Inspirit Energy Regulatory News (INSP)

17 May 2007 10:30

Inspace Plc17 May 2007 Press Release 17 May 2007 Inspace plc ("Inspace" or "the Company") Result of AGM Inspace plc (AIM:INSP), one of the UK's leading specialist service providers tothe social housing market, confirms that all the resolutions put to shareholdersat the Company's Annual General Meeting held today were duly passed. Executive Chairman, Colin Enticknap, made the following statement at themeeting: "My Executive Chairman's Statement in the Annual Report and Accountsdescribed 2006 as a 'strategically important year'. Whilst that was certainlythe case, it might be considered something of an understatement bearing in mindthe transformation our business went through. "Through the Widacre acquisition, we grew our business substantially to morethan double its original size; we created a better structure and weighting toour portfolio; we established a much stronger and broader presence in the socialhousing market; and we improved earnings visibility through a workload platformthat trebled in size. Alongside all that, we delivered overall growth ahead ofexpectation in most key areas. "Looking forward, with the first quarter of this year now behind us, we arepleased to report that we remain on track to deliver 2007 results in line withmarket forecasts. We cannot, of course, be complacent; there is still more workto be done to secure the results and particularly to shape the business for thelonger term. "In Social Housing, our focus this year is upon migrating our pipeline of 'preconstruction orders', where we are going through the cost planning, designdevelopment or mobilisation stage, into contracts on the ground to unlock thebalance of this year's turnover, and upon building the workload platform for2008 ideally to include our first 'stand alone' Decent Homes contract. We areequally focused upon converting those maintenance contracts still invoiced on a'schedule of rates' basis to a 'cost plus' partnering arrangement, where we havehistorically achieved an enviable track record, an important step both toimprove customer service levels and to lift project margins to a satisfactorylevel. "In Affordable Housing, our focus remains upon growing our portfolio of land forregeneration, preferably in joint venture with RSLs and with only modest capitaloutlay, and upon securing the planning consents needed to support our 2008 and2009 targets. "And in Corporate Assets, our focus is upon successfully implementing the finalphase of a comprehensive change programme aimed at increasing the quality andvisibility of workload and the efficiency of operational delivery, but withoutbeing distracted from delivering day to day business. "There is much to do, but we are making encouraging progress across alldivisions. Our markets remain robust and early signs from the ComprehensiveSpending Review suggest that this will continue to be the case; our salespipeline, which suffered a seasonal lull at the end of the local authoritycalendar, remains substantial with tender opportunities once again flowing well;and, most importantly, our management team, which is now even stronger withgreater experience, breadth and depth, remains confident in our ability todeliver continued and sustained growth." - Ends - For further information: Inspace plc Andrew Telfer, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +44 (0) 1462 678 910 andrew.telfer@inspace.co.uk www.inspace.co.uk Seymour Pierce Mark Percy, Corporate Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7107 8000 markpercy@seymourpierce.com www.seymourpierce.com Media enquiries: Abchurch Henry Harrison-Topham Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7702 henry.ht@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com Notes to editors Inspace plc is a property based services group, and one of the UK's leadingspecialist service providers to the social housing market. Inspace has threecomplementary areas of activity: social housing, affordable housing andcorporate assets. Social Housing - creating and maintaining sustainable homes The division is one of the UK's leading specialist service providers to socialhousing landlords through long term framework contracts. Its services comprisemajor 'repair and maintenance', 'stock reinvestment' and new build programmesfor local authorities, Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMO) andRegistered Social Landlords (RSLs). Total spending on social housing is currently around £14 billion per annum, ofwhich around £10.3 billion is spent on repair, maintenance and improvement. Ofthis, £4 billion is spent on ongoing repair and maintenance, with the remaining£6 billion being spent on capital projects such as major refurbishment andimprovement. This includes a contribution of between £1 billion and £2 billiona year from the Decent Homes initiative. The provision of new housing, which iscurrently running at around 35,000 units a year, adds a further £3.5 billion tothis sum. Affordable Housing - developing integrated communities The affordable housing division specialises in the provision of low cost homesfor sale in partnership with RSLs, usually alongside social housing built by theSocial Housing division, as part of more extensive mixed tenure schemes. It hasalready established a number of joint venture companies with RSLs and throughits involvement in the Key London Alliance consortium, has been appointed toprovide mixed tenure developments under the Government's London Wide Initiative. Corporate Assets - improving and maintaining public and private real estate The corporate assets division provides a comprehensive repair, maintenance,capital works and interior design service across public and private sectornon-residential real estate. It delivers 24/7 integrated maintenance servicesacross England, Scotland and Wales through its national network of branches and'home based' mobile engineers. Its specialist design-led service offerscustomers an integrated interior design, installation and furnishing 'one stop'solution. Further information on Inspace can be found at www.inspace.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange