GBP 3 million Placing
Access Intelligence PLC
18 November 2004
EMBARGOED 7.00AM 18 November 2004
Access Intelligence plc
Placing to raise £3 million at 10p per share
Access Intelligence plc ('Access Intelligence' or 'Company'), the AIM listed
marketing services company, is pleased to announce a placing to raise £3
million, before expenses. The Placing will provide additional funds to finance a
number of potential acquisitions and provide additional working capital for the
development of the Group. Corporate Synergy, the Nominated Adviser and Broker to
the Company, has conditionally placed 30,000,000 new Ordinary Shares with
institutional and other investors at 10 pence per share. The Placing has not
been underwritten.
In order to effect the Placing the Company has convened an Extraordinary General
Meeting to be held on 13 December 2004.
Background
The Company was incorporated in June 2003 and in November of that year acquired
Access Intelligence Limited. Access Intelligence Limited was incorporated in
November 2000 and acquired The Marketing Guild in December 2000 and both Wired
Gov and Backup and Running in October 2003. The common links between these
acquisitions are that they provide practical services and advice to small and
medium sized companies and the services provided are subscription-based and
provide a foundation for expansion by means of recurring annual revenues.
Further information on the Group's businesses is set out below.
Strategy
The Group's strategy is to establish a portfolio of companies which provide
information, advice and services to small and medium sized businesses on a
subscription basis. The Directors believe that this model provides high levels
of repeat business, and thus high quality revenues, together with cross selling
opportunities within the Group.
The Group's existing businesses are performing well and are approaching
breakeven. Furthermore the Directors believe that they have exciting growth
prospects, but their scale is insufficient to provide an adequate return on
capital, taking into account central overheads and the costs of being a public
company. Accordingly, the Directors intend to expand the business by acquisition
and build a group with critical mass and strong cashflows.
The Directors have identified a number of potential acquisitions and have
entered into the early stages of negotiations with their owners. However, as at
the date of this document, no agreement or understanding regarding any of these
potential acquisitions has been reached.
The Directors are of the view that the Company will be seen as an attractive
acquirer by the vendors of businesses if it is able to demonstrate to them that
it has the necessary cash to effect acquisitions. Accordingly, the Placing
provides the Company with resources that enable it to potentially move quickly
to make future acquisitions.
The Placing
The Company is proposing to raise £3 million, before expenses, by way of a
placing of 30,000,000 new Ordinary Shares. Pursuant to the Placing Agreement,
the Placing Shares have been conditionally placed by Corporate Synergy, subject
to the terms of the Placing Agreement, at 10 pence per share with institutional
and other investors. The Placing has not been underwritten.
The Placing is subject, inter alia, to the Placing Agreement having become
unconditional and not having been terminated in accordance with its terms and
Admission becoming effective on or before 14 December 2004 or such later date as
Corporate Synergy and the Company may agree:
The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares and
will rank in full for any dividends and other distributions paid or made in
respect of the ordinary share capital of the Company. The total costs, charges
and expenses relating to the Placing are estimated to amount to approximately
£175,000. Pursuant to the Placing, the directors have agreed to subscribe for,
in aggregate, 705,000 Placing Shares.
Commenting on the fundraising, Jeremy Hamer, Chairman of Access Intelligence
said:
'We are determined to build Access Intelligence into a broadly based Group with
a number of subscription based businesses. Our existing business have all made
good progress since the flotation in December last year and this fundraising
will provide the additional resources to enable us to develop the business
further.'
Enquires:
Jeremy Hamer (Chairman) 07977 234614
Brendan Austin (Chief Executive) 01904 520 840
Access Intelligence plc
Justin Lewis 020 7626 2244
Corporate Synergy Plc
Brian Coleman-Smith 020 7398 3300
Beattie Financial
Notes to Editors
The Marketing Guild
The Marketing Guild provides practical marketing help and advice aimed at small
and medium sized businesses. This is delivered through regular newsletters, a
help line and training seminars for which members pay a fee based on the level
of service they require. In addition, members have access through the helpline
to 'MAGiC(TM)', a database containing ideas and tactics, which offers strategies
to members.
Wired Gov
Wired Gov provides its subscribers with immediate press releases from the
government and other public sector organisations via its website and e-mail
alert system. Income is derived from subscriptions and sponsorship. Subscribers
to the service can specify from which organisations they wish to receive
information and additionally use key word searches. An archive system is also
available. Wired Gov has approximately 10,000 registered users.
Backup and Running
Backup and Running provides small and medium sized organisations with a disaster
recovery service for computerised information. The software is made available
under a licence from Novastor Corporation, an American company. The software
allows users to configure an operating system to specify which files are to be
backed up and the frequency of the routine. The specified information is
encrypted then sent via modem to a remote storage facility. The software has
several facilities including an archive facility which allows the user to
retrieve all back ups made over a five year period. Backup and Running has
approximately 120 customers.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange