Completion of Placing and Board Changes

RNS Number : 5769P

Brainspark PLC

25 October 2012

 



25 October 2012

Brainspark plc

                                                 ("Brainspark" or "the Company")

Completion of Placing and Board Changes

Further to the placing to raise £2.8 million, announced on 18 October 2012, the Company is pleased to announce that the 92,000,000 new ordinary shares were admitted to trading on AIM yesterday.

The Company is also pleased to confirm that, as previously announced and following admission of the new shares, Luke Johnson has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Company. In addition, Alfredo Villa has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and Cesare Suglia has been appointed Chief Operating Officer.

Luke Johnson is the Chairman of Risk Capital Partners LLP, a private equity house, and Chairman and part-owner of Giraffe Restaurants and Patisserie Valerie.

He is the owner of the Baker and Spice bakery chain and artisan baker Flour Power City. Luke holds a majority stake in both Feng Sushi, a London-based chain of Japanese restaurants specialising in home delivery, and in casual-dining chain 3Sixty Restaurants, comprising Ego Restaurants and Rocket Restaurants. He is also Chairman and part owner of Bread Ltd, the firm behind the Gail's Artisan Bakery chain, and Chairman and part owner of pub group The Draft House.

Luke holds a strategic investment in Beer & Partners, the UK's largest business investment agency. He is also Chairman of Fast Track, the UK's leading networking events and research firm focusing on Britain's top-performing private companies. He is a non-executive director of Metro Bank plc and principal owner of GRA, the UK's largest greyhound track owner. Luke is also a major owner and director of APT Controls, the market leader in car park equipment.

He is also a director of two theatre production partnerships, Playful Productions and Fiery Dragons; a director of AKA, a marketing agency to the live entertainment industry and Chairman/part owner of research firm Superbrands.

Luke was Chairman of Channel 4 Television Corporation from January 2004 to January 2010. In that time he appointed a new CEO, restructured the board and saw the organisation enjoy record ratings, revenues and surplus. He also served as Chairman of the trustees of the £150m Channel 4 staff pension plan.

In 1993 Luke took control of Pizza Express with partners and subsequently became Chairman. He grew the business from 12 owned restaurants to over 250, and the share price from 40p to over 900p. He sold out in 1999 and started Signature Restaurants, which owned The Ivy and Le Caprice, as well as the Belgo chain, selling the business in 2005. In 2000 he started the Strada restaurant concept from scratch and took the chain to 30 units, selling the business in 2006. The total proceeds from these two disposals were in excess of £90 million. He was an investor in fresh fish distributor Seafood Holdings, sold for £45m in 2010.

Luke founded Integrated Dental Holdings with partners in 1996 and grew it to become the largest UK chain of dental surgeries with over 500 dentists. This was sold in 2006 for over £100 million.

He was the principal owner of Mayfair Gaming, responsible for the chain of Riva bingo clubs, from 2004. This was sold in 2006 for an IRR of over 40%.

From 2004 to 2006 he was a Director of Dollar Financial Group Inc, a US NASDAQ traded corporation. He was co-founder/owner and Director of InterQuest Group plc, before stepping down in 2010. Luke was a non-executive Director of art publisher Phaidon Press from 2010 to 2012.

He has been involved as a Director/owner of various quoted companies in retailing, pubs and bars, parcel delivery and maritime commerce, including Whittard of Chelsea, My Kinda Town, Nightfreight, Topps Tiles and American Port Services.

Luke Oliver Johnson (aged 50) has held the following Directorships over the past five years:

Current	Previous
3Sixty Restaurants Limited	Automotive Repair Solutions Limited
Action On Addiction	Bookshop Acquisitions Limited
AKA Group Limited	Borders (UK) Limited
APT Controls Limited	Flour Power City Limited
Beak Street Films Limited	Forestrox Limited
Bread Acquisitions Limited	GRA Acquisition Limited
Bread Holdings Limited	Interquest (UK) Limited
Cedar Pharma Limited	Interquest Group plc
Continga Capital Management LLP	Keel Haul Limited
Draft House Holding Limited	RSA Academies
Ego Group Limited	RSA Adelphi Enterprises Limited
Ego Restaurants Holdings Limited	Seafood Holdings Limited
Ego Restaurants Limited	Seafood Property Holdings
Entrepreneurs' Exchange Limited	Channel Four Television Corporation
Feng Sushi Limited	Phaidon Press Limited
Fiery Dragons Limited
Giraffe Concepts Limited
London 8 Limited
Metro Bank plc
Metrodome Group plc
Patisserie Holdings Limited
Patisserie Valerie Holdings Limited
Playful Productions LLP
Risk Capital Partners II (GP) Limited
Risk Capital Partners II (Scotland) Limited
Risk Capital Partners LLP
Risk Capital Limited
Spice Bakery Limited
Superbrands Limited
Synarbor plc
The Cobden Club Limited
Theatre Investment Fund Limited

Luke Johnson was a director of Autostop Network Limited, Just Tyres Retail Limited, Joltburly Limited and Southern Tyres Limited within 12 months of these companies being placed into Administration on 15 October 2001. In each case there was no shortfall to creditors.

Luke Johnson was also a director of International Tyre Brands Limited and Main Road Properties Limited within 12 months of these companies being placed into Administration on 12 October 2001. In each case, there was no shortfall to creditors.

Luke Johnson was a director of Borders (UK) Limited within 12 months of the company being placed into Administration on 3 December 2009. There was a shortfall to members of c. £63.2m

Luke Johnson was a director of Utility Cable plc within 12 months of a receiver being appointed on 07 October 1998. There was a shortfall to creditors. No further details are available

Luke Johnson was a director of Sunday Business Newspapers Limited within 12 months of a receiver being appointed on 23 September 1997. There was a shortfall to creditors of c. £2.5m.

Luke Johnson was a director of Income Tax Professionals Limited within 12 months of the company entering liquidation on 7 June 1999. There was a shortfall to creditors of c. £0.2m.

 

Luke Johnson was a director of Bookshop Acquisitions Limited within 12 months of the company entering liquidation on 5 December 2009. There was a shortfall to creditors of c. £13.3m.

Luke Johnson holds 25,000,000 Brainspark ordinary shares representing approximately 13.8 per cent. of the Company's share capital.

Save for the information disclosed above there is no other information required to be disclosed under Rule 17 and Schedule Two, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules.

-ends-

For further information please contact:

Brainspark plc
Alfredo Villa, CEO	[phone]
Luke Johnson, Chairman

Westhouse Securities	[phone]
Antonio Bossi
Jonathan Haines

Leander PR	[phone]
Christian Taylor-Wilkinson

About Brainspark Plc

Brainspark plc (AIM: BSP) is an AIM listed investment company pursuing a dynamic strategy to create a comprehensive portfolio of companies primarily encompassing the leisure and real estate sectors mainly in Italy but also other European countries. The Company may be either a passive or active investor and Brainspark's investment rationale ranges from acquiring minority positions with strategic influence through to larger controlling positions.

 

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