30th Apr 2008 07:02
Mission Capital PLC30 April 2008 30 April 2008 Mission Capital Plc (the "Company") AGM Statement The Company's interim results for the half-year to 31 March 2008 will bereleased at the end of June. These will be the first results to which the newIFRS standards will apply. The Company has announced separately today the appointment of an additionalindependent Non-Executive Director, Philip Goldenberg. Karspace Management Limited, the Company's car-park operating business, has hada satisfactory first half, retaining one of its major National Health Servicecontracts which had been subject to review. The remainder of the year to 30September 2008 will be challenging, but the management team continues to makegood progress and the outlook is positive. The Athens portfolio (in which the Company has a 20% shareholding) which wasacquired by Athens at a cost of £38.25m in December 2006, was independentlyvalued by King Sturge, the original valuers, as at 31 December 2007 at £33.9m.This has been updated by King Sturge with a desktop valuation as at 31 March2008 of £32.66m. Given current property market conditions, the Board does notexpect that the Company will recover any of its investment in Athens. It is also appropriate to update shareholders as regards the status of thelitigation relating to the former Executive Chairman, Neil Sinclair and theformer Managing Director, Emma Sinclair . Following the termination of theirservice contracts on 5 February 2008, and despite being legally obliged toreturn all Company property, provide Company computer passwords and leave theCompany's premises, the Sinclairs refused to do so. As a result, the Board wasforced that day to obtain a High Court injunction to ensure that the Company'sproperty and assets were returned to it, and that the Sinclairs left itspremises. The Sinclairs then commenced their own proceedings against the Company andsought various injunctions against it, including their restoration as executivesand employees of the Company and to obtain the Court's permission to bring aderivative action (using the Company's money) against the non-executiveDirectors of the Company. The Sinclairs lost these applications at the HighCourt on 12 March 2008 when the Court made orders for costs in the Company'sfavour against them. Despite the Company's solicitors' written requests forpayment, these costs have still not been paid by the Sinclairs. In preparing its evidence in response to the Sinclairs' court applications, itcame to the Company's attention that Mr Sinclair and Ms Sinclair had improperlyapplied the Company's funds in certain matters of their personal expenditure(some of which have been admitted by the Sinclairs). The Company is now takingaction to recover these funds (approximately £35,000) from the Sinclairs whilecontinuing to investigate further personal expenditure by the Sinclairs . As a result of this litigation, the Company has incurred exceptional legal andother professional expenses, which to date exceed £ 200,000 which the Companywill seek to recover from the two former executive directors. Since 5 February2008, the Board (in conjunction with the Company's auditors) established thatthere were previously unrecognised liabilities of the Company of approximately £225,000. Recognition of these legal and professional expenses and liabilities,aggregating to approximately £ 425,000, is expected to result in a furthertrading loss on a consolidated basis for the Group in the half year to 31 March2008 and in an overall loss for the year to 30 September 2008. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
MCAP.L