Altitude Group Regulatory News (ALT)

9 Jun 2006 07:00

Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc09 June 2006 Date: 9th June 2006 On behalf of: Dowlis Corporate Solutions PLC ("Dowlis" or "the Company") Embargoed until: 0700hrs Dowlis Corporate Solutions PLC • Board Changes Dowlis Corporate Solutions PLC, the marketing, information and logisticssolutions business, today announces two significant Board changes. The Boardchanges are with immediate effect. The Board of Dowlis is pleased to announce the appointment of Barrett Bedrossianas the Group's new Finance Director on 9th June 2006, succeeding David Gray.Mr. Bedrossian, aged 41, joined Dowlis on the 3rd April 2006 from ExleyPublications Ltd where he was Finance Director. Prior to this, he worked at asubsidiary of 4imprint Group PLC, Product Plus International Ltd, between 1991and 2005, where he was Commercial Manager and Head of Finance. The Board would like to thank David Gray for his contribution to the Companyand, in particular, his significant involvement in the Company's admission toAIM. The Directors are also pleased to announce the appointment of Craig Slater tothe Group's Board as a Non Executive director on 9th June 2006. Mr. Slater, aged42, is currently a Director of Robotic Technology Systems PLC and is the formerFinance Director and then Chief Operating Officer of 4imprint Group PLC. MrSlater worked with Martin Varley, Dowlis's Chief Executive, and Mr Bedrossian,when they were European Managing Director and commercial manager respectively at4imprint Group PLC. Mr Slater will chair Dowlis's Audit Committee. Commenting on the changes, Colin Cooke, Chairman, said: "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank David for the significantcontribution he has made to the Group in leading it through the flotationprocess and on to AIM. We wish him every success with his future endeavours.We are delighted to welcome Craig Slater to our Board. In addition to thewealth of experience he has in our industry, he is also a highly experiencedfinance director and we are confident that he will make a substantialcontribution to the Group. It is a pleasure to welcome Barrett Bedrossian to theBoard, he has already become a valued member of the team and I look forward toworking with him in the future." Barrett Bedrossian Current Directorships Past DirectorshipsNone None Richard Craig Alan Slater Current Directorships Past DirectorshipsKnockin Flying Club Limited NoneRobotic Technology Systems PlcCorgi Group Limited Save as disclosed in this announcement, as at the date of this announcement,neither of Barrett Bedrossian nor Craig Slater have: • any unspent convictions in relation to indictable offences; or • been declared bankrupt or made any individual voluntary arrangement;or • been a director of a company at the time of or within the twelvemonths preceding any receivership, compulsory liquidation, creditors' voluntaryliquidation, administration, voluntary arrangement or any composition orarrangement with creditors generally or any class of creditors; or • been a partner in a partnership at the time of or within the twelvemonths preceding the partnership being subject to a compulsory liquidation,administration or partnership voluntary arrangement; or • had any asset subject to receivership or been partner of anypartnership at the time of or within the twelve months preceding any asset ofsuch partnership being subject to a receivership; or • been subject to any public criticism by statutory or regulatoryauthorities (including recognised professional bodies), nor disqualified by acourt from acting as a director of a company or from acting in the management orconduct of the affairs of any company There is no further information to disclose in respect of Barrett Bedrossian orRichard Craig Alan Slater under paragraph (g) of schedule 2 of the AIM Rules. - ENDS - Enquiries: Dowlis Corporate Solutions plc www.dowlis.comMartin Varley (Chief Executive) 0870 224 6677 Redleaf CommunicationsEmma Kane/Sanna Lehtinen 020 7955 1410 Corporate Synergy PLCRhodri Cruwys 020 7448 4400 Zeus CapitalAlex 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; MartinVarley, Chief Executive Officer, who has 17 years' experience in the promotionalmerchandise industry and has gained an extensive knowledge of the supply anddistribution sectors of the market; Barrett Bedrossian, Finance Director,formerly finance director of Exley Publications Ltd prior to which he spent 14years at a subsidiary of 4imprint PLC; Craig Slater, Non Executive Director,currently a Director of RTS prior to which he was finance director and thenChief Operating Officer of 4imprint PLC; and, Keith Willis, Non ExecutiveDirector, who was awarded a lifetime achievement award from PROMOTA inrecognition of his 30 years' contribution to the industry. • It is estimated that the annual UK market for promotionalmerchandise is £1 billion (source: PROMOTA), which comprises approximately2,000 distributors supported by 600 UK based suppliers of a wide range ofproducts and services. • The Group currently has four primary sales channels: Promotional Products - the Directors believe Dowlis is the second largestdistributor of promotional products in the UK. It sources products from aroundthe World which are then personalised in accordance with the client's brand anddesign guidelines in support of their wider marketing campaigns. Trade OnlyTM - suppliers to independent distributors via an annual catalogue,exhibition and website. Trade OnlyTM receives orders from approximately 25 percent of the UK's distributors who access the Trade OnlyTM range which features600 products all of which are branded to the distributors' specification. TradeOnlyTM has entered into a letter of intent with Technologo to provide Trade OnlyTM and its distributor customers with the opportunity to show their clientsbranded products on screen before they order. Information Services - a bespoke, industry specific website that containsdetailed information on over 1,000 products including full details of thesupplier and also detailed product information. Revenue is generated fromsuppliers wishing to be featured on the website. Dowlis Communications - a design agency based in Manchester, providing a rangeof services which cover all aspects of design and marketing, including print andbrochure production, media planning and buying. It is expected that DowlisCommunications will provide the platform for a number of potential additionalservices that can be added to the Group's offering as the strategy to focus onmarketing services is developed. The Group's offering is underpinned by its investment in software andinformation technology. Its bespoke sales order processing system and productdatabase was carefully designed to complement the strategy of the Group. TheDirectors believe that it will provide the Group with a competitive advantageover others in the industry. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange