The Cotswold Group had revenues of £10 million in 2010 and G4S will pay a maximum consideration of £10.2 million in cash, comprising an initial payment of £8.0 million with the remainder to be paid upon the achievement of specific PBITA targets in 2011 and 2012.

The acquisition will significantly strengthen the strategic development of G4S’s covert surveillance and investigations capability, allowing it to embed increased intelligence offerings into its service portfolio and introduce these offerings as part of its existing solutions based contracts. Adding to similar services offered in the US, Middle East and Asia Pacific, with this acquisition G4S will become the global leader in the investigation of insurance fraud which is estimated to cost in excess of $200bn each year.

The Cotswold Group will provide an intelligence-based fraud investigation services platform and give G4S the capability to pursue major opportunities within UK central and local government in areas such as benefit fraud investigation.

The Cotswold Group is the largest provider of surveillance and investigative services to insurance clients within the UK, with a strong emphasis on personal injury fraud. It provides a range of surveillance and investigation services in property, motor and personal injury insurance claims, employers and public liability, employee screening, housing benefit fraud and corporate investigations.

The Cotswold Group was founded in 1990 by Tom Scott, its current CEO and a former police officer who specialised in covert surveillance, combating serious and organised crime. Tom will continue to manage the business following the acquisition. The Cotswold Group is headquartered in Gloucester and currently employs 260 staff, 120 of whom are investigators located across Europe.

David Taylor-Smith, Regional CEO, G4S UK & Africa, commented: “We are very pleased to welcome Tom and his team to G4S and expect them to make a real difference to our business. We believe their market leadership, extensive client base and unmatched track record of delivery in this highly specialist area will underpin our consultancy offering here in the UK and overseas.”

Tom Scott, CEO of The Cotswold Group, commented: “We are very excited about the opportunities for our employees and our company through becoming part of the G4S family. We believe the Cotswold Group is highly complementary to G4S’s existing operations around the world and will bring many new capabilities to G4S and its customers. The opportunity to create a major force in investigation services and to work with G4S teams in the UK and globally is an extremely exciting prospect.”