AGM Statement

Christie Group PLC

14 June 2023

 

14 June 2023

Christie Group plc

("Christie Group" or the "Group")

AGM Statement

Christie Group plc (AIM: CTG.L), the leading provider of Professional & Financial Services and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services to the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical, childcare & education and retail sectors, announces that at today's Annual General Meeting, the Chairman and Chief Executive, David Rugg, will deliver the following statement:

"Professional & Financial Services

Transactional times have elongated as portfolio break-ups absorb market resources.  Additionally due diligence is extended, particularly where vendor distress is involved.  In such cases vendor warranties or indemnities, if available, may provide less assurance.

Our agency practice within Christie & Co has been favoured with portfolio disposals, such as a group of

61 pubs for Marston's PLC, the UK-wide Coast & Country hotel collection, the sale of 45 dental practices for BUPA and the sale of 111 care homes for Four Seasons Health Care.  Whilst completions to date are down, our level of new sale mandates and offers to purchase are both ahead of the prior year.  We have just launched our Healthcare sector business in Germany.  Our consultants and valuers are busy in both the UK and Europe, the latter with a preponderance of bank driven work.

Christie Finance has increased its pipeline in value by 28% since 1st January 2023.  The highest volume increase has been in our unsecured lending & asset finance division.  Secondary and tertiary lenders appear inundated but under-resourced. This slows deal progress.

Christie Insurance is working with Pinders' building surveying services to help insurance clients ensure adequate protection against current rebuilding costs.

Stock & Inventory Systems & Services

Orridge has followed the rebalancing of retail stocktaking from the shop to warehouse and distribution centres.  Our pharmacy stocktaking remains on the high street.  We are confident that we can grow our supply chain work quite rapidly, as in many cases it is being outsourced for the first time.

Venners, our leisure and hospitality stocktaker, continues its uninterrupted recovery.  Its consultancy team analysed a client's purchases to reveal a half million pounds of overcharging! 

Vennersys, our visitor attraction SaaS business, has signed a new contract with Aspro, the operator of significant leisure attractions.  There have been 18 new users to our system this year, to date.

Summary

As previously reported, our revenues will be second-half weighted. Our costs are in line with expectations.

We are pleased to have now fully repaid our CLBILS loan, as we previously indicated would happen by the end of H1. We have no term debt on our balance sheet."

Enquiries:

Christie Group plc
David Rugg	020 7227 0707
Chairman and Chief Executive
Dan Prickett	020 7227 0700
Chief Operating Officer
Shore Capital
Patrick Castle / Iain Sexton Nominated Adviser and Broker	020 7408 4090

Notes to Editors:

Christie Group plc, quoted on AIM, is a leading professional business services group with 38 offices across the UK and Europe, catering to its specialist markets in the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical, childcare & education and retail sectors.

Christie Group operates in two complementary business divisions: Professional & Financial Services (PFS) and Stock & Inventory Systems & Services (SISS). These divisions trade under the brand names: PFS - 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 valued 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.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Group to constitute inside information under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014.

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

 

END