Alumasc Group PLC
15 February 2000
ALUMASC ACQUIRES 51% OF LEADING BUILDING PRODUCTS INTERNET SEARCH
ENGINE,LeonardoUK.com
Alumasc, the premium engineering and building products group, is
joining forces with the UK's most advanced building Internet
search engine to develop the premier information provider for the
UK building industry.
LeonardoUK is a search engine (www.LeonardoUK.com) established in
1998 by building publishers McDermott Group with 8,500 building
product suppliers currently listed.
An existing income stream from subscribers will be augmented
through growth of the subscriber base and the development of
additional services, with partners as appropriate.
Alumasc brings 50 years' experience of marketing premium building
products to the UK building sector and the resources to develop
LeonardoUK into the industry standard.
The fragmented nature of the building industry, in the UK and
elsewhere, provides an opportunity for vast efficiency gains in
the selection, sourcing and supply of building products.
LeonardoUK is targeted with enabling specifiers, builders and
suppliers to capture these efficiencies, estimated in billions of
£.
Alumasc has acquired a 51 per cent majority stake in Leonardo.com
Limited and will finance the development of LeonardoUK to the next
level of functionality at an estimated cost of £1.5 million. The
project will be directed by Martin Wood, a main board director of
the Alumasc Group, whose career has been spent in building
businesses in the building products sector.
Alumasc's Chairman, John McCall, stated 'This project is
consistent with Alumasc's plans to participate in the Internet
revolution by developing a standalone Internet business in a
sector of core activity as well as E-commerce opportunities in its
own business.'
Enquiries:
The Alumasc Group plc
John McCall (Chairman & Chief Executive) 01536-383844
Martin Wood (Chairman, Building Products Division) 01952-580590
Bankside Consultants Limited 0171-220 7477
Charles Ponsonby
Notes for Editors:
Alumasc is a group of premium engineering and building products
businesses, with its shares fully listed on the London Stock
Exchange. Turnover for the group's continuing activities amounted
to £127 million in the year ended 30 June 1999, with operating
profits of £9.8 million. The Building Products Division earned
operating profits of £3.1 million on turnover of £44 million.
McDermott Publishing is a privately owned publishing company whose
titles include: DABS (Designer, Architect, Builder Specification),
The Builder, The Architect and Merchant and Stockist.