WHIreland Regulatory News (WHI)

16 Jan 2006 10:20

W.H. Ireland Group PLC16 January 2006 WH Ireland Group plc ("WH Ireland" or the "Company") Acquisition of the institutional business of TD Waterhouse WH Ireland, a leading regional provider of stockbroking, corporate finance,investment management and financial services to both private and institutionalclients, is pleased to announce today the acquisition of TD Waterhouse'sinstitutional business in Leeds. The team of eleven specialises in the Hotels and Leisure, Retail, SupportServices and Transport sectors. Their acquisition will complement theestablished specialisations, including IT, Natural Resources and SpecialityFinance, which WH Ireland has developed in London and Manchester. This acquisition follows on from the purchase of a majority stake in DJCarmichael, the Australian stockbroker, in 2005 and forms part of WH Ireland'sstrategic plan to grow the business substantially over the next few years, bothorganically and by acquisition. The TD Waterhouse team provides the opportunity for WH Ireland to significantlyleverage the corporate finance side of the business, which currently has inexcess of 60 corporate clients for whom it acts as nominated adviser and/orbroker. Michael Foulkes, President and CEO of TD Waterhouse Europe, comments: "Thedivestment of our Leeds institutional business is a strategic decision for us atTD Waterhouse and will give us the opportunity to concentrate on our corebusiness of retail discount brokerage." Chris Muir, the recently appointed MD of WH Ireland's broking division,commented: "The transaction presents not only an excellent strategic fit on theinstitutional side but also provides the base on which WH Ireland can build asignificant stockbroking operation in Leeds. We look forward to working with thenew team going forward." Enquiries: WH Ireland Group plc Laurie Beevers 07903 164004 Altium Phil Adams/Paul Lines 0161 831 9133 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange