Altitude Group Regulatory News (ALT)

7 Nov 2005 07:00

Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc 07 November 2005 Date: 7 November 2005 On behalf of: Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc ('the Group' or 'Dowlis') Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc First Day of Dealings Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc, the marketing solutions group, announces that its shares have been admitted to trading on AIM today under the trading symbol ' DWL' ('Admission'). The Company has raised £4.5 million (before expenses) through a placing of 12,500,000 new ordinary shares of 0.4p per share ('Ordinary Shares') at a placing price of 36p per share ('the Placing Price'). Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc's market capitalisation will be approximately £13.5 million following admission to trading of all issued Ordinary Shares at the Placing Price. • Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc is a marketing solutions group focused on creative marketing solutions including the use of Promotional Merchandise to support wider marketing strategies, and generate client goodwill. • The Group's strategy is to create a leading integrated marketing services and support group organically and by acquisition. • The Group currently retains over 1,000 customers, ranging from large corporates to SMEs. • Dowlis has an experienced Board with extensive plc and marketing services experience. • For the 9 month period ended 30 June 2005, Dowlis had a turnover of £15.7m and is profitable. • The Directors believe that the most directly comparable quoted companies are 4imprint Group plc, Media Square plc and Tarsus Group plc. • The Company has received provisional approval from HM Revenue & Customs that the Placing Shares are capable of being a 'qualifying holding' for the purpose of investment by VCT and will rank as eligible for the purpose of EIS. Placing Price 36p Number of Ordinary Shares in issue prior to the Placing 25,001,500 Number of Ordinary Shares being issued pursuant to the Placing 12,500,000 Number of Ordinary Shares in issue following the Placing 37,501,500 Placing Shares as a percentage of the enlarged issued share capital 33.33% Net proceeds of the Placing £4.1m Market capitalisation of the Company at the Placing Price following Admission £13.5m Commenting on Dowlis's intention to float on AIM, Martin Varley, the Group's Chief Executive, said: 'Dowlis has an aggressive buy and build strategy, our AIM listing will enable us to structure acquisitions effectively and allow us to invest further in the facilities and technology we need to deliver world class marketing solutions and customer service. We have been delighted with the response we received from the City - we believe there are a number of exciting opportunities available to us and look forward to updating shareholders on our progress in the months to come.' Zeus Capital is financial and nominated adviser to the company and Corporate Synergy is the Company's broker. Enquiries: Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc Martin Varley (Chief Executive) 0870 224 6677 07775 848 252 Redleaf Communications Emma Kane/Miranda Good/Wendy Timmons 020 7955 1410 Corporate Synergy PLC Gavin Haywood 020 7448 4450 Zeus Capital Alex Clarkson 0161 831 1512 Notes to Editors: • Publication quality photographs are available via Redleaf. • Dowlis has an experienced Board which comprises: Colin Cooke, Chairman, who has 21 years' experience as a public company director; Martin Varley, Chief Executive Officer, who has 17 years' experience in the promotional merchandise industry and has gained an extensive knowledge of the supply and distribution sectors of the market; David Gray, Finance Director, formerly finance director of Gowrings PLC for 10 years; and, Keith Willis, Non Executive Director, who recently received a lifetime achievement award from PROMOTA in recognition of his 30 years' contribution to the industry. • It is estimated that the annual UK market for promotional merchandise is £1 billion (source: PROMOTA), which comprises approximately 2,000 distributors supported by 600 UK based suppliers of a wide range of products and services. • The Group currently has four primary sales channels: Promotional Products - the Directors believe Dowlis is the second largest distributor of promotional products in the UK. It sources products from around the World which are then personalised in accordance with the client's brand and design guidelines in support of their wider marketing campaigns. Trade Only(TM) - suppliers to independent distributors via an annual catalogue, exhibition and website. Trade Only(TM) receives orders from approximately 25 per cent of the UK's distributors who access the Trade Only(TM) range which features 600 products all of which are branded to the distributors' specification. Trade Only(TM) has entered into a letter of intent with Technologo to provide Trade Only TM and its distributor customers with the opportunity to show their clients branded products on screen before they order. Information Services - a bespoke, industry specific website that contains detailed information on over 1,000 products including full details of the supplier and also detailed product information. Revenue is generated from suppliers wishing to be featured on the website. Dowlis Communications - a design agency based in Manchester, providing a range of services which cover all aspects of design and marketing, including print and brochure production, media planning and buying. It is expected that Dowlis Communications will provide the platform for a number of potential additional services that can be added to the Group's offering as the strategy to focus on marketing services is developed. The Group's offering is underpinned by its investment in software and information technology. Its bespoke sales order processing system and product database was carefully designed to complement the strategy of the Group. The Directors believe that it will provide the Group with a competitive advantage over others in the industry. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange