St Helens Capital First Day of Dealings of AIM
3 March 2008
First Day of Dealings of AIM
St. Helen's Capital Plc / Epic: SHCP / Market: AIM / Sector: Financial services.
St Helen's Capital Plc, an independent institutional stockbroker and corporate finance adviser focused on companies in the small cap sector and companies which the Directors believe have the potential to achieve rapid growth, listed on AIM today via an introduction.
Overview
- First day of dealings on AIM - introduction will raise profile within target corporate and institutional markets
- Focused on the small cap sector, providing corporate finance advice and acting as institutional stockbroker for AIM, PLUS and pre-IPO companies
- Currently corporate broker to 12 AIM quoted companies, with market capitalisations ranging from circa GBP2 million to GBP330 million
- Acts as PLUS corporate adviser to 34 PLUS quoted companies representing more than 15% of the number of companies admitted to PLUS
- Strategy to build on strengths and market presence to further develop client base
- Ideally placed to capitalise on the considerable growth opportunities in the small cap sector
- Strengthening financial position - results for the six months ended 30 September 2007 showed pre-tax profits of GBP1.13m (under IFRS, previously reported under UK GAAP - GBP0.99m) on turnover of GBP2.3m. As at 22 February 2008, the Company had cash reserves of approximately GBP2m
- Strong experienced team of respected small cap specialists
St. Helen's Capital CEO Ruari McGirr said: "With increased visibility and improved liquidity, our transition from PLUS to AIM marks an important step in our strategy to further strengthen our presence in the small cap arena and attract high-quality individuals to the team. As testament to our team's drive and determination, whilst the current economic climate is undoubtedly difficult, we have maintained a steady inflow of new transactions and business opportunities allowing us to select those that we feel will further benefit our corporate profile. Our financial performance has been strong and we believe we have the skills and ambition for profitable expansion and the ability to deliver healthy returns to our shareholders."
For further information visit www.sthelenscapital.com or contact:
Ruari McGirr St. Helen's Capital Plc Tel: 020 7628 5582
James Harris / David Altberg Strand Partners Limited Tel: 020 7409 3494
Isabel Crossley St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7236 1177
Introduction
St Helen's Capital Plc is an independent institutional stockbroker and corporate finance adviser focused on companies in the small cap sector and companies which it believes have the potential to achieve rapid growth. Authorised by the FSA and a member of the London Stock Exchange, it provides services to corporate clients traded on AIM or PLUS or which are at the pre-IPO stage. It is currently broker to 12 AIM traded companies with market capitalisations ranging from circa GBP2 million to GBP330 million and PLUS Corporate Adviser to 34 PLUS quoted companies, all of these clients pay annual retainers to the Company.
In the last 12 months, the Company has been involved in fundraisings for its clients totalling approximately GBP140 million. The Company also holds a small portfolio of quoted and unquoted investments, principally comprising shares, options or warrants in its corporate clients. These have generally been acquired in the course of providing services to these corporate clients. The Company currently has 42,656,000 ordinary shares in issue.
Strand Partners Limited is the Nominated Adviser and together with St Helen's Capital Plc is Joint Broker to the Company.
History
The Company, which began trading on OFEX (now known as PLUS) in December 2000, had by January 2007 established itself as the leading PLUS Corporate Adviser. In February 2007, Ruari McGirr and Sebastian Wykeham joined St Helen's Capital with the intention of strengthening the Company's existing business and accelerating its expansion into the AIM market. Since that time, it has successfully repositioned itself as a provider of corporate finance and corporate broking services to AIM traded, PLUS-quoted and unlisted companies. St Helen's Capital's overall aim is to establish long-term relationships with its corporate and institutional clients based on an in-depth understanding of their requirements and those of the market.
Corporate Finance
St Helen's Capital acts as corporate finance adviser on a range of transactions across its client base, including IPOs, secondary fundraisings, pre-IPO finance, and mergers and acquisitions (including transactions under the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers).
Corporate Broking
The Company provides a comprehensive corporate broking service, focusing primarily on IPOs and secondary fundraisings, for its UK and internationally based clients. The services offered by the Company include:
- Institutional Stockbroking - particularly strong relationships with some of the leading institutional investors in the small cap sector which allows the Company access to funds for the growth of its corporate clients. St Helen's Capital also acts as the link between these investors and its corporate clients. The Company keeps its corporate clients informed of market activity and expectations and is also able to ensure, through the correct and timely release of information to the market, that institutions fully understand the nature and direction of clients' businesses. The Directors believe that this flow of information enables St Helen's Capital to provide accurate strategic advice to its corporate clients and also underpins its ability to execute secondary fund raisings.
- Research - aims to promote high quality investment opportunities to investing institutions. The Company's research covers its own corporate clients as well as other AIM-traded companies and comprises sector, event-driven and thematic reports.
- Investor Relations - uses its institutional relationships to actively promote its corporate clients to existing and potential investors. It organises meetings with institutional investors centred on corporate clients' results and other corporate events; the feedback from these meetings allows clients to understand the concerns and expectations of their major shareholders.
PLUS Corporate Adviser
As a PLUS Corporate Adviser, St Helen's Capital is involved in bringing companies to the PLUS Market and monitoring and advising them thereafter on their compliance with that market's regulations. It has been a PLUS Corporate Adviser since 2002 and currently has 34 PLUS quoted clients, representing more than 15 per cent. of the total number of companies admitted to PLUS. In 2007, the Company was responsible for 10 admissions to PLUS, which represented over 17 per cent. of the total number of admissions to PLUS for that year.
US Institutional Investors
In November 2007 St Helen's Capital entered into an agreement with Robert R. Meredith & Co, Inc, a US broker dealer based in New York, which allows the Company, through Robert R. Meredith & Co. Inc, to manage its relationships with institutional investors in the US. The Company has not yet conducted any business in the US. However, the Directors believe that this agreement will provide the Company with additional flexibility both as regards the companies for which it raises funds and the sources of those funds.
Strategy
The Directors intend to build on the existing strengths and market presence of the Company to develop its client base further in terms of numbers, size and quality and to maximise revenue generation by it. St Helen's Capital is not currently a nominated adviser under the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers and has no current plans to become one, although the Directors will continue to assess this position on an ongoing basis. The Directors believe that acting solely as a broker allows St Helen's Capital to provide independent advice to its clients whilst also providing the Company with a strong and differentiated marketing platform, together with the benefits of working with (and offering work to) a range of nominated advisers.
Although the market in which the Company operates is highly competitive, the Directors believe that there is a shortage of advisers providing high quality specialised investment banking services exclusively to the small cap corporate sector and their investors. They also believe that the Company's personnel have the right combination of skills and experience to successfully expand the Company's core broking business, focused on the small cap sector, aiming to become the broker of choice in its target market.
Current Trading and Prospects
AIM and PLUS continue to demonstrate reasonable levels of activity and the Directors expect this to continue. Notwithstanding the current unsettled nature of the market, St Helen's Capital has maintained an inflow of new transactions and business opportunities which have allowed the Directors to focus the efforts of the Company on selected transactions which they believe will further enhance the Company's credentials and public profile. The Directors also believe that considerable opportunities remain in the small cap sector and that the Company's structure and expertise mean that St Helen's Capital is well placed to capitalise on the transactions and relationships that present themselves to the Company.
As testament to the Company's growth abilities, results for the six months ended 30 September 2007 showed pre-tax profits of GBP1.13m (2006: loss GBP90,000) and underlying turnover up 460% to GBP2.3m (2006: GBP0.5m). As at 22 February 2008, the Company had cash reserves of approximately GBP2 million.
Directors
Mark Warde-Norbury (age 45) - Executive Chairman
Mark spent 14 years with the investment bank Robert Fleming and Co Limited ("Robert Fleming") and its subsidiary, Save & Prosper Group Limited, where as a senior manager he helped to launch and manage the Robert Fleming Private Banking operations in the UK. On leaving in 1998 he established Capital Strategy Plc (now St Helen's Capital). Mark's other directorships include Flight & Partners Limited and he has previously been a director of STG Holdings Plc, an investment holding company, and HTTP Technology Inc., which was subsequently renamed MedicSight, Inc. With effect from 30 September 2008, Mark Warde-Norbury will become Non Executive Chairman of the Company.
Ruari McGirr (age 40) - Chief Executive Officer
Ruari has over 13 years' experience of providing corporate finance advice and corporate broking services to small cap companies. He has advised on all aspects of public company business, including fund raising, mergers and acquisitions, disposals and investor relations, with City firms including Granville Davies Limited, Dresdner Kleinwort Limited, Brown Shipley Limited and Daniel Stewart Limited. Ruari qualified as a chartered accountant and subsequently joined the corporate finance group at KPMG.
Sebastian Wykeham (age 38) - Executive Director
Sebastian started his City career in July 1996 with Singer & Friedlander Investment Management Limited ("Singer & Friedlander") as a fund manager in their UK small cap team. The portfolio of funds managed by the team included the headline Singer & Friedlander small cap fund, 3 VCT funds, various EIS funds and other small cap mandates. He left Singer & Friedlander in September 2003 and joined Daniel Stewart Limited's small cap broking team where he was instrumental in developing important institutional contacts and in raising funds for corporate clients.
Barry Hocken (age 65) - Executive Director
Barry began his career in the City in 1960 when he joined the stock jobbing firm of Smith Brothers Limited as a "Blue Button" on the floor of the London Stock Exchange. He then went on to become a market maker with Smith New Court before joining JP Jenkins Limited in 1993 where he firstly established Newstrack Limited, an online small cap data and announcement service, before becoming one of the founders of OFEX (now PLUS) in 1995. Barry joined St Helen's Capital in 2004 to develop its PLUS client base.
Howard Flight (age 60) - Non Executive Director
Howard has worked for 35 years in the financial services industry, for amongst others, N M Rothschild & Sons Limited and HSBC's merchant bank in Hong Kong and India. In 1979 he established what became in 1986 Guinness Flight Global Asset Management Limited. Between 1997 and 2005 he was the MP for Arundel & South Downs, during which time he held the Opposition Front Bench briefs of Shadow Economic Secretary, Postmaster General and Chief Secretary to the Treasury. From 1999 to 2004 he had Shadow Treasury responsibilities for the Financial Services Industry, Financial Regulations and Pensions. Currently, Howard is a director of
Investec Asset Management Limited, Chairman of CIM Investment Management Limited, Speymill Property Managers Limited and the Loudwater Trust Limited. Howard is also a commissioner of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and a director of a number of other financial services companies.
Jon Pither (age 73) - Non Executive Director
Jon has considerable experience of public and private companies. For 20 years, from 1969, he developed Amari Plc, an international group of engineering companies, acquired by Glynwed International Plc in 1988. Subsequently, he has developed a range of corporate interests, including the Chairmanship of Active Capital Trust Plc, and a number of other public and private companies, including AIM listed Northern Bear Plc. He is also Deputy Chairman of The Alumasc Group Plc and Jourdan Plc.
St Helens Capital plc
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