ARL.L Regulatory News (ARL)

25 Jul 2006 07:01

SMC Group Plc25 July 2006 SMC Group Plc ("SMC" or the "Group") New contract wins Formation of new SMC Sport & Leisure division SMC Group Plc, the architects and design business, is pleased to issue detailstoday of the construction value and new fees contracted since its previousannouncement in May 2006. The following are some of the projects contributing toa total construction value of over £1.2bn and represent stage fees for SMC inexcess of £17m to be earned over the next few years, including constructionvalues (£750m) and stage fees (£7.5m) secured as a result of the acquisition ofCharter Consultant Architects on 30th May 2006. SMC has formed a specialist division, SMC Sport & Leisure that will target theever growing leisure markets, including opportunities relating to the 2012London Olympics. It already has a number of projects in this area including theredevelopment of Royal Windsor Racecourse and two first class cricket grounds.Amongst a number of swimming pool developments the Group has been appointed tocomplete a feasibility study for an Olympic sized swimming pool by IpswichBorough Council. In addition, we are pleased to announce that SMC has been appointed by theLondon Borough of Redbridge for a major leisure development that will consist ofa 50 metre swimming pool, children's fun pool and a 12 court sports hall. Sport and Leisure: * £21m 50 metre pool for Redbridge Borough Council at up to £21m* £3m Rugeley swimming pool, Cannock* £4m Swimming pool feasibility, Hadleigh, and Art Gallery, Bradford Mixed-use Developments: * £100m Leicester New Business Quarter for Leicester Regeneration Company* £10m Island Harbour, Isle of Wight Offices/Office Parks: * £25m Ely Business Park for Mantle Developments* £9m Pampisford Business Park Phase 2 and 3 for Turnstone Industrial/Distribution: * £5m Red Lodge, Newmarket for Wrenbridge* £11m Various sites in Ely, Exeter and other locations for clients such as JJSConstruction, Pentagon Parks and Dennison Trailers Residential: * £7m Apartments for MPM Properties* £25m Apartments in Salford Quays for Taggart* £7m Student Accommodation, Exeter* £54m Tower, Yonkers Power Station, New York* £37m Tower, London for Access Storage (Vancouver based) Retail: * £30m Retail development, Edge Hill for Neptune* £25m Giltbrook Retail Park for British Land* £3m Food stores, Plymouth (2) and Dartmouth (1) Defence: * £8m Confidential Defence project, South of England Schools/Universities: * £25m Bio-science Facility, Cambridge* £10m Torc High School* £2.5m Clinic for Anglo European Chiropractic College, Bournemouth A large number of contracting and facilities companies have invited SMCEducation to work with them on bids for the various Building Schools for theFuture (BSF) programmes. New business continues to be generated in many different sectors across England.International work continues to flow into SMC Alsop in the Far East and NorthAmerica although the company remains selective about the contracts it pursues. - ends - For further information please contact: SMC Group Plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7495 5335Stewart McColl Numis Securities Tel: +44 (0)20 7776 1500Michael Rowan/Emma Tod Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial Tel: +44 (0)20 7861 3232David Rydell/Geoff Callow Notes to Editors SMC Group Plc is the holding company for a group of architects and designers. Ithas established expertise in a broad range of sectors, including residential,retail, industrial, workplace, transportation, leisure and education. On the 30th May 2006, the Group announced the acquisition of The CharterPartnership Ltd (trading as Charter Consultant Architects) an architecture anddesign company with offices in London, Bedford, Bournemouth and Ipswich. Thisfollowed the acquisition of Alsop in March 2006. The Group now has 16 officesthroughout England and 4 outside the UK, in Toronto, Singapore, Shanghai andBeijing. The Company's core strategy is to create an architectural group with the scaleand expertise to access the most profitable schemes across a range of sectorsand geographical locations. The Group intends to focus on its organic growth,increasing its share of the UK market and securing larger, higher marginprojects. The Group plans to continue to complement this organic growth withearnings-enhancing acquisitions in order to consolidate its geographic andsector coverage. On 27th April 2006 the Group announced it full year figures for the year ended31st December 2005, showing that turnover had grown by 159% to £13.5m, profitbefore tax grown by 280% to £2.9m, gross profit margin grown by 182% to £7.4m,EBITDA grown by 218% to £3.7m and profit after tax grown by 263% to £1.9m. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange