3rd Oct 2005 14:17
Raven Mount plc03 October 2005 RAVEN MOUNT PLC ("Raven Mount" or the "Company") Completion of disposal of 50 per cent. Interest in Raven Country andMetropolitan("RC&M") The Board of Raven Mount announces that the Company has completed the sale ofits 50 per cent. interest in RC&M at book value realising £10.4 million in cashfrom the disposal of its shares and repayment of inter company debt. Restructuring of Raven Audley Court Plc ("RAC") Joint Venture The Board also announces that it has completed the restructuring of its RACjoint venture. The Company has increased its stake in RAC from 50 per cent. to75 per cent. in return for providing a mezzanine finance facility of £25 millionwhich together with external bank debt should give RAC access to approximately£100 million to fund its development programme. The remaining 25 per cent. ofRAC will be owned by the RAC management team, including Nick Sanderson, ChiefExecutive of RAC. RAC announces the appointment of Giles Rabbetts as LandDirector and Ben Krauze as Planning Director. RAC will be undertaking both the development and, once completed, the managementof the assisted living facilities. Whilst we believe this business has thepotential to be highly profitable in the long term, RAC will generate losses inthe short term whilst the business is built up. RAC currently manages 3assisted living facilities, including the Company's facility at Flete (Devon),and will be responsible for obtaining planning, developing and managing another3 properties already acquired by the Company. RAC is currently in negotiationsto purchase a number of other sites. Further details will be provided with theyear end financial statements. Whilst the Board remains gloomy as to the UK housing market generally, webelieve the demographics and short supply of assisted living product makes thisan exciting time to be investing in this sector. Bim Sandhu, Chief Executive of Raven Mount Plc commented: "I am pleased that we have managed to complete the sale of our interest in HighRoyds, Leeds for cash at book value in a difficult housing market. The cashresources released will be utilised in the development of other businesssectors, including the RAC business, where we believe profit margins will behigher in the long term. We look forward to working with the RAC team in developing the business into asignificant player in the fast expanding assisted living market." Nick Sanderson, Chief Executive of Raven Audley Court Plc, commented: "This restructuring represents the start of a very exciting period. Increasedaffluence amongst Britain's elderly and their understandable desire to seeimprovement in their lifestyle options represents a massive opportunity for us." Enquires:Bim Sandhu 020 7235 0422 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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