ARL.L Regulatory News (ARL)

6 Dec 2006 12:41

SMC Group Plc06 December 2006 SMC Group Plc ('SMC' or the 'Group') SMC Group Plc launches Student Bursary Scheme SMC Group, the architects and design business, announces its intention to launchthe SMC Group Plc Student Bursary Scheme ("Bursaries" or "Scheme"). The Schemeis to be introduced in 2007 and will initially be open to all of the majorRIBA-accredited Schools of Architecture around the UK and will help to ensurethe long-term supply of quality architects to the Group for future years. In its initial year the Bursaries will be awarded to 20 students with themonetary value of the scheme consisting of an up-front, tax-paid payment of£2,000 for Part I students and £5,000 for Part II students. This will form partof a rolling programme that is directly related to inflation. Some of the detail is still to be finalised, but a group of representatives fromthe Group will visit the Schools of Architecture and help select the mostpromising undergraduates who will be then offered employment within SMC. Stewart McColl, Chief Executive commented: "We will seek out the best undergraduates emerging from our Schools ofArchitecture. SMC has been striving to the goal of 'Working towards excellence:cultivating the creative imagination'. With the introduction of this BursaryScheme, the SMC Group can encourage the architects of tomorrow to be part ofthis vision." - ends - For further information please contact: SMC Group Plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7495 5335Stewart McColl Numis Securities Tel: +44 (0)20 7776 1500James Serjeant/Emma Tod Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial Tel: +44 (0)20 7861 3232David Rydell/Geoff Callow/Chris Hamilton 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 22nd September 2006, the Group announced the acquisition of fivebusinesses, four of which are based in Scotland and one in the Midlands. InScotland the Group formed SMC Scotland comprising Davis Duncan Architects, HughMartin Architects, Jenkins & Marr and Parr Architects with offices in towns andcities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Dingwall, Birmingham andNewcastle, and in the Midlands, Hickton Madeley Architects represented inBirmingham and Telford. The Group therefore became immediately the largestarchitecture business in Scotland and, according to the AJ (Architects Journal28th September 2006) also the largest architecture business in the UK. 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 it's geographic and sector coverage. On 30th August 2006 the Group announced interim figures for the six months ended30th June 2006, showing that turnover had grown by 108% to £11.5m, profit beforetax grown by 42% to £1.6m and EBITDA increased by 77% to £2.6m. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange