TIDMBONH
RNS Number : 4886G
Bonhill Group PLC
24 July 2019
24 July 2019
Bonhill Group plc
("Bonhill", the "Company" or the "Group")
Pre-close trading update
Bonhill Group plc (AIM: BONH), a leading B2B media business
specialising in three key areas: Business Information, Live Events
and Data & Insight, announces a trading update for the six
months ended 30 June 2019 ("the period"), which comprises six
months' contribution from each of InvestmentNews and Bonhill's UK
business and from 10 April 2019 to 30 June 2019 for Last Word
Media.
Acquisition of Last Word Media ("Last Word")
On 10 April 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of Last
Word for a maximum consideration of GBP20.0 million. The initial
consideration paid was GBP8.0 million, of which GBP6.0 million was
satisfied in cash and GBP2.0 million by the issue of new ordinary
shares. Further consideration will be payable subject to Last Word
achieving certain earnings thresholds in each of the financial
years ending 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2020. This
acquisition gives the Group global presence in the key financial
adviser and asset management areas.
Trading
Last Word Media is trading in excess of its earn out targets and
the Company has started to integrate its offerings across the
Group. The Board sees several opportunities for Last Word's
products to be launched in the US and work has started with the
first launch expected in 2019. As part of the integration, the
majority of Bonhill UK's staff are expected to move into Last
Word's offices in August 2019 which should lead to greater
collaboration as well as supplier purchasing benefits.
The Women in... franchise continued to grow during the period
with a successful launch event of Women in IT in Singapore. New one
day summits were launched in London and New York to support the
awards programme for both Women in Finance and Women in IT. These
launches support our strategic move into the development of more
educational summit and conference activity in this core gender
diversity area. Bonhill UK's media sales business has flourished
under new management, growing materially from last year and
performing in excess of budget. We are looking at ways of further
expanding the franchise.
Trading in the remainder of the Group's businesses has however
been more challenging, with InvestmentNews experiencing three
months of difficult trading in the middle of the period,
particularly in sales of its print publication. Combined, the Board
still anticipates that results for the year ending 31 December 2019
will be in line with market expectations, although there will be a
much greater weighting towards the second half. The necessary
remedial action has been taken and in the last two months
InvestmentNews has returned to trading in line with budgeted
performance.
We continue to see good growth in InvestmentNews events and
research products. The shift from sales of print to events and data
is occurring as planned by the Board and at a faster pace than
anticipated at the time of acquisition. The Board expects to see
continued growth in InvestmentNews' sales in 2019, but with a
different mix and a greater contribution from the growing events
portfolio and custom projects and a modest decline in print.
People
The Group continues to invest in hiring quality staff with,
among others, Heads of Operations, Marketing and Sales joining the
Events team in the period, which will enable us to continue to grow
our global franchises.
On 1 July 2019, we welcomed our new Chief Product Officer (CPO),
Simon Collin who has 30 years' B2B experience, most recently as CPO
of Lexis Nexis UK and will contribute to the development of the
Group's overall product and data strategy across all of its
brands.
On 18 July 2019, we announced the recruitment of Christine Shaw
as the new CEO of InvestmentNews. Christine joins from Future Plc
where she was MD of Global Events and B2B managing a team of 175
people, 55 events, 15 magazines and 16 websites. Her experience
will be invaluable as we further expand our events and data
operating activities and mitigate the slight reduction in
print.
While the investments being made in people in all parts of the
Group represent a short-term cost, it provides the Group with the
requisite skill sets necessary to develop and grow across its
sector, business activities and product areas. Group headcount
currently stands at 178.
Technology
The planned technology investment being made across the Group
remains on plan and on budget. By September 2019, all parts of the
Group are expected to have been migrated onto one common technology
platform which should bring significant benefits, in particular in
CRM and the finance function. There have been improvements in the
infrastructure and e-commerce aspects of the InvestmentNews'
website and the fully refreshed site is expected to be relaunched
by December 2019 which will support much broader product and data
opportunities. This will also mean that the Company can shortly
thereafter bring to an end the Transitional Services Agreement
provided by Crain Communications to InvestmentNews.
A further update on trading and prospects will be provided at
the time of release of the Company's interim results for the six
months ended 30 September 2019 which are expected to released in
mid- September 2019.
Simon Stilwell, Chief Executive of Bonhill, commented:
"It has been another period of improvement in the overall
quality of our people, business activities and geographic reach. We
have an extremely strong position in the key financial adviser and
asset management areas of the industry and our two most recent
senior hires bring a wealth of global B2B experience that will help
us achieve our goals. The investment in our people and technology
platform gives us great confidence for the future. With continued
progress at Last Word Media and the Women in.... franchise, the
Board still anticipates that results for the year ending 31
December 2019 will be in line with market expectations reflecting
acquisition timing and the trading performance of
InvestmentNews."
For further enquiries please contact:
Bonhill Group plc +44 (0)20 7250 7035
Simon Stilwell, Chief Executive
David Brown, Group Finance Director
Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser
and Joint Broker) +44 (0)20 7408 4050
Tom Griffiths
David Coaten
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint
Broker)
Bobbie Hilliam
Adam James
Georgina McCooke +44 (0)20 7523 8000
About Bonhill Group plc
Bonhill Group plc is a leading, AIM-quoted, B2B media company
providing Business Information, Live Events and Data & Insight
propositions to Financial Services, Technology and Diversity
business communities in 25 countries across the world. Bonhill
operates fifteen information websites, publishes four regular print
titles, hosts 120 events per annum, offers a portfolio of data
& insight propositions and provides a range of content
marketing solutions.
The business creates content, sales and marketing opportunities,
networking events and transactional opportunities for its audiences
of entrepreneurs, business owners and managers, CTOs &
technology leaders, asset & wealth managers, and professional
women, in addition to its sponsors, advertising clients and
customers. Flagship brands include: InvestmentNews, Portfolio
Adviser, Fund Selector Asia, What Investment, SmallBusiness.co.uk,
GrowthBusiness.co.uk, Information Age, Women in events series, and
DiversityQ.
For more information visit www.bonhillplc.com
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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