WGT Wallgate

RNS Number:5966T
Artisan (UK) PLC
26 March 2002


                 Artisan (UK) plc ("Artisan" or the "Company")

                     Disposal of Speymill Contracts Limited

Further to the Company's announcement on 1 February 2002 it has pleasure in
further announcing the following corporate activity. The Company will now be
able to recommence its share buy back programme.


Disposal of Specialist Contracting Subsidiary


The Board of Artisan is pleased to announce that they have today entered into a
conditional agreement for the sale of their contracting company, Speymill
Contracts Limited, to The Wigmore Group plc ("Wigmore").


The consideration for the sale of £4 million is to be satisfied by £700,000 in
cash on completion and the assumption by Wigmore of inter-company loans to
Artisan totalling £2.3 million. The balance of the consideration is to be
satisfied by the issue to Artisan of a convertible loan note in Wigmore of £1
million. The loan note will attract interest payable quarterly of 2.5% per annum
above the base rate at that time. Artisan shall be entitled to convert the Loan
Note into ordinary shares in Wigmore at a convertible rate of 3p per share.


Speymill is a specialist contractor working in the leisure and hotel sectors.
Established in 1995, Speymill provides construction and property refurbishment
services to the public house, restaurant, hotel and leisure groups and
specialises in building, refurbishing licensed premises.


Speymill whose asset value was £914,235 as at March 2001, made a profit before
tax of £690,324 in the year to 31st March 2001 on turnover of £16,325,874. For
the nine months ended 31st December 2001, Speymill's profit on ordinary
activities before taxation was £601,245 on turnover £12,659,952.


Artisan will use the proceeds from the sale of Speymill as working capital in
its core activities of residential and commercial property development.


The sale is conditional on the approval at the general meeting of Wigmore
shareholders to the transaction and on the admission of the new Wigmore shares,
issued as a result of the fundraising exercise, to trading on AIM.


Alan Brookes, who is the Operations Director for Speymill at Artisan will be
appointed to the Board of Wigmore and as a consequence of the disposal will
resign from the Board of Artisan on completion of the transaction.


The Board of Artisan continues to review its strategic objectives and will
contact shareholders again in the near future.


S Dean
CHAIRMAN


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