H&t Group Plc Regulatory News (HAT)

8 May 2006 07:02

Rutland Trust PLC08 May 2006 RUTLAND TRUST PLC H&T floats on AIM Rutland Trust PLC ("the Trust") has a £100 million (47.7%) commitment to TheRutland Fund ("the Fund"), a £210 million private equity fund, which is managedindependently by Rutland Partners LLP. Further to the announcement made on 18 April 2006 the Trust has today beeninformed by Rutland Partners that H&T Group Limited ("H&T"), a portfolioinvestment of the Fund, has floated on AIM. H&T is the UK's leading pawnbrokerwith 69 outlets across the UK. The Fund acquired H&T in September 2004, together with a majority stake inSvensk Pantbelaning AB ("SP") as part of its refinancing, and the Trust's shareof the original investment in H&T / SP was £8.8 million. The combined carryingvalue of H&T / SP in the Trust's audited accounts at 31 December 2005 was £14.9million. Rutland Partners has advised the Fund that on flotation of H&T itsentire investment in the company has been realised for cash and that the Trust'sshare of the net disposal proceeds is £18.1 million, as previously anticipated.With no change in the Trust's value of its investment in SP, this would give aprofit over original cost in H&T / SP of £10.7 million and a surplus overcurrent book value of £4.6 million. On 25 April 2006, the Trust announced the disposal of the Fund's investment inCarron Energy Limited ("Carron"). The Trust's net proceeds from this disposalhave given a surplus of £9.7 million over the book value reported in its auditedaccounts at 31 December 2005. Had both Carron and H&T been valued at 31 December 2005 at the realisationvalues subsequently announced, and assuming that the proposed final dividend forthe year ended 31 December 2005 of 5.3p is approved by shareholders at theTrust's Annual General Meeting which takes place on 18 May 2006, the pro formanet asset value per share would have been 64.2p. A copy of the announcement by Rutland Partners is attached. Commenting on the sale, Michael Langdon, Chairman of Rutland Partners said: "The flotation of H&T represents another investment success for Rutland. Itdemonstrates how with our approach of active engagement we have helped shape andsupport a strong management team to deliver a sector leader." For further information, please contact: Rutland Partners LLPTel: +44 (0)20 7556 2600Michael Langdon, Chairmanmichael.langdon@rutlandpartners.com RUTLAND FLOATS H&T ON AIM • Rutland has floated H&T Group on AIM with an enterprise value of £91.9 million • Rutland has realised its entire investment in less than two years with proceeds of £44.5 million • This AIM listing will enable H&T to capitalise on its position as the UK's leading pawnbroker Rutland Partners LLP ("Rutland"), the UK private equity partnership, announcesthat The Rutland Fund ("the Fund") has today realised its investment in H&TGroup Limited ("H&T") for cash through an AIM listing. The enterprise value ofH&T on flotation is £91.9 million and the market capitalisation is £54.2million. H&T is the UK's leading pawnbroker with 69 outlets across the UK. The group'score business is pawnbroking, where it has a pledge book of £24.6 million, andretailing of jewellery sourced from its pawnbroking operations. In recent yearsthe group has also diversified into other services including pay day advances,cheque cashing and pre-paid debit cards. H&T reported earnings before interest,tax and amortisation of £6.7 million in 2005. Rutland acquired H&T in September 2004 from Cash America International Inc. on adebt free / cash free basis for £49.0 million, of which £15.4 million wasprovided from the Fund and the balance through a debt package from Barclays. Since acquiring H&T, Rutland has reshaped the senior management team, overseenan improvement in the efficiency of the operations, supported the management todevelop new products and accelerated the roll-out of new stores. This hasresulted in the strong underlying growth of the business and paved the way for aflotation on AIM. The proceeds received by the Fund, after costs and management's equity, areapproximately £44.5 million representing a multiple of 2.9x the Fund's originalinvestment and an IRR of 89%. Rutland retains its £3.0 million controlling investment in Svensk PantbelaningAB, made at the same time as the acquisition of H&T. Commenting on the realisation, Paul Cartwright of Rutland said: "The flotation of H&T represents another investment success for Rutland. Itdemonstrates how with our approach of active engagement we have helped shape andsupport a strong management team to deliver a sector leader." Commenting on the flotation, Peter Middleton, Chairman of H&T Group PLC said: "Rutland has been a major contributor in creating a business now capable ofindependence through flotation. H&T can look forward to a bright future as apublic company." For more information, please contact: Rutland Partners LLPTel: +44 (0)20 7556 2600Paul Cartwright, Partner on paul.cartwright@rutlandpartners.com Citigate Dewe RogersonTel: +44 (0)20 7638 9571Ginny Pulbrook, Director on ginny.pulbrook@citigatedr.co.uk Advisors to the transaction: Hawkpoint (Sponsor) - Lawrence Guthrie, Sunil DuggalNumis (Brokers) - Oliver Hemsley, Etienne BottariEversheds (Legal, H&T) - Robin Johnson, Richard MoultonDeloitte (Financial, Tax) - Alan Walters, Chris WarrenTaylor Wessing (Legal, Rutland) - Tim EylesNorton Rose (Legal, Sponsor) - James Bateson For more information on Rutland please visit www.rutlandpartners.com or contactMaria Bevan on +44 (0)20 7556 2620 or maria.bevan@rutlandpartners.com. Rutland Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial ServicesAuthority and is a member of the British Venture Capital Association. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange