Trading Statement

RNS Number : 5751E

Live Company Group PLC

05 July 2019

 

5 July 2019

LIVE COMPANY GROUP PLC

("LVCG", the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading statement for the 6 month period ending 30 June 2019

The Company is pleased to provide a Trading Update for the six-month period up to 30 June 2019, ahead of the Annual General Meeting to be held at the offices of Shard Capital Partners LLP, Level 23, 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BY at 9.00 a.m. on Friday 19 July 2019. 

The following comments will be made regarding current trading, financial performance and outlook for the financial year at the opening of the meeting.

Overview

David Ciclitira, Executive Chairman:

"At the halfway point of the year we continue to make encouraging progress with sales and have successfully secured 67% of our revenues for 2019 thus far.  Enquiries remain strong for the Group's touring assets and it is my belief that we will exceed our current target of 60 events for 2019, with 52 events already confirmed and several more in the pipeline.  I regularly remind myself on what our business is about and it comes down to three core elements:

1.    Our strong and continually expanding global network.  As you will see in this Trading Statement, within the first six months of 2019 we signed agreements with a number of new partners and we expect to build upon this further in the coming months particularly in Europe and North America.

2.    Development of our own IP and expanding our major IP partnerships.  We have registered the Bricklive brand and its associated touring brands in most of the major markets globally.  We are also working with Licensing Management International Limited ("LMI") to develop BRICKLIVE's merchandise range and are focussed on growing this revenue stream.

I also believe the recent announcement of the partnership with Nickelodeon UK Limited ("Nickelodeon") for the UK and Ireland is a big step forward for the business.  The response to Paw Patrol has been positive and we are looking to fast track the building of the first Nickelodeon Jnr tour.  Our aim is to build upon our relationship with Nickelodeon and see which exciting paths that leads us down.  Furthermore, we aim to develop our international offering and hope to continue to add to the growing number of IP partners we have already secured.

3.    The Company, through the acquisition of Bright Bricks Holdings Limited ("Bright Bricks"), has the unique ability to build its own assets and tours and bespoke assets for third parties.  The ability to build and grow the number of tours, provides an opportunity to greatly increase the future earnings from the high margin touring business. We have received very positive reviews for our zoo touring assets, with some venues announcing a 30% increase in footfall.  As a result, we expect to begin work, before the end of the year, on a new series of assets beyond our projected 15 tours as at the end of 2019.  The Group will continue to explore opportunities, through its global network, to increase its building capacity to meet the high level of demand.

Our priority for 2019 is to develop the business against the following goals:

1.       Expansion of BRICKLIVE brand in Europe;

2.       Expansion of the BRICKLIVE brand in America;

3.       Foster relationships with global IP partners across the world;

4.       Expansion and development of a new merchandise range using its globally registered brand; and

5.       Expansion of the Group's touring business, through the creation of new touring shows/assets.

The LVCG Board has taken note of the shareholder comments and I would like to confirm it is our intention to appoint a Non-Executive Director with relevant plc experience who, once appointed, will be asked to chair the remuneration committee.

As previously announced on 2 April 2019, the Board agreed to issue to me a bonus of 500,000 new Ordinary Shares (the "Bonus Shares"), subject to the Group achieving an agreed performance target, in respect of the year ending 31 December 2019.  Whilst, I remain fully committed to achieving this performance target and driving value for the Group, I can confirm that should the performance target be achieved, I have decided not to accept the award of the Bonus Shares.

Looking ahead, we remain focused on delivering our ambitious strategic goals and hope to exceed market expectations, creating long term value for our shareholders."

Contracted revenue

The Group is pleased to announce that, as at 30 June 2019, the Group is trading in line with market expectations and the Group has already secured multi-year contracts with a value of £4.4 million for 2019 and £1.3 million for 2020.

The Group has seen considerable growth in the BRICKLIVE touring business of both larger shows which can be found in venues such as Zoos, and smaller touring shows which can be found in venues such as shopping centres, tourist attractions and museums.

Number of models

The 2018 Annual Accounts reported that as of the 31 March 2019, the Group owned 650 brick models.  By the end of June 2019, a further 40 models had been completed taking the total number of brick models owned by Group to 690 models.

Number of touring assets

The 2018 Annual Accounts reported that as at 13 June 2019, the number of themed touring assets owned by the Group was 12.  The Group will be creating additional touring shows such as Paw Patrol, Nick Jnr and a smaller Animal Paradise tour and the Group is on track to have 15 touring shows by the end of 2019.

BRICKLIVE Events and Shows

The following table shows the number of BRICKLIVE Events/Shows held in each of 2017 and 2018, the number currently booked for 2019 as at 30 June 2019 and the number project to be held in 2019.

BRICKLIVE Events/Shows	FY 2017	FY 2018	Booked for 2019 as at 30 June 2019	FY 2019 (projected)
Asia	8	20	9	13
Europe	8	10	39	42
North America	1	1	2	3
South America	1	3	1	1
Middle East	-	-	1	1
Total	18	34	52	60

The Group continues to grow its international network with a focus on markets in which it sees significant future growth.

Over the last six months, the Group has announced partnerships with the following BRICKLIVE Show promoters/venue operators:

-           AWC AG, Germany;

-           Pal Expo, Geneva;

-           Exhibition Hub SPRL, Brussels;

-           SMG Europe Holdings Limited, Aberdeen;

-           Grimaldi Forum, Monaco;

-           Self-promotion of BRICKLIVE flagship show at the NEC in Birmingham; and

-           Make Merry Company Inc., Japan.

As a result of the North America focus, the Board has decided to put a hold on activity in South America. Instead those assets currently in South America will be redeployed to North America to accelerate growth in the region.

The Group also announced the partnership with LMI as the Group's agent in respect of identifying partners for the licensing and merchandising of BRICKLIVE branded merchandise and products to be sold at the Group's BRICKLIVE shows, tours and events.  The Board believes that this will provide an additional revenue stream for the Group and is a further diversification of its business.

Enquiries:

Live Company Group Plc David Ciclitira, Executive Chairman Ruth Cunningham, Chief Operating Officer	Tel: [phone]
Stand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) Stuart Faulkner / Richard Tulloch / James Dance	Tel: [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Broker) Damon Heath	Tel: [phone]

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.

About Live Company Group plc

The Group is a network of partner-driven fan-based shows using BRICKLIVE created content worldwide.  The Company owns the rights to BRICKLIVE - an interactive experience built around the creative ethos of the world's most popular construction toy bricks.  BRICKLIVE, which is fast becoming a leading children's education and entertainment brand, actively encourages all to learn, build and play, and provides inspirational events and shows where like-minded fans can push the boundaries of their creativity.  Bright Bricks is the Group's production centre for building brick-based models.  The Group is an independent producer of BRICKLIVE and is not associated with the LEGO Group. More information can be found at www.livecompanygroup.com

Forward looking statements

This announcement contains statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward looking statements" which are prospective in nature. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward looking statements. Generally, words such as "expect", anticipate", "may", "should", "will", "aspire", "aim", "plan", "target", "goal", "ambition" and similar pressions identify forward looking statements. By their nature, these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies, and actual results and events could differ materially from those currently being anticipated as reflected in such statements. Factors which may cause future outcomes to differ from those foreseen or implied in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions and business conditions in Live Company Group's markets; contracts awarded to Live Company Group; customers' acceptance of Live Company Group's products and services; operational problems; the actions of competitors, trading partners, creditors, rating agencies and others; the success or otherwise of partnering; changes in laws and governmental regulations; regulatory or legal actions, including the types of enforcement action pursued and the nature of remedies sought or imposed; the receipt of relevant third party and/or regulatory approvals; exchange rate fluctuations; the development and use of new technology; changes in public expectations and other changes to business conditions; wars and acts of terrorism; and cyber-attacks. Many of these factors are beyond Live Company Group's control or influence. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement and have not been audited or otherwise independently verified. Past performance should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of future results and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made regarding future performance. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, Live Company Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any change in Live Company Group's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based after the date of this announcement, or to keep current any other information contained in this announcement.  Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements.

 

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