WHIreland Regulatory News (WHI)

29 Jul 2005 15:38

W.H. Ireland Group PLC29 July 2005 W.H. IRELAND GROUP PLC INVESTS IN ACCELERIS CORPORATE VENTURES LIMITED W.H. Ireland Group plc announces that its subsidiary W.H. Ireland Limited hastoday acquired a holding of 20% of the equity in Acceleris Corporate VenturesLimited ("Acceleris") at a cost of £300,000. Acceleris is an FSA regulatedLancashire based boutique that has been trading for five years, whichspecialises in providing advice to early stage companies. Its Chief Executive isNorman Molyneux and it has participated in investments in 10 companies, a numberof which are spin-offs from universities in the North of England. W.H. Ireland Chief Executive Laurie Beevers said "We have been working withNorman and his team both formally and informally for a number of years so whenthe opportunity to invest directly into Acceleris came along we were keen toparticipate. "The investment takes us into the Private Equity Sector of the market where wehave minimal exposure at the moment and as such it fits in nicely with ouraspiration to further grow our business base." Norman Molyneux said " We are delighted that a broker with the record and reputation of WH Irelandhas decided to make this significant investment in Acceleris. It is a vote ofconfidence in our business model and will enable us to make a step-change in thescale of our operations, assist us in winning new mandates and provide ourclients with access to institutional connections and a broad spectrum of advice. " We look forward to working closely together in the future." Press Queries: Laurie Beevers 0161 832 6644Chief Executive, W.H. Ireland Group plc David Youngman 0161 832 6644Deputy CEO, W.H. Ireland Group plc Norman Molyneux 01942 32225Chief Execuitive, Acceleris Corporate Ventures Ltd This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange