Final Results

RNS Number : 9198B

W.H. Ireland Group PLC

28 February 2011

 



WH Ireland Group Plc

("WH Ireland" or "the Group")

Preliminary Results for the year ended 30 November 2010

WH Ireland (AIM: WHI) is a financial services group serving the private client and smaller company market.

Business summary

●	Operating losses ceased in September 2010 such that the year end loss was little changed from that incurred in the first half of the year. Balance sheet strengthened through better trading and asset sales.
●	Executive Board further strengthened with appointment of Chief Executive, Paul Compton and significant recruitment in equity sales, trading and compliance.
●	Trading results have improved throughout the year and continue into the new year with £25m being raised for clients in the year to date as compared to £16m for the year under review, and the Board views the year ahead with confidence.

Financial statistics

●	Group turnover decreased by 25% to £18.4m (2009: £24.6m)
●	Full year loss reduced to £0.3m (2009: £2.1m)
●	Basic loss per share of 1.25p (2009: 8.95p)
●	Equity shareholders' funds decreased to £13.5m (2009: £14.1m), representing approximately 63p per share (2009: 66p)
●	Total funds under management and control in the UK increased to £1.64bn (2009: £1.18bn)

Rupert Lowe, Chairman of WH Ireland, commented:  "These results reflect a difficult period both for the Company and the markets in which it operates.  What is pleasing is that the underlying trends were all positive, with the restructuring benefits coming through strongly.  This provides us with a solid platform from which to grow the business, and to capitalise on future improvement in the market."

For further information:

WH Ireland Group plc	[phone]
Rupert Lowe, Chairman
Paul Compton, Chief Executive
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited	[phone]
Hugh Morgan / Abhishek Majumdar (Corporate Finance)
Adam Pollock (Corporate Broking)
Abchurch Communications
Julian Bosdet / Joanne Shears / Oliver Hibberd	[phone]
[e-mail]

Chairman's statement

Results and dividend

The result for the full year is an operating loss of £0.7m; a considerable recovery from the £1.8m suffered last year.  In our interim results we announced an operating loss of £0.6m and we are pleased that the final six months of the year have therefore shown an improvement on the first.  It is with regret however that, given the loss incurred in the year, your Directors consider that the payment of a dividend is not justified.

People and growth

It has been a year of transition for WH Ireland as we installed new management, strengthened our teams and created a more cohesive business.  Inevitably this had an impact on our financial performance, but with bolstered client relationships and increasing funds under management, the Group has made considerable progress over the past 12 months. 

We are delighted that Paul Compton has joined us as Chief Executive, bringing with him a very successful track record as an analyst (UBS/Merrill Lynch), broker (Collins Stewart) and fund manager (Toscafund).  He brings to the Group energy, ideas and experience.  His FSA registration has now been received and he is fully operational.  I would also like to take the opportunity to welcome John Scott (as Executive Director) and Alan Kershaw (as Finance and Operations Director) to the Group Board.  I look forward to working with all of them to spur on the advancement of your Company.

The Directors identified certain areas where the Group needed to improve its service and operations, and I am pleased to say that since my last report we have made great strides to recruit in key positions.  We were pleased to welcome Steven Astaire and his team from Astaire Securities; and Ruari McGirr and Sebastian Wykeham from St Helens Capital.  They have all settled in well and are contributing to our revenues.  Since the year end, Simon Doyle and Gary Woolmer have joined us from Westhouse Securities and are Market Making in our in-house stocks which we believe will help us to improve the service we provide for our corporate clients.  We are optimistic that these improvements will help us win further high-quality corporate clients, as exemplified by our recent appointment as Nomad and broker to a number of corporate clients including Noble Investments.  Elsewhere in the business, our Compliance function has been greatly strengthened with Stephen Cooper joining us from Arden Partners and I am also delighted to announce that Deepak Lalwani has recently confirmed that he will be joining us.  Deepak is an expert on India and will strengthen our relationships in this fast growing and capital hungry part of the world economy.

Overall, the structure of the Company is moving from a collection of self interested franchises into a business which is structured to more effectively support our corporate, private and wealth management clients.  This ongoing process will be the key to our continued success in a broking sector which offers many opportunities for a well-structured company with motivated and incentivised business producers.

Our people are the bedrock of this business, and I would like to thank the rest of the team throughout the whole of WH Ireland for their continued support and hard work.

Australia

DJ Carmichael (the Australian stockbroking business in which the Company has a 37.28% stake) continues to make progress despite the global economic downturn.  It has made a small profit in the year ending 30 November 2010 and its revenues for the first two months of this financial year are encouraging.  We have strengthened our relationship with DJ Carmichael and are hopeful that this will result in increasing revenues for both companies.  I would like to thank Ian Dorrington, Paul Adams and everybody at DJ Carmichael for their support.

Summary and Outlook

Our Company remains vulnerable to a market downturn and the current high hard/soft commodity prices, levels of inflation and related unrest in the Middle East and North Africa highlight this downside risk.  However, over the past year we have, I believe, greatly strengthened our ability to support, nurture and raise funds for exciting smaller companies who will play a very important part in any economic recovery.  We have also reduced our indebtedness with the recent sale of our JBCM Holdings shares and the redemption of their loan notes. 

I am pleased to report that the first two months of the new financial year have started well for the Group.  We have already successfully raised approximately £25m for our clients, compared to only £16m in the year under review; further increased our funds under management and are optimistic about the prospects for the year subject to volatility in the world economy. 

Rupert Lowe

Chairman

Chief executive's report

Overview

I joined WH Ireland on 6th September 2010 and assumed the role of Chief Executive on 31st January 2011.  As such, I was something of a spectator to the results being reported.

Over the past two years, the Group has set a number of strategic priorities; including reducing costs, improving the balance sheet, and focusing on our core operational strengths.  On each of these areas the Group has made significant progress.  The Group has instigated some personnel changes during the post September period, which essentially stemmed the losses of the Group, such that the loss for the year of £0.6m was little changed from that incurred in the first half.  In tandem with these personnel changes, we also sold off a series of residual equity holdings to reduce Group debt.  This process has continued into the current year such that there should be no need to access further equity funds to support the Group in its current form.  In summary, the September to November months were a stabilisation period for the Group in earnings and balance sheet terms.

The second half improvement in trading meant that the full year loss was reduced from the £2.1m figure reported in the prior year to £0.3m this year.  This remains unacceptable, but was a step in the right direction.  Overall, I would say that the year ended with WH Ireland being in much better shape than it has been in recent years, but it is just the 'end of the beginning' rather than cause for congratulation.

Strategy

I have spent much of my time since joining the Company getting to know the business and identifying our strengths.  WH Ireland is well positioned to provide a flexible and personalised solution to our retail clients through the Private Clients and Wealth Management teams.  With a strong regional network and long history, our aim is to provide an alternative to the 'one size fits all' offerings of the large banks.  Our in-house dealing capability allows us to be competitive with discount brokers on a total cost basis, whilst still providing a valuable advisory service.  Within Secondary Markets, we have recently recruited a team to enhance our services in this area by offering Contracts For Difference and spread betting capabilities.  This tax and capital efficient way of investing offers considerable upside to the Group when leveraged across the existing client base.

Capital Markets provides advice and fund raising capability to small companies.  At the year-end we were acting for 68 companies, of which 51 were quoted on AIM.  This activity complements our Private Client stockbroking business as there are often good returns to be made from businesses that have fallen under the radar of the major institutions.  At a time when many of the major stockbrokers are withdrawing from the sub-£100m market we are specifically setting our stall out to service this audience.

In order to make acceptable returns from this area of the market, one needs to combine broker fees with commissions but also principal trading.  To this end, the Company began market making, predominantly for its in-house stocks, in early January 2011 and initial results have been good.

