Re Joint Venture

20 Oct 2006 07:00

First Artist Corporation PLC20 October 2006 20 October 2006 FIRST ARTIST CORPORATION PLC First Artist and H W Fisher create wealth management joint venture First Artist Corporation Plc (AIM:FAN) ('First Artist' or the 'Company'), theentertainment and wealth management group, and H W Fisher & Company, a top 25firm of chartered accountants, have created a new wealth management andfinancial services business to be called Fisher Family Office. The joint venture will draw upon the respective strengths of the twoorganisations. H W Fisher & Company's 5,000 private clients will have access toFirst Artist's rapidly growing wealth management division. First Artist and Fisher & Co LLP (a wholly owned LLP of H W Fisher & Company)have entered into a put and call option which will allow First Artist to buyFisher & Co LLP's stake in Fisher Family Office after three years, subject tocertain levels of annual gross profit being achieved. The consideration payableon exercise of the options will be a percentage of the annual gross profit inthe year before exercise with the remainder being a percentage of each of thefollowing three year's annual gross profit. One ordinary share in First Artistshall be issued to Fisher & Co LLP for every £1 of cash consideration. The totalconsideration is capped at £2.75m. Meanwhile, First Artist's existing financial advisory division, ABG FinancialManagement, is to be renamed Optimal Wealth Management. The change is part of acontinuing exercise to ensure that the company's brands reflect its diversifiednature and the importance of its non-football activities. H W Fisher & Company senior partner Paul Beer said: "We are extremely pleased togo into partnership with First Artist, not only because the arrangement willprovide our clients with a high level of skills, but also because we have asimilar approach to client service. In a joint venture like this, chemistry isjust as important as complementary skills. We greatly look forward to workingtogether." Jon Smith, chief executive of First Artist Corporation Plc, said: "We aredelighted to announce this strategically important agreement, especiallyconsidering the pedigree of HW Fisher and the anticipated synergies that willcome as a result of this transaction.. Diversifying our portfolio away fromfootball activities is a key part of our strategy. We are already very happywith the progress being made in our fast growing wealth management divisionunder the stewardship of Sean Scahill and Peter Kelsey, which culminated in therecently announced 91% increase in profits. In addition this joint venture willbring significant momentum to the growth of Optimal Wealth Management, in whatis becoming a very important industry for a lot of the operators in our market." -ENDS- Enquiries: Nick Lyon / James WhiteHudson Sandler Tel: 020 7796 4133 Jon Smith, Chief ExecutiveRichard Hughes, Finance DirectorFirst Artist Corporation Plc Tel: 020 8900 1818 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange