrol station forecourts.

The Stockton company, which monitors beer in pubs as well as providing electronic payment, transaction and loyalty systems for the petrol forecourt, gaming and global oil sectors, expects its new additions to initially add around £250,000 to the group’s profits.

Brulines is taking over fuel monitoring company Energy Level Systems Ltd (ELS) from Astoncrest Consultants. It will pay an initial £700,000 in cash followed by a deferred payment of up to £1.35m, dependant on pre-tax profits for the two years to the end of March 2012.

ELS, which is based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, is the UK distributor for OPW Fuel Management Systems fuel tank gauging systems. The £2.5m turnover company made profits of £151,000 last year.

The deal includes the tank lining, liquified petroleum gas and forecourt services business belonging to Graphite UK, which is also based in Market Harborough.

The Graphite businesses, which will pass to ELS just before Brulines’ acquisition is completed on April 6, had a £2.5m turnover and profits of £151,000 last year. The businesses will become part of Brulines’ Edensure subsidiary, which monitors petrol forecourt volumes in real time. The technology can spot leaking tanks or pumps dispersing too much or too little fuel.