Shearwater Regulatory News (SWG)

2 Sep 2008 07:00



For immediate release

2 September 2008

SCOTT WILSON GROUP PLC

AGM Statement and Interim Management Statement

At today's Annual General Meeting of Scott Wilson Group plc ("Scott Wilson" or "the Group"), the multi-disciplinary international design and engineering consultancy for the built and natural environments, the Chairman, Geoff French, will make the following statement:

"Strong demand across both the domestic and international businesses has been maintained and has been reflected in a continuing flow of new contract awards. The Group's order book has remained at a high level with significant new project wins including the detailed highway design of the A421 from Bedford to the M1 in the UK, major highways projects in Poland, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka and India, nuclear sector commissions in the UK, three new buildings at Kingston University, the Grand Mosque in Bahrain, major new buildings in China and power related projects in Pakistan, Greece and Indonesia.

As a result the Board remains confident of achieving group performance in line with expectations.

The Group continues to identify opportunities to supplement its strong organic growth and in line with its strategy has acquired the Terence Lee Partnership, Strategic Leisure and Benaim since the start of the financial year. The acquisition of Benaim together with Terence Lee significantly enhances the Group's capability in the metro sector and internationally. Strategic Leisure specialises in strategic consultancy for public and private sector leisure organisations, a niche part of our business.

Since the year end the Group has extended its committed banking facilities to £70m to provide additional resources to support its acquisition strategy, but any future purchases will continue to be assessed against the Group's strict commercial and financial criteria.

In line with the Group's commitment to planning for senior executive succession and Board structure over the long term, Geoff French, currently Executive Chairman, will become Non-Executive Chairman with effect from 1 November 2008." 

Scott Wilson will announce its interim results for the 26 weeks ending 26th October 2008 in early December 2008.

For further information, please contact:

Scott Wilson Group plc

Scott Wilson Group plc, with over 6,000 members of staff, is a multi-disciplinary international design and engineering consultancy for the built and natural environments. The Group has doubled in size over the past few years and from its UK headquarters currently controls a worldwide network of 80 offices.

www.scottwilson.com