In summary, our strategy is to offer private investors a personalised investment service that sets us apart from the standardised mainstream approach and to service the UK smaller company sector at a time when it is being increasingly ignored by other players.  As such, we are confident that we will be able to build a bigger business than we currently have and produce attractive returns.  It is my personal belief that in due course, UK tax regulation will have to be altered to encourage small company investment.  Should this occur, the Company would be well positioned to grow more rapidly.

The future

With improving trading and an adequate balance sheet we have entered the new financial year in a solid position.  Progress to date has been in line with our internal budget and consequently much better than for the previous year.  We have many challenges ahead but we should be able to create a substantial company in its chosen areas of activity.  One of the great advantages of WH Ireland is that it is small enough to reward results fairly directly.  As such, stakeholders who have weathered the dark days should be increasingly well rewarded. 

Paul Compton

Chief Executive

                                Financial Information

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income		Year ended	Year ended
		30 November	30 November
		2010	2009
	Note	£'000	£'000
Revenue	2	18,379	24,618
Administrative expenses		(19,108)	(26,449)
Operating loss		(729)	(1,831)
Other Income		45	29
Investment gains/(losses)		259	(300)
Fair value (losses)/gains on investments	5	(72)	37
Finance Income		54	84
Finance Expense		(90)	(192)
Share of profit of associates		226	93
Loss on disposal of associates		(311)	-
Loss before tax		(618)	(2,080)
Tax credit	3	351	183
Loss from continuing operations		(267)	(1,897)
Loss on discontinued operations, net of tax		-	(216)
Loss for the year		(267)	(2,113)
Other comprehensive income:
Transferred to profit or loss on sale of Property, plant and equipment		(102)	-
Valuation (losses)/ gains on available for sale investments		(192)	55
Transferred to profit or loss on sale of investments		(31)	-
Exchange gains arising on translation of foreign operations		-	479
Tax relating to components of other comprehensive income		60	114
Total other comprehensive income		(265)	648
Total comprehensive income		(532)	(1,465)
Loss for the year attributable to:
Owners of the parent		(267)	(2,075)
Non controlling interest		-	(38)
		(267)	(2,113)
Total comprehensive income attributable to:
Owners of the parent		(532)	(1,507)
Non controlling interest		-	42
		(532)	(1,465)
Earnings per share for profit to the ordinary
equity holders of the parent during the
period	4
Basic		(1.25)p	(9.79)p
Diluted		(1.25)p	(9.79)p
Continuing operations
Basic		(1.25)p	(8.95)p
Diluted		(1.25)p	(8.95)p

Consolidated statement of financial position		Group
		As at	As at
		30 November	30 November
		2010	2009
	Note	£'000	£'000
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment		6,301	6,813
Goodwill		2,835	2,909
Intangible assets		161	321
Subsidiaries		-	-
Associates		1,156	1,963
Investments	5	1,483	1,514
Loan notes receivable		335	310
Deferred tax asset		930	643
Subordinated loan		-	-
		13,201	14,473
Current assets
Trade and other receivables		37,205	42,673
Other investments		-	855
Corporation tax recoverable		21	42
Cash and cash equivalents	6	2,439	4,258
		39,665	47,828
Total assets		52,866	62,301
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		(36,495)	(44,628)
Bank overdraft		-	-
Borrowings		(305)	(419)
Provisions		(149)	-
		(36,949)	(45,047)
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings		(1,930)	(2,426)
Deferred tax liability		(384)	(273)
Accruals and deferred income		(98)	(297)
Provisions		(20)	(147)
		(2,432)	(3,143)
Total liabilities		(39,381)	(48,190)
Total net assets		13,485	14,111
EQUITY
Share capital		1,064	1,064
Share premium		5,724	5,724
Available-for-sale reserve		47	210
Revaluation reserve		565	667
Other reserves		1,472	1,472
Retained earnings		4,900	5,261
Treasury shares		(287)	(287)
Total equity		13,485	14,111

Consolidated statement of cash flows		Group
		Year ended	Year ended
		30 November	30 November
		2010	2009
	Note	£'000	£'000
Operating activities:
(Loss)/profit for the year		(267)	(2,113)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment		562	1,151
Finance income		(54)	(109)
Finance expense		90	199
Taxation	3	(351)	(247)
Share of profit of associates		(226)	(93)
Profit on disposal of associates		311	-
Changes in investments	5	272	507
Gain on sale of discontinued operations		-	(382)
Gain on sale of property, plant and equipment		(128)	(171)
Non-cash adjustment for share option charge		(94)	97
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables		5,468	211,533
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables		(8,332)	(198,025)
Decrease/(Increase) in provisions		22	(212)
Decrease/(increase) in current asset investments		855	(757)
Exchange adjustments		-	548
Net cash (used in)/generated from operations		(1,872)	11,926
Income taxes paid/received		256	(728)
Net cash (out)/in flows from operating activities		(1,616)	11,198
Investing activities:
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment		291	250
Proceeds from sale of investments	5	823	-
Interest received		54	109
Disposal of subsidiary, net of cash acquired		-	(218)
Purchase of associates		-	(32)
Disposal of associates		100	-
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment		(81)	(203)
Acquisition of investments		(665)	(133)
Repayment of subordinated loan			-
Purchase of loan notes		(25)	-
Net cash generated from/(used in) investing activities		497	(227)
Financing activities:
Proceeds from issue of share capital		-	101
Decrease in borrowings		(610)	(774)
Interest paid		(90)	(199)
Net cash used in financing activities		(700)	(872)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents		(1,819)	10,099
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year		4,258	(5,841)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	6	2,439	4,258
Clients' settlement cash		1,573	1,969
Group cash/(overdrafts)		866	2,289
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	6	2,439	4,258

Consolidated statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 30 November 2010
			Available-
	Share	Share	for-sale	Revaluation	Exchange	Other	Retained	Treasury	Total
	capital	premium	reserve	reserve	reserve	reserves	earnings	shares	equity
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Balance at 1 December 2008	1,054	5,633	170	667	31	1,472	7,847	(287)	16,587
Gain arising on available-for-sale investments	-	-	55	-	-	-	-	-	55
Exchange rate adjustments	-	-	-	-	479	-	-	-	479
Deferred taxation	-	-	(15)	-	129	-	-	-	114
Other comprehensive income	-	-	40	-	608	-	-	-	648
Loss after taxation	-	-	-	-	-	-	(2,075)	-	(2,075)
Total comprehensive income	-	-	40	-	608	-	(2,075)	-	(1,427)
Shares issued	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10
Share premium on exercise of options	-	91	-	-	-	-	-	-	91
Amounts owed from shareholders	-	-	-	-	-	-	(608)	-	(608)
Employee share option scheme	-	-	-	-	-	-	97	-	97
Disposal of subsidiary	-	-	-	-	(639)	-	-	-	(639)
Balance at 30 November 2009	1,064	5,724	210	667	-	1,472	5,261	(287)	14,111
Gain arising on available-for-sale investments	-	-	(223)	-	-	-	-	-	(223)
Loss on property revaluation	-	-	-	(102)	-	-	-	-	(102)
Deferred taxation	-	-	60	-	-	-	-	-	60
Other comprehensive income	-	-	(163)	(102)	-	-	-	-	(265)
Loss after taxation	-	-	-	-	-	-	(267)	-	(267)
Total comprehensive income	-	-	(163)	(102)	-	-	(267)	-	(532)
Employee share option scheme	-	-	-	-	-	-	(94)	-	(94)
Balance at 30 November 2010	1,064	5,724	47	565	-	1,472	4,900	(287)	13,485

The total number of authorised ordinary shares is 34.5 million shares of 5p each (2009: 34.5 million shares of 5p each).  The total number of issued ordinary shares is 21.3 million shares of 5p each (2009: 21.3 million shares of 5p each).

