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A developer of systems designed to measure draught alcoholic drink volumes in pubs and bars has strengthened its business with the acquisition of a provider of data and market intelligence to the licensed on-trade.

Brulines has bought Nucleus Data Holdings, which supplies data capture devices among other products, in a deal that could be worth more than £4 million.

On completion, £3.8 million was paid in cash and shares with up to £700,000 due in loan notes depending on performance to April 2009.

Nucleus brings additional expertise to Brulines’ operations and will help to develop its products and move its business into new markets.

This is Brulines second acquisition since it joined AIM in October 2006, following May’s takeover of Coin Metrics, a wireless data product specialist that enables the amusement and gaming industries to monitor the financial performance of their machines.

Post-completion Nucleus will be merged into Brulines, with directors Jeff Anspach and Clive Consterdine taking senior commercial roles at the acquiring company. Nucleus founder and majority shareholder Jim Walsh resigned from the company on completion.

Brulines provides its services to more than 18,000 pubs in the UK. Its products include Brand Quality Monitoring, which scrutinises the quality of products running through a pub’s beer lines as well as measuring volume, temperature, flow rate and type of liquid.

The Stockton-on-Tees-based company, which has more than 170 employees, made an operating profit of some £2 million in its interim results for the six months to October 2007.

Nucleus, which is based in Tadcastle, North Yorkshire, had more than 2,300 dispense monitoring installations in pubs throughout the UK last year. In the 12 months to January 2007, it made a pre-tax profit of £300,000 on a £3.1 million turnover.

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