22 Jun 2011 07:00
22 June 2011
Murgitroyd Group PLC ("Murgitroyd" or "the Group")
Period-end Trading update
Murgitroyd, the European Patent and Trade Mark Attorney practice, is pleased to announce a trading update for the financial year ended 31 May 2011.
The Board confirms that both activity levels and business performance for the second half of the financial year have been satisfactory. As a result, the underlying trading result for the full year is anticipated to be in line with market expectations and the Board continues to remain confident about the future prospects for the Group.
The Group's new business development office on the West Coast of the United States opened in May 2011 in San Francisco. This follows the previously announced opening of a business development office in Tokyo in June 2010. Murgitroyd has also consolidated its German operations in Munich and moved to larger office accommodation in both North Carolina in the United States, and Newcastle in the North-East of England.
In addition to the recruitment of a German Patent and Trade Mark Attorney into the Group's expanded Munich Office, Executive Director Graham Murnane, Murgitroyd & Company's "Director, Professional Practice" and an experienced EPO opposition practitioner, will relocate to Munich in October 2011 to develop an EPO opposition and appeal hub.
Murgitroyd continues to recruit professional and paralegal staff across its office network. The number of professional staff has increased by 8% over the financial year. In addition, three further qualified Attorneys, and one part-qualified Attorney, will commence their employment between July and September 2011.
These developments reflect the Group's continuing commitment to organic growth and the strategic importance of the business development activities driving it which contributed to the double-digit percentage rise in sales reported at the time of the Interim Results in February and which has continued in the second half of the financial year.
The Group expects to release its results for the financial year ended 31 May 2011 on or around 12 September 2011, and will hold its AGM on 27 October 2011 at its Head Office in Glasgow.
For further information:
Murgitroyd Group PLC
Keith Young, Chief Executive T: 07802 951913
Brewin Dolphin Limited (NOMAD)
Sandy Fraser T: 0845 213 2072
Cardew Group
Nadja Vetter T: 0207 930 0777