Admission to AIM
May 08 2006 - 3:03AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:5744C
H&T Group PLC
08 May 2006
8 May 2006
H&T Group plc
("H&T" or the "Company")
Admission to AIM - First Day of Dealings
The Placing:
* H&T, the UK's leading pawnbroking business by size of pledge book,
announces completion of its admission to AIM and that trading in its ordinary
shares commenced at 8.00am today.
* Numis Securities, the Company's broker, has placed 10,573,469 new
ordinary shares on behalf of the Company raising approximately #18.2 million
before expenses, and also placed 17,836,980 existing ordinary shares for
approximately #30.7 million on behalf of selling shareholders.
* The proceeds of the issue of new ordinary shares will be used in the
refinancing of H&T and the repayment of certain loan notes. H&T will have an
EPIC code of HAT.L.
* Hawkpoint is the nominated adviser and financial adviser to H&T and
Numis Securities is broker.
* Rutland backed the buyout of H&T in September 2004 and has supported
the Company through to a successful flotation.
Placing statistics:
Placing Price 172p
Number of New Shares 10,573,469
Number of Placing Shares 28,410,449
Number of Ordinary Shares in issue immediately following Admission 31,485,706
Market capitalisation at the Placing Price (approximate) #54 million
Percentage of issued share capital immediately following Admission subject to the 90%
Placing
Estimated net proceeds of the Placing receivable by the Selling Shareholders #28.6 million
Estimated net proceeds of the Placing receivable by the Company #14.8 million
Peter Middleton, Chairman, said:
"Under the stewardship of John and his team, H&T has performed strongly, growing
the number of shops and introducing new products. The success of the business
is testimony to the hard work of all of the staff in the company."
John Nichols, Chief Executive, said:
"H&T is the leading business in the fragmented UK pawnbroking market with a
pledge book of almost #25 million at the end of 2005. We feel we can take the
business much further in adding to our network in under-served regions and
capitalising on the start made in launching new products, such as loans and
pre-paid debit cards, which are ancillary to pawnbroking. Flotation is an
important milestone in the evolution of our group."
For further information please contact:
H&T Group plc 0870 9022 600
John Nichols, Chief Executive
Hawkpoint Partners Limited 020 7665 4500
Lawrence Guthrie / Sunil Duggal
Numis Securities Limited 020 7776 1500
Oliver Hemsley / Charles Farquhar
College Hill Associates 020 7457 2020
Gareth David / Paddy Blewer
Information on H&T
H&T is the UK's leading pawnbroking business by size of Pledge Book. The
business was founded in 1897 and now has 69 outlets across the UK and
approximately 300 employees.
The Company's core business remains pawnbroking although as the business has
grown, it has increased the revenue derived from other financial services
including cheque cashing and unsecured loans. The Company is also a retailer of
jewellery, second-hand items sourced from its pawnbroking operations and a
relatively small number of new products bought in for re-sale.
The Company provides lending solutions designed to meet the financing needs of
private individuals who may not satisfy the lending criteria of high street
banks. The Company targets a customer base of borrowers who are precluded from
accessing more traditional forms of finance, offering such customers a facility
to borrow money in a way which is quick and convenient and which demands neither
a bank account nor arrangement fees.
The Directors believe that the Company has developed strong client relationships
founded on its ability to reach lending decisions quickly and the emphasis on
customer service, evidenced by repeat business where a single item may be pawned
more than once. New customers are typically sourced through passing trade at the
Company's high street and shopping mall locations, introductions from existing
clients and advertising.
The Company deals principally with gold and, occasionally, diamond jewellery.
The Directors believe that these commodities do not suffer significantly from
obsolescence or degradation. While the vast majority of customers do redeem or
renew their pledge, these items are readily marketable, straightforward to value
and realisable in the second hand and scrap markets.
H&T has a strong financial record both in terms of revenue growth and
profitability. Based on audited financial statements, between 2001 and 2005, H&T
achieved successive year-on-year growth in both Net Revenues and operating
profits. During the same period, Net Revenues grew by 14.1 per cent. on a
compound annual basis and EBITDA by 14.9 per cent. on a compound annual basis.
H&T's objective is to capitalise on its position as one of the UK's largest
pawnbrokers. It intends to continue growing the business through expanding its
geographical footprint, establishing recently introduced products, developing
new products and services and rolling-out a new store format.
- ends -
Hawkpoint Partners Limited ("Hawkpoint") and Numis Securities Limited ("Numis"),
which are authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial
Services Authority, are acting exclusively for H&T as its nominated adviser and
broker respectively, and for no one else in relation to the placing. Hawkpoint
and Numis will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this
announcement) as their client in relation to the placing and will not be
responsible to anyone other than H&T for providing the protections afforded to
clients of Hawkpoint and Numis or for providing any advice in relation to the
placing, the contents of this announcement or any transaction or arrangement
referred to herein. The responsibility of Hawkpoint as nominated adviser is
owed solely to the London Stock Exchange and not to Numis or its directors or
any other person in respect of his decision to acquire shares in H&T in reliance
on any part of this announcement. Neither Hawkpoint nor Numis have authorised
the contents of this announcement or accepts liability for the accuracy of any
information or opinions contained therein, or for the omission of any
information from this announcement, for which H&T and its directors are solely
responsible.
No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made or given by or on
behalf of H&T, Hawkpoint or Numis or any of their respective directors,
partners, officers, employees, agents or advisers or any other person (whether
or not referred to in this announcement) as to the accuracy, completeness or
fairness of the information or opinions contained herein and no responsibility
or liability is accepted by any of them for any such information or opinions.
The Company has issued an Admission Document in connection with the admission of
its ordinary shares to trading on AIM. Copies of the Admission Document are
available free of charge from the offices of Eversheds LLP, 85 Queen Victoria
Street, London EC4V 4JL for a period of at least one month from the date of this
announcement.
This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, the placing or any offer
or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to subscribe
for any ordinary shares in any jurisdiction, nor shall this announcement or any
part of it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied
upon in connection with, or act as an inducement to enter into, any contract or
commitment whatsoever with respect to the placing or otherwise. No reliance may
be placed for any purpose whatsoever on the information contained in this
announcement or on its completeness.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCEAKSPESEKEEE
H&t (LSE:HAT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2024 to Jan 2025
H&t (LSE:HAT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jan 2024 to Jan 2025
