Frp Advisory Group Regulatory News (FRP)

14 Feb 2005 11:07

Debt Free Direct Group PLC14 February 2005 14 February 2005 Debt Free Direct Group PLC Placing by Teather and Greenwood of 6,000,000 new Ordinary Shares at 142 pence per share Debt Free Direct Group PLC ("Debt Free Direct" or the "Company"), the leadingdebt advice and solutions company, announces that it has placed, conditional onadmission to trading on AIM, which is expected to be 16 February 2005, 6,000,000new Ordinary Shares of 1 pence each, at 142 pence per share, to raiseapproximately £8.5 million, before expenses. The funds raised will provideworking capital to allow the Company to increase the rate of organic growthabove that previously planned and to pursue potential acquisitions that willenable it to broaden its business model. The Placing The Placing, equivalent to approximately 19 per cent. of the Existing OrdinaryShares, is being priced at a discount of approximately 4 per cent. to theclosing mid-market price of 148 pence per Ordinary Share on 11 February 2005. The Placing Shares have been conditionally placed with institutional investors.Application has been made for the 6,000,000 new Ordinary Shares of 1p each to beadmitted to trading on AIM with effect from 16 February 2005. The new OrdinaryShares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares inissue. Background to the Placing As reported previously, Debt Free Direct has enjoyed considerable success insecuring media buying deals at advantageous rates. The benefits of this will befelt over the forthcoming months. In particular, these savings will allow theCompany to continue its growth through increased advertising spend in the moreexpensive, high volume media areas, whilst still maintaining overall grossmargin. The funds raised will provide working capital to take advantage ofthis, and allow the Company to increase the rate of organic growth above thatpreviously planned. In addition, as part of the ongoing strategy to broaden the business model, theCompany has been actively analysing the benefits of introducing either newsolutions into existing markets or existing solutions into new markets. Thefunds raised will allow Debt Free Direct to fully capitalise on its strategy inthis area through appropriate acquisitions. Andrew Redmond, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Debt Free Direct is a rapidly expanding, ethical player in a substantial andgrowing market. This placing will allow the Company to continue its mission ofraising awareness, giving ethical advice and providing appropriate solutions toan ever-increasing number of over-indebted consumers." Enquiries: Debt Free Direct Group plc Andrew Redmond, Chief Executive Officer 01257 240599 Paul Latham, Finance Director 01257 240529 Teather & Greenwood 020 7426 9000 Mark Dickenson Jon Drage Citigate Dewe Rogerson 0207 638 9571 Michael Berkeley Sarah Gestetner Fiona Mulcahy Note to Editors Debt Free Direct helps individuals find the best solution to their debtproblems, based upon an analysis of their particular financial circumstances.Financial information on an individual is process through a computer model (theBest Advice Model) developed by Debt Free Direct in order to recommend asolution suitable for that individual's particular financial circumstances. Thesolutions offered range from basic advice, such as simply destroying creditcards and curbing unnecessary expenditure, to the following solutions: • consolidation loan • re-mortgage • informal arrangement • individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) • bankruptcy Debt Free Direct is unique in the marketplace in that, unlike most of itscompetitors who sell specific products, Debt Free Direct looks to provide thebest advice to the consumer and recommends them the most appropriate service. Debt Free Direct is based in Chorley, Lancashire, and was admitted to AIM inDecember 2002. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange