23rd May 2005 17:20
Judges Capital PLC23 May 2005 23 May 2005 JUDGES CAPITAL PLC Result of EGM Completion of the acquisition of Fire Testing Technology The Board is pleased to announce that, at the Extraordinary General Meeting heldearlier today, all the resolutions were duly passed. Following the passing of the resolutions, Judges has completed, subject toadmission of the Enlarged Issued Share Capital to trading on AIM, theacquisition of Fire Testing Technology. Application for admission to trading onAIM of 3,462,356 Ordinary Shares has been made and dealings are expected tocommence on 24 May 2005. Fire Testing Technology Founded in 1989, Fire Testing Technology designs, manufactures, installs andmaintains fire testing equipment. This equipment is used to test the effects offire on a wide variety of materials and thereby enables users of the equipmentto monitor compliance with legislation, industry standards and customerrequirements. The Directors believe that the underlying business model of FireTesting Technology focuses upon the exploitation of legislation that requiresvarious industries to test materials to establish their properties in relationto fire and heat. This testing requires the use of particular instruments. FireTesting Technology has developed a portfolio of products to effect the testing.These products meet regulatory requirements in various countries and therebyattract a wide spectrum of customers. Legal requirements in the form ofnational or international standards include ISO (International StandardsOrganisation), ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials) IEC (InternationalElectrotechnical Commission) and EN (European Norm). In addition there areindustry specific regulations and requirements such as those of the FAA (FederalAviation Administration) and IMO (International Maritime Organisation). Market Fire Testing Technology has always been a high export company and over 90% ofits sales are to customers outside the UK. These customers are based in USA,Europe and over other countries around the world (over 50 in total). The mainindustries to which Fire Testing Technology sells its products are theconstruction and building, transport, textile, plastics and electricalindustries. Financial Information on Fire Testing Technology For the financial year ended 31 May 2004, Fire Testing Technology generated aturnover of £2.84 million, an operating profit of £622,000 and a profit beforetax of £635,000 and had net assets of £1.02 million. Current Trading and Prospects In January 2005, Judges sold its holding of shares in Interior Services Groupplc and part of its holding in Fortress Holdings plc, generating total proceedsof £1.26 million and a profit on sale of £226,000. £512,000 of the proceedswere used to settle related liabilities under contracts for difference. Fire Testing Technology's trading continues to be strong. Orders on hand or inthe course of negotiation augur well for the beginning of the coming yearcommencing on 1 June 2005. Fire Testing Technology Acquisition Terms Judges has acquired Fire Testing Technology using the net proceeds of thePlacing and additional bank facilities for approximately £3.7 million (plus anexcess working capital adjustment which, as at 31 March 2005, would have been£697,000). Details of Placing In total 956,000 new Ordinary Shares have been placed on behalf of the Companyto raise £956,000 gross (£716,000 net of expenses). In total the shares beingplaced represent 27.6% per cent. of the Enlarged Issued Share Capital. Theproceeds of the Placing have been used to fund the acquisition of Fire TestingTechnology and to pay the expenses of the fundraising and Admission. Terms in this announcement have the same meaning as in the AIM AdmissionDocument dated 29 April 2005. Press enquiries: Judges CapitalDavid Cicurel 01342 323 600 Shore CapitalMike Sawbridge 0151 600 3722Alex Borrelli 020 7408 4090 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Judges Scientific