AGM Statement

RNS Number : 2360F

Christie Group PLC

13 June 2012

 



13 June 2012

Christie Group plc

AGM Statement

Christie Group plc, ('Christie Group' or the 'Group'), the leading provider of Professional Business Services and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services to the leisure, retail and care markets, announces that at today's Annual General Meeting, commencing at 10.30 am, the Chairman, Philip Gwyn, will issue the following statement:

"I am pleased to report that the positive start to 2012, as announced in our 2011 Preliminary Results statement on 4 April 2012, has continued. In this Diamond Jubilee year we have maintained a strong rate of revenue growth, building on that which we achieved in 2011. 

In our Professional Business Services division a large proportion of our activity can be indirectly attributed to assets and owners showing signs of distress in some form or another.  Our relationships with the banks and administrators are key to early involvement in de-leveraging or restructuring asset portfolios through either transactional, valuation or advisory work. 

Notably, we are seeing the emergence of deal sizes not seen in the market for a while.  Since the start of the year Christie + Co has advised on the sale of the 918 pub Galaxy estate to the incumbent operator for £422m and has recently been instructed on a series of pub portfolios, demonstrating a renewed movement in the sector.  In the early years and childcare market, Christie is prominent through involvement in the majority of major transactions in the sector so far this year, working on transactions involving Co-Operative Childcare, the sale of Early Years Childcare to Busy Bees and Bright Horizon's acquisition of 27 nursery sites.

Our valuations business, Pinders, continues to be active, recruiting new valuers and increasing assignment numbers with particular success in its Leisure and Hospitality, Retail and Catering, and Building Services divisions. 

Christie Finance has seen a significant increase in completed deals and much improved conversion rates for loan offers arranged.  Encouragingly, nearly 25% of these completions are with first time buyers or operators, which is a healthy sign. 

The acquisition of Orridge Business Sales by Christie + Co, announced on 1 May, creates the largest specialist firm of pharmacy agents and advisors in the UK.  Christie Insurance is seizing on the market strength that the Group demonstrates in the pharmacy sector to develop niche products for this resilient market.

Within our Stock and Inventory Systems and Services division, our businesses' activity levels remain strong.  Recent client contracts have required an increase in the recruitment and training of stock auditors and the pipeline of potential new clients is encouraging.

New clients since the start of the year for Venners include Charles Wells and Baxter Storey.  Additional notable client wins in Orridge, our retail stocktaking operation, include Jack Wills, Mango and Jacques Vert.  Vennersys, our visitor attraction business, is continually innovating with technologies which attract leisure clients on both sides of the Atlantic.

Our international companies are benefitting from an improving presence in European markets.  France and Germany are active, with a cautious recovery being experienced in parts of the Middle East.  Notable instructions have been secured to sell high profile hotels in the capital cities. This commercial success is being achieved without the Group being exposed to any Euro denominated debt.

We anticipate some disruption for our London headquarters from the Olympics, albeit that the majority of our business will be unaffected, operating from provincial and international locations.  The positive by-product of this disruption is that we have been commissioned to carry out extensive stocktaking at the Olympic village. 

External events continue to affect sentiment in our markets however long standing relationships and market reputation have proven to have considerable currency in difficult times.  We are executing quality business with blue chip clients despite continuing market instability which demonstrates the resilience of the Christie Group businesses.

We are encouraged by a continuing growth in revenue in the current year. We continue to closely monitor costs and cash management with the prospect of increasing income levels yielding improving profitability given the loan free nature of the Group and the recent reinstatement of capacity.  This has ensured that, when compared to the first half of 2011, the Group has been able to bear the cost of salary reinstatements, effected on 1 July 2011, while at the same time undertaking capital expenditure on the relocation of our London offices to a dedicated headquarters building.

Activity levels are rising Group-wide with numerous clients utilising multiple sister company services from the Christie Group.  This underpins your Board's confidence in the prospects for Christie Group and illustrates the ongoing success of our strategy of targeting niche businesses on our chosen markets and cross selling our Group services."

Enquiries:

David Rugg	020 7227 0707
Chief Executive
Christie Group plc
Russell Cook / Carl Holmes	020 7149 6000
Charles Stanley Securities
Nominated Adviser & Broker
Tom Cooper / Paul Vann	020 3176 4722
Winningtons	0797 122 1972
	[e-mail]

Notes to Editors:

Christie Group plc (CTG.L), quoted on AIM, is a leading professional business services group with 38 offices across the UK, Europe, Canada and the Middle East, catering to its specialist markets in the leisure, retail and care sectors.

Christie Group operates in two complementary business divisions: Professional Business Services (PBS) and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services (SISS). These divisions trade under the brand names: PBS - Christie + Co, Pinders, Christie Finance and Christie Insurance: SISS - Orridge, Venners and Vennersys.

Tracing its origins back to 1846, the Group has a long established reputation for offering essential services to client companies in agency, valuation services, investment, consultancy, project management, multi-functional trading systems and online ticketing services, stock audit and inventory management. The diversity of these services provides a natural balance to the Group's core agency business.

For more information, please go to www.christiegroup.com.

 

END

 

 

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