AGM Statement
29 Mai 2003 - 1:00PM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:6710L
Evolution Group PLC
29 May 2003
29 May 2003
The Evolution Group Plc
Trading Update
Move to the Official List
At today's Annual General Meeting of The Evolution Group Plc (the "Group"), the
AIM listed investment bank and retail fund management group, Chairman Richard
Griffiths gave the following update to shareholders.
Trading update
I am able to confirm that the Group is continuing to make progress in the
current period in line with expectations. Evolution Beeson Gregory's investment
banking business has made an encouraging start to the year in both its corporate
finance and sales and trading activities. Christows has performed well against a
background of continued difficult markets, is winning new funds under management
and progressing along its planned strategic development path. IP2IPO's
announcement of a third university partnership, with King's College London, is a
further milestone in its development and the pipeline of spin-outs from its
existing partnerships has continued this year. The Group overall has traded
profitably on a year to date basis.
Transfer of shares from AIM to Official List.
I am pleased to announce that the Group has today delivered to the UK Listing
Authority for approval an exempt listing document and made an application to the
UK Listing Authority for Evolution Group's issued Ordinary Shares to be admitted
to the Official List and to trading on The London Stock Exchange main market for
listed securities. It is anticipated the shares will be admitted to listing on
26 June 2003 and that trading on AIM will cease at close of business the
previous day. The Board believes this represents a significant milestone in the
further development of the Group providing potentially a broader market for the
shares and allowing for further development of the shareholder base.
Copies of the Exempt Listing Document for the Introduction to the Official List
have been submitted to the UK Listing Authority ("UKLA") and will shortly be
made available via UKLA's document viewing facility, which is located at:
The Financial Services Authority
25 The Northern Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5HS
Tel: 020 7676 1000
Enquiries:
The Evolution Group Plc 020 7488 4040
Richard Griffiths, Chairman
Alex Snow, Chief Executive
Graeme Dell, Finance Director
Hogarth Partnership Limited 020 7357 9477
Andrew Jaques/Georgina Briscoe
Brewin Dolphin Securities Limited 0141 221 7733
Ken Fleming/Jon Fitzpatrick
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Evolution Group Plc
The Evolution Group is the holding company of Evolution Beeson Gregory,
Christows and IP2IPO. The Evolution Group is listed on AIM with a current
market capitalization of approximately #120 million.
Evolution Beeson Gregory ("EVBG") aims to be the "leading investment bank to
small and mid cap companies". This is based upon the belief that it has the
strategy and capabilities to achieve this goal, coupled with the fact that the
market opportunity exists for this strategy to be a successful and profitable
one.
The company's capabilities are strong across the primary and secondary equity
market and central to this is the presence of a leading corporate retained
client base in the small and mid cap sector. We service these clients by
providing the full range of corporate finance, research, market making and sales
activities and delivering all of these with a strong client service culture.
Christows is a leading independent firm of stockbrokers and portfolio managers
which, from its foundation in 1991 in Exeter, has always set out to provide a
traditional stockbroking service whilst developing an innovative product
offering. Christows now also operates from London and Bournemouth and has 55
staff across account executive, research, sales and administration staff.
As at 31 December 2002, Christows had a total of #326m client funds under
management, on over three quarters of which it receives a recurring fee based
commission. Christows' strategy for 2003 is one of controlled growth of the
funds under management by organic means through the sales and account executive
teams and by the recruitment of like minded account executives who can attract
new clients to the company.
IP2IPO is a majority owned subsidiary of Evolution Beeson Gregory. IP2IPO's
business is the formation of long-term university partnerships in which it
receives a significant interest in the intellectual property created by its
university partners.
IP2IPO's first partnerships were with the University of Oxford's Chemistry
Department and the University of Southampton.
In May 2003, IP2IPO announced that it had entered into a partnership with King's
College London.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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