The nature and purpose of each reserve is summarised below:

Share premium

The share premium is the amount raised on the issue of shares that is in excess of the nominal value of those shares and is recorded less any direct costs of issue.

Available-for-sale reserve

The available-for-sale reserve reflects gains or losses arising from the change in fair value of available-for-sale financial assets except for impairment losses which are recognised in the income statement.  When an available-for-sale asset is impaired or derecognised, the cumulative gain or loss previously recognised in the available-for-sale reserve is transferred to the income statement.

Revaluation reserve

The revaluation reserve reflects changes in the fair value of property, plant and equipment until such time as the assets are disposed of.  A revaluation surplus is recognised in the revaluation reserve unless it reverses a previous deficit when it is credited to the income statement up to the amount of the previous deficit.  A revaluation deficit is charged to the income statement unless it reverses a previous surplus when it is charged to the revaluation reserve up to the amount of the previous surplus.

Exchange reserve

The exchange reserve is used to record exchange differences arising from the translation of the financial statements of foreign subsidiaries.

Other reserves

Other reserves comprise a merger reserve of £491k (2009: £491k), a capital redemption reserve of £228k (2009: £228k) and other reserves of £753k (2009: £753k).

Retained earnings

Retained earnings reflect; accumulated income, expenses, gains and losses, recognised in the income statement and the statement of recognised income and expense and is net of dividends paid to shareholders.  The cumulative effect of changes in accounting policy is also reflected as an adjustment in retained earnings.

Treasury shares

Purchases of the Company's own shares in the market are presented as a deduction from equity, at the amount paid, including transaction costs.  That is, treasury shares are shown as a separate class of shareholders' equity with a debit balance.

1.  Principal accounting policies

The financial information set out in this announcement has been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement principles of IFRS as endorsed for use in the European Union.

The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute the group's statutory accounts for the year ended 30 November 2010 or the year ended 30 November 2009 under the meaning of s434 Companies Act 2006, but is derived from the 2010 annual report and accounts.

Statutory accounts for the years ended 30 November 2009 and 30 November 2010 have been reported on by the Independent Auditors.

The Independent Auditors' Report on the Annual Report and Financial Statements for years ended 30 November 2009 and 30 November 2010 was unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis, and did not contain a statement under s498(2) or s498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

Statutory accounts for the year ended 30 November 2009 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The statutory accounts for the year ended 30 November 20010 will be delivered to the Registrar in due course.

2.  Segment information

IFRS 8 requires indication of operating segments on the basis of internal reports that are regularly reviewed by the entity's chief operating decision maker ('CODM') in order to allocate resources to the segment and assess its performance.  The CODM has been determined to be the Executive and Non-Executive Directors, as they are principally responsible for evaluating operating segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources to operating segments.

The Group has four main operating divisions; Private Clients, Wealth Management, Capital Markets and Secondary Trading.  These four segments represent the Group's reportable segments under IFRS8. 

The Private Clients division offers investment management and stockbroking advice and services to individuals.  Wealth Management contains our Independent Financial Advisory ("IFA") business, giving advice on and acting as intermediary for a range of financial products.  The Capital Markets division provides corporate finance and corporate broking advice and services to companies and acts as Nominated Advisor to clients listed on the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM").  Secondary Trading contains our Institutional Sales and Research business, which carries out stockbroking activities on behalf of companies as well as conducting research into markets of interest to its clients.  Each reportable segment has a segment manager who is directly accountable to and maintains regular contact with the CODM.  The Head Office segment comprises centrally incurred costs and revenues.

Previously segments were determined and presented in accordance with IAS 14 'Segment Reporting'.  The Group's primary format for reporting segment information was business segments, but reporting was also categorised by geographic location, due to a subsidiary located in Australia.  During the prior year however, the shareholding in this subsidiary was substantially reduced, to the point at which it became classified as an associate and is no longer separately reported, therefore is not included in the following tables.  As the Group's only location is now the UK, geographic reporting is no longer necessary. Comparative information has been restated to reflect the new segments.  No customer represents more than ten percent of the Group's revenue.

The following tables represent revenue and profit information for the Group's business segments.

Year ended 30 November 2010	Private	Wealth	Capital	Secondary	Head
	Clients	Management	Markets	Trading	Office	Group
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue	8,783	1,667	2,801	2,395	2,734	18,379
Segment result	2,263	(257)	367	461	(3,876)	(1,042)
Other Income	-	-	-	-	45	45
Investment Income	-	-	135	-	53	188
Finance income	-	-	-	-	55	55
Finance expense	-	-	-	-	(90)	(90)
Share of profit of associates	-	-	-	-	226	226
Loss on discontinued operations, net of tax	-	-	-	-	-	-
Profit/(loss) before taxation	2,263	(257)	502	461	(3,587)	(618)
Taxation	-	-	-	-	351	351
Profit/(loss) on continuing operations after taxation	2,263	(257)	502	461	(3,236)	(267)

Impairment losses on goodwill of £74k can be allocated to the Private Clients segment and is included in the segment result above.

Year ended 30 November 2009	Private	Wealth	Capital	Secondary	Head
	Clients	Management	Markets	Trading	Office	Group
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue	8,496	1,263	2,464	9,637	2,758	24,618
Segment result	1,816	(1,003)	(1,087)	2,684	(4,241)	(1,831)
Other Income	-	-	-	-	29	29
Investment Income	-	-	62	-	(325)	(263)
Finance income	-	5	-	-	79	84
Finance expense	-	-	-	-	(192)	(192)
Share of profit of associates	-	-	-	-	93	93
Loss on discontinued operations, net of tax	-	-	-	-	(216)	(216)
Profit/(loss) before taxation	1,816	(998)	(1,025)	2,684	(4,773)	(2,296)
Taxation	-	-	-	-	183	183
Profit/(loss) on continuing operations after taxation	1,816	(998)	(1,025)	2,684	(4,590)	(2,113)

Impairment losses on goodwill of £74k and £162k can be allocated to the Private Clients and Wealth Management segments respectively, and are included in the segment results above.

Segment assets and segment liabilities are reviewed by the CODM in a consolidated statement of financial position.  Accordingly this information is replicated in the Group Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.  As no measure of assets of liabilities for individual segments is reviewed regularly by the CODM, no disclosure of total assets or liabilities has been made, in accordance with the amendment to paragraph 23 of IFRS 8.

The accounting policies of the operating segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies.

3.  Taxation

	Year ended	Year ended
	30 November	30 November
	2010	2009
	£'000	£'000
Current tax (credit)/expense:
United Kingdom corporation tax at 28% (2009: 28%)	-	-
Tax on discontinued operation	-	64
Adjustments in respect of prior years	(235)	269
	(235)	333
Deferred tax credit:
Origination and reversal of temporary differences	(69)	(515)
Effect of change in tax rate	25	-
Adjustments in respect of prior years	(72)	(1)
	(116)	(516)
Total tax credit in the income statement	(351)	(183)

The tax credit for the year and the amount calculated by applying the standard United Kingdom corporation tax rate of 28% (2009: 27.97%) to profit before taxation can be reconciled as follows:

	Year ended	Year ended
	30 November	30 November
	2010	2009
	£'000	£'000
Loss before taxation	(618)	(2,360)
Tax expense using the United Kingdom corporation tax rate of 28% (2009: 27.97%)	(173)	(660)
Other expenses not tax deductible	233	593
Income not chargeable to tax	(205)	(433)
Difference in overseas tax rates	76	(8)
Adjustments to current tax in respect of prior years	(235)	269
Tax effect of chargeable gains	-	(7)
Adjustments to deferred tax in respect of prior years	(72)	(1)
Tax on discontinued operation	-	64
Effect of change in tax rate	25	-
Total tax credit in the income statement	(351)	(183)

4.  Earnings per share (EPS)

Basic EPS is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity holders of the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year, excluding ordinary shares purchased by the Company and held as treasury shares.

Diluted EPS is the basic EPS, adjusted for the effect of the conversion into fully paid shares of the weighted average number of all employee share options outstanding during the year.  Options over 527,855 (2009: 813,963) shares are excluded from the EPS calculation as they are antidilutive.  Antidilutive options represent options issued where the exercise price is greater than the average market price for the period.

Reconciliations of the earnings and weighted average number of shares used in the calculations are set out below:

	Year ended	Year ended
	30 November	30 November
	2010	2009
	000's	000's
Weighted average number of shares in issue during the period	21,281	21,186
Effect of share options	75	93
	21,356	21,279
	£'000	£'000
Earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders	(267)	(2,075)
Continuing operations	(267)	(1,897)
Discontinued operations	-	(178)
	(267)	(2,075)
Basic EPS
Continuing operations	(1.25)p		(8.95)p
Discontinued operations	-p		(0.84)p
	(1.25)p		(9.79)p
Diluted EPS
Continuing operations	(1.25)p		(8.95)p
Discontinued operations	-p		(0.84)p
	(1.25)p		(9.79)p

5.  Investments

	Quoted	Unquoted	Total
Available-for-sale investments	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 December 2008	202	809	1,011
Additions	1	-	1
Fair value gain/(loss)	63	(8)	55
Impairment	(74)	(229)	(303)
At 30 November 2009	192	572	764
Additions	102	-	102
Fair value gain/(loss)	33	(225)	(192)
Impairment	18	-	18
Disposals	(235)	-	(235)
At 30 November 2010	156	347	457

	Quoted	Warrants	Total
Other investments	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 December 2008	539	297	836
Exchange rate adjustments	29	-	29
Additions	79	53	132
Fair value (loss)/gain	(25)	10	(15)
Disposal of subsidiary	(28)	-	(28)
Disposals	(203)	(1)	(204)
At 30 November 2009	391	359	750
Additions	935	250	1,185
Fair value loss	(18)	(77)	(95)
Disposals	(587)	(227)	(814)
At 30 November 2010	721	305	1,026
Total investments 30 November 2010			1,483
Total investments 30 November 2009			1,514

Available-for-sale investments, include equity investments other than those equity investments which form part of the carried interest bonus scheme and investments in subsidiaries. Available-for-sale investments are measured at fair value with fair value gains and losses recognised directly in equity in the available-for-sale reserve.

Other investments, in the main, comprise financial assets designated as fair value through profit or loss and include equity investments which form part of the carried interest bonus scheme. Financial assets designated as 'fair value through profit or loss' are measured at fair value with fair value gains and losses recognised directly in the income statement.

Warrants are acquired as part of the carried interest bonus scheme and designated as fair value through profit or loss.  There is no cash consideration associated with the acquisition.

Fair value, in the case of quoted investments, represents the bid price at the balance sheet date.  In the case of unquoted investments, the fair value is estimated by reference to recent arm's length transactions.  The fair value of warrants is estimated using established valuation models.

6.  Cash, cash equivalents

		30 November	30 November
		2010	2009
		£'000	£'000
Cash and cash equivalents		2,439	4,258
		2,439	4,258

For the purposes of the cash flow statement, cash and cash equivalents comprise cash in hand, deposits with banks and financial institutions with a maturity of up to three months and bank overdrafts repayable on demand.

Cash and cash equivalents represent the Group's money and money held for settlement of outstanding transactions.

Free money held in trust on behalf of clients is not included in the balance sheet.  Free money at 30 November 2010 for the Group was £85,429k (2009: £93,457k).

 

END

 

 

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