Birmingham care provider Claimar has launched itself on an acquisitive spree following its float on AIM earlier this year.

The £200,000 deal to buy Walsall Homecare could be the first of many this year, Claimar said, as it looked to consolidate its position in the fragmented care market.

An initial £140,000 will be paid for Walsall, whose staff of 50 care workers provides at home care for elderly people in the borough and in Wolverhampton.

At least another ten staff will be recruited, said Claim-ar, at the company which achieved a profit of £51,000 on turnover of £517,000 in the year to March 31.

Claimar expects the acquisition to be earnings enhancing in the current year, however the full effect will be in the year commencing October 1.

Chief executive Mark Hales said: "Walsall Homecare is the first acquisition by Claimar since its admission to AIM in January, and represents a further step in the board's stated strategy of combining organic and acquisitive growth.

"The directors believe that this acquisition will strengthen further our presence in the West Midlands and will help create additional opportunities for expansion into key new local authorities."

Mr Hales said Claimar was now looking at further acquisitions as it seeks to grow.

No exact figures were revealed about how much Claimar has to spend, but the float did raise around £4 million to develop the company, which employs 900.

Mr Hales said: "The company sees itself as a consolidator and this deal will expand Claimar into new local authority areas. We raised £4 million in new money from the float and we have our banking facilities as well.

"We are looking at a number of acquisitions, and hope the news will flow. There are five and a half thousand providers out there and it is a very fragmented market. There are huge opportunities for consolidation.

"Walsall Homecare is one of the smallest companies we have bought, but it is significant because it narrows the gap between our core business in the North West and our operations in the Midlands.

"It has been owner managed for the last three years, and we have proven by adopting our processes we can improve revenue and profit."

Claimar Care was established in Birmingham in 1994 by husband and wife team Jim and Birdie Ceaser and their daughter, Claire.

From 2001 to 2005 turnover increased by over 600 per cent to £6 million. ..SUPL: