IQ-AI Regulatory News (IQAI)

29 Nov 2006 09:01

Flying Brands Limited29 November 2006 Flying Brands Limited SHAREHOLDER AND BOARD CHANGES; TRADING UPDATE NEW SHAREHOLDER 29 November 2006, Jersey - Flying Brands Limited, the Jersey based multi brandhome shopping group (ticker: FBDU), has been informed today that TBH TradingLimited, a company wholly owned by West Coast Capital, has acquired today7,559,394 Units (comprising ordinary shares of one pence each and ordinaryshares of 0.005 pence each), representing 29.9% of the issued share capital ofFlying Brands, at a price of £3.125 per Unit. TBH Trading Limited bought Unitsfrom the two current largest shareholders, 4,693,394 Units from Paul Fraser (nonexecutive chairman) and 2,866,000 Units from Sussex Trading Company Limited (ofwhom the beneficial owner is Stewart Newton, a non executive director). Following these transactions, Paul Fraser's shareholding is reduced to 1,097,481Units, representing 4.34% of the issued share capital, and Sussex TradingCompany Limited now holds 749,999 shares, representing 2.96% of the issued sharecapital. CHANGES TO THE BOARD As a result of this transaction, Jim McMahon and Paul Davidson from West CoastCapital will join the board of Flying Brands as non executive directors andStewart Newton will leave the board, both with immediate effect. Paul Fraserwill remain chairman until early into the new year, after which he will stepdown both as chairman and from the board. An independent chairman will beappointed in due course. Paul Davidson, Partner, West Coast Capital, said: "This is a strategic long termposition for West Coast Capital that complements our portfolio of investments.We see clear growth opportunities for Flying Brands and we look forward toworking with the management team to support Flying Brands' growth as a publiccompany." Mark Dugdale, Chief Executive, Flying Brands, said: "We welcome West CoastCapital as a new shareholder and their involvement in our business. They bringwith them both expertise and a range of opportunities that we believe we canprofitably exploit for the benefit of all shareholders. This will help FlyingBrands fulfil its potential." TRADING UPDATE Flying Brands is today providing an update on trading ahead of its year end on29 December 2006. Since the announcement of the interim results in July 2006,overall trading across the divisions has been mixed. The Gifts division has performed well and is benefiting from the successfulintegration of the recently acquired Greetings Direct. The Entertainmentdivision has traded marginally behind plan. In the Garden division a combinationof the poor performance of one of last year's star products and the warmerautumn weather has resulted in recent trading being behind both management'sexpectations and the record performance achieved in the same period last year. As a consequence of the weaker performance of the Garden division over the pastcouple of months, it is currently anticipated that the year end result for theGroup is likely to be slightly below current market forecasts. However, thefinal outcome for the full year will depend on the performance of the Groupduring the important Christmas period and the very early indications on tradingare in line with management's expectations. James Cairns McMahon, aged 57, is not currently a director of any other companyand has not held any other directorships during the past five years. Paul Richmond Davidson, aged 41, is also currently a director of FL Group hf andhas not held any other directorships during the past five years. No further information is required to be disclosed pursuant to LR 9.6.13 R (1)to (6) of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority. For further information, please contact: Flying Brands Limited Tel. 01376 575 010 / m.07785 346935Mark Dugdale, Chief ExecutiveGraham Norton, Finance Director Smithfield Consultants Tel. 020 7360 4900John KielyGeorge Hudson West Coast Capital Tel. 07803 904769Ewan Hunter Notes to Editors: West Coast Capital is a private equity partnership investing in property, retailand brands. For further information visit www.westcoastcapital.co.uk Jersey based Flying Brands Limited (LSE: FBDU) is a multi brand home shoppinggroup. Founded in 1981, it was admitted to the Official List of the London StockExchange in 1993. The Group operates the following divisions: • Gifts (Flying Flowers, the UK's largest flowers by post brand, despatching nearly one million bouquets a year; Greetings Direct, the UK's only continuity greeting cards business) • Garden (Gardening Direct, one of the UK's largest mail order bedding plants and gardening products operations; Garden Bird Supplies, a leading provider of food and accessories for birds and other wildlife) • Entertainment (Listen2Books, the leading mail order audio books, DVD and video publisher and distributor; Benham, the first day cover stamps and coins collectables specialist; Silverminds Direct, the nostalgic music business) More information can be found at: www.flyingbrands.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange