21st Dec 2005 07:06
Henderson Group plc21 December 2005 Sale of Towry Law UK 21 December 2005 Henderson Group today announces that it has entered into an agreement to sellTowry Law UK (Towry Law) to JS&P Holdings Limited (JS&P), subject to UKregulatory approval. Towry Law is a standalone independent financial adviser andgeneral insurance broker. Henderson Group will retain Towry Law International,which is no longer actively trading. On completion of the sale (anticipated in March 2006) Henderson Group willreceive £37m in cash. At 30 June 2005, Towry Law was held at £25.2m in theHenderson Group accounts, comprising goodwill of £21.5m and net tangible assetsof £3.7m. In the first half of 2005, Towry Law recorded a profit before tax of£1.6m. Part of the sale proceeds will be contributed to the Henderson Group DefinedBenefit Pension Scheme, which will retain the defined benefit pensionliabilities of the past and present Towry Law employees accrued to the date ofcompletion. The balance of the proceeds will be added to the net liquidresources of Henderson Group. An update on Henderson Group capital will beprovided to the market on 28 February 2006, when the Group announces itsfull-year 2005 results. Towry Law operated as a standalone business in Henderson Group and itscontribution to Group profits was not material. This sale will have no materialimpact on the continuing operations of Henderson Group. All Towry Law staff, apart from John Simmonds (Managing Director of Towry Law),will transfer with the business on completion of the sale. Commenting on the sale, Henderson Group Chief Executive, Roger Yates, said:'Having succeeded in developing Towry Law into an effective standalone business,we evaluated a number of options together with the management team of Towry Law.Our conclusion is that Towry Law will be better supported by a parent with agreater strategic interest in developing the business further. Towry Lawmanagement have done an excellent job of returning the business to profit in arelatively short space of time.' JS&P Executive Chairman, Andrew Fisher, said: 'The combined strength of TowryLaw and JS&P will create a significant and powerful force in the professionalfinancial services advice sector. We are very excited about the transaction andthe prospects for the larger group.' Mr Yates added: 'We stated at the time of listing in December 2003 that thestrategic focus of Henderson Group would be the development of Henderson GlobalInvestors as a leading international investment management business. This saledelivers value to Henderson Group shareholders and will allow us to become, onceagain, a pure independent fund manager.' Henderson Group plc4 BroadgateLondon EC2M 2DARegistered in EnglandNo. 2072534ABN 30 106 988 836 Outlook for the full year 2005 We have made steady progress in Henderson Global Investors (Henderson) in thesecond half of 2005. Henderson continues to benefit from the sale of highermargin products, which is expected to offset revenue lost from lower totalassets under management during 2005, and it remains on track to achieve anannualised cost-to-income ratio target of 75% in the short-term. As we have indicated previously, total assets under management for Henderson areexpected to be slightly lower at 31 December 2005 compared to 30 June 2005, dueto expected client outflows associated with the run-off of Pearl Group funds andHenderson's institutional business. Corporate costs are anticipated to be lower in the second half compared to thefirst half of 2005, as a result of lower shareholder servicing and staff costs.In addition, due to higher returns on corporate cash, Corporate is expected toapproximately breakeven for the year. In summary, Henderson Group is performing in line with the Board's expectationsand is currently on track to meet its published targets for the full year 2005. Notes to editors Information on Towry LawTowry Law comprises an independent financial advisory business and insurancebroking business, offering products and services to individuals and corporateclients in the UK. It has continued to show a steady improvement in performancethroughout 2004 and 2005, recording a £1.6m profit in the first half of 2005compared with a £0.1m loss in the first half of 2004. Information on Towry Law InternationalIn May 2004 Henderson Group announced the closure of the operations of Towry LawInternational to new business. Towry Law International (including Towry Law (Asia) HK Limited, which will remain a subsidiary of Henderson Group) continuesto work with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and other relevantregulators to ensure that all legacy product issues are dealt withappropriately. Information on JS&PJS&P is a privately owned wealth manager offering independent financial advice,investment management and employee benefits consulting to clients on a nationalbasis. It was established in 1964 and acquired in 2003 by private equity fundsmanaged by Palamon Capital Partners, LP, a firm investing across Europe. JS&P isbased in Marlow UK, with offices in the City of London, Bristol, Edinburgh,Glasgow and Aberdeen. Further information www.hendersongroupplc.com or Investor enquiriesMav WynnHenderson Group plcHead of Investor Relations+44 (0)20 7818 [email protected] Henderson Group media enquiriesUnited Kingdom - FinsburyAndrew Mitchell+44 (0)20 7251 3801Australia - CanningsGraham Canning +61 2 9252 0622 Other media enquiriesFiona CornesTowry Law UKPublic Relations Director+44 (0)7769 880 [email protected] Andrew FisherJS&P Holdings LimitedExecutive Chairman+44 (0)7736 908 [email protected] Miles Cresswell-TurnerPalamon Capital PartnersPartner+44 20 [email protected], Fenchurch Advisory Partners Limited (Fenchurch)Fenchurch is acting as sole financial adviser to Henderson Group in relation tothe transaction. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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