Lighthouse Regulatory News (LGT)

4 Jul 2006 07:48

Lighthouse Group PLC04 July 2006 Press Release 4 July 2006 Lighthouse Group plc ("Lighthouse" or "the Company") Update on Carrwood acquisition Lighthouse, one of the UK's largest Independent Financial Adviser groups andpension scheme administrators, is pleased to announce that the integration ofLighthouseCarrwood (formerly Carrwood Barker Holdings) has been completedsuccessfully, on time and to budget. LIGHTHOUSECARRWOOD Finance, compliance, and income collection functions have been predominantlyre-located from Manchester and merged into the principal Lighthouse operationsbase in Exeter. In addition, the sales management and supporting administrationfunctions have been reviewed and restructured. As a consequence of these steps,property and other related costs have also been reduced in line withexpectations. Lighthouse is also pleased to announce that for the period since the formalcompletion of the acquisition in December 2005, LighthouseCarrwood has beentrading to forecast. CITY TRUSTEES The SIPP administration business, City Trustees, which was acquired as part ofthe Carrwood transaction, has made steady progress in broadening its managementteam and in building its infrastructure. Two key director appointments have beenmade, strengthening sales technical knowledge, and compliance capability, thelatter in anticipation of forthcoming FSA regulation of the SIPP market.Lighthouse has also invested in a new SIPP software platform which greatlyreduces manual intervention in routine SIPP administration. Lighthouse is now seeking to raise the City Trustees brand profile, and isactively promoting its services and skills to advisers across the widerLighthouse group and beyond. The Board remains confident of building asignificant presence in the UK SIPP administration area, against a favourablepensions market background. Malcolm Streatfield, CEO of Lighthouse, commented: "Our acquisition of Carrwoodhas yielded significant, positive results and we are delighted the transitionhas been smooth and successful." - ends - For further information, please contact:Lighthouse GroupMalcolm Streatfield, CEO Tel: +44 (0) 207 065 5640malcolm.streatfield@lighthousegrouppplc.com www.lighthouseifa.com Media enquiries:Abchurch CommunicationsHeather Salmond / Gareth Meadheather.salmond@abchurch-group.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700gareth.mead@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange