Joint Venture

Byotrol PLC 30 July 2007 BYOTROL plc SIGNS JOINT VENTURE WITH CONSUMER INNOVATION EXPERTS The Directors of Byotrol plc ('Byotrol' or the 'Company') are pleased to announce the signing of a joint venture with What If Ventures, the investment arm of What If Holdings Ltd, the holding company of the world's largest independent consumer innovation company. The joint venture will be called Byotrol Consumer Products Limited ('BCP') and will provide the vehicle through which the Company will pursue opportunities for its anti-microbial technology in global consumer markets. BCP will pursue a similar strategy to Byotrol, seeking to exploit its technology by entering licence agreements with leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies ('FMCG'). The Board recognises that the skills, expense and timeframes required in launching new consumer products require a partner with a proven track record in the FMCG sector. What If Ventures and its group have that track record, as well as leading-edge global consumer insight skills, new product development expertise and access to the world's major consumer product businesses. In the opinion of the Directors, BCP represents the most appropriate structure to maximise the significant opportunity presented by the consumer marketplace. The Board expects the combination of Byotrol and What If Ventures to short cut the often lengthy and expensive new product development process within FMCG businesses and bring the Byotrol anti-microbial technology to the largest possible audience at the fastest possible pace. Byotrol Consumer Products Limited Background Having identified What If Ventures as the most appropriate partner, the Board has worked closely with the What If Ventures team since the beginning of 2007. Considerable work has been undertaken ahead of the formation of the joint venture in order to maximise the opportunities available to it from today onwards. During 2007, the joint venture partners have invested considerable time, money and resource in planning BCP, including strengthening the patent framework, developing and testing products, developing consumer insights and consumer propositions, market scoping and target licensee development. More specifically, focus groups were conducted in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, China and India. Within these groups the response to the Byotrol anti-microbial technology was encouraging. The market opportunity Based on initial research carried out by BCP, the Byotrol anti-microbial technology is relevant to several multi-billion dollar global consumer markets. There are a number of specific applications within the consumer marketplace that BCP has identified, where there is the potential to add value to products through the addition of Byotrol's technology. Strategy The strategy pursued by BCP will be similar to that already in place within Byotrol, in that licensees will be sought from amongst the leading global FMCG companies. It is expected that BCP will receive principally a mixture of initial fees and on-going royalties where the Byotrol technology is used. In the next two years, BCP will focus on concluding two major types of licensee opportunities. In particular, BCP will seek to partner with a global FMCG business and will also examine opportunities with companies which have specific niche opportunities whether on a regional or global basis. Inevitably, each potential licensee will require time to assess the opportunity whilst BCP will aim to ensure the optimum combination of licensees. In FMCG businesses, new product launches can typically take many years from inception to profitability. The Directors believe however that the addition of What If Ventures' consumer insight, innovation expertise and high level corporate access will have a significant impact on the time taken to introduce product to the market. The board of BCP currently expects that the company will break even within approximately two years. However it is not anticipated that the company's start up costs will be significant ahead of that time. The joint venture An agreement has today been signed that establishes Byotrol Consumer Products Limited as a 50:50 joint venture between Byotrol and What If Ventures' investment vehicle, What If Innovation Capital Nominees Ltd ('WIICN'). Both companies have committed to invest £250,000 during the first year of operation. Initially, BCP will draw directly upon resources and expertise within Byotrol and What If Ventures before recruiting the appropriate longer term management team in due course. The board of Byotrol Consumer Products will comprise David McRobbie (Chief Executive, Byotrol), Stephen Falder (Deputy Chairman, Byotrol), Richard Bell (Finance Director, Byotrol), David Traynor (Director, WIICN), David Allan (Director, WIICN) and Julia Hoare (Director and Company Secretary, WIICN). In addition, BCP will be able top draw upon the knowledge and expertise of senior advisers with backgrounds in FMCG operations. Byotrol plc Chief Executive David McRobbie said: 'This joint venture will allow us to fast track our technology to the consumer market place. What If Ventures and its group's proven track record working with FMCG companies, its network of contacts, its consumer knowledge and its insight and marketing expertise are a perfect fit with our scientific and technical innovation skills. 'For Byotrol alone, launching a consumer brand from scratch would be a massive financial undertaking with significant risk attached. By partnering with What If Ventures, we are aiming to capture a substantial amount of market share without the risk or cost associated with a conventional entry into the consumer market place. 'Importantly, the establishment of this joint venture also allows us to maintain a strong focus on our core business in the healthcare, food, agriculture and industry sectors.' David Allan of What If Ventures added: 'We believe Byotrol is a very significant technology which will deliver real innovation and significant benefits to consumers. Our initial research show the technology has the potential to cross a number of hygiene markets in home and personal care from anti bacterial protection of the kitchen and bathroom to skin care and pet care. What If Ventures is ideally positioned to help develop the consumer business and help introduce Byotrol to some of the world's leading FMCG businesses.' More information on What If Ventures can be found at: http:// www.whatifinnovation.com/Ventures 30 July 2007 Enquiries: Byotrol plc 0161 277 9518 Stephen Falder Deputy Chairman Richard Bell 07825 204110 Finance Director Charles Stanley Securities 020 7149 6457 (Nominated Adviser) Philip Davies Anthony Noakes McCann Erickson PR 01625 822540 Jim Rothnie Rawlings Financial 01756 770376 John Rawlings This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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