PIRI.L Regulatory News (PIRI)

1 Jul 2005 07:00

Oak Holdings PLC01 July 2005 1 July 2005 Oak Holdings Plc ('Oak' or 'the Company') 'New Agreements' • MoU Signed with Sony United Kingdom Ltd and Venue Solutions • Appointed to advise on two major themed leisure parks in the UK Oak Holdings Plc, the AIM listed property development and consultancy group, hassigned a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sony United Kingdom Ltd ('Sony')and Venue Solutions to provide a variety of indoor entertainment facilities atthe YES! Project in South Yorkshire. Additionally, the Company has beenappointed to advise on two major themed leisure parks in the UK. Sony and its systems integrator, Venue Solutions, a specialist in venuemanagement technologies, will provide a state of the art innovative indoorentertainment centre as well as supply numerous other brand and technologysolutions at the £270 million YES! Project. Oak Chief Executive Steve Lewis said: "We are delighted to be working with bothSony and Venue Solutions whose proposed participation marks an importantmilestone in the development of this exciting venture. With Sony's globalreputation for leading edge technology and excellence and Venue Solutionssophisticated venue management software, the opportunities for YES! areconsiderable." Dominic Berger, managing director of Venue Solutions said: "The YES! Projectprovides us with a unique opportunity to showcase our technologies. We arealready working with Sony on the Brighton International Arena scheme, and seeYES! as a further strategic positioning of our solution offering. We lookforward to working with Oak on this very exciting undertaking." Oak was awarded a preferred developer agreement for the YES! Project byRotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and has already entered into MoUs with anumber of other potential anchor tenants including Baydrive Group, for a drivingrange using computer chip technology; and Venture Xtreme (UK), for an extremesports centre. Following the submission of a second outline planningapplication in January, the directors anticipate consent will be obtained by theend of the year and hope that development will be completed early 2009. Additionally, the Company has been appointed to advise on two large projectsaimed at highlighting the country's heritage and craft skills within theframework of a tourist attraction. Shakespeare's World, the first scheme nearBanbury, Oxon, will be a celebration of the life and culture of WilliamShakespeare, while the second, Outlaw's Kingdom, based near Mansfield, willfocus on the life and times of Robin Hood. Oak's consultancy division is principally targeted at overseas basedentrepreneurs keen to optimise their property assets in the UK while maintaininga low profile. The services it offers include project consultancy anddevelopment appraisal, risk analysis, advice on valuation procurement, financialengineering and insurance. The Company is actively developing its consultancydivision and is in negotiations with regards to further contracts. * * ENDS* * Issued on behalf of Oak Holdings plc by St Brides Media & Finance Ltd, 46Bedford Row, London WC1R 4LR Contacts: Steve Lewis Oak Holdings plc Tel: 020 7493 5522 Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477 Notes for editors: • AIM-listed Oak Holdings plc is a development company and propertyconsultancy. • Its strategic focus has been on developing mixed-use,leisure-oriented projects in addition to creating an income-producing propertyconsultancy business. • Oak's flagship scheme is the YES! Project located on a 327 acreex-coalfield site adjoining the Rother Valley Country Park in Rotherham wherethe Company hopes to develop a state-of-the-art leisure and entertainmentcentre. • Oak's directors have extensive experience in property developmentand investment and are well known professionals in the property industry. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange