Matchtech Group plc - Admission to AIM and Placing
27/10/2006
Matchtech Group plc (“Matchtech” the “Group” or the “Company”), the fast-growing technical recruitment group, announced details of its admission to AIM in October 2006.
Highlights
- The Placing Price was 310p per Ordinary Share (the “Placing Price”);
- Based on the Placing Price and 22,420,406 Ordinary Shares in issue, Matchtech's market capitalisation was £69.5 million on Admission (£72.4 million including outstanding EMI options*);
- The Placing raised £22.0 million before expenses for the selling shareholders; no new money was raised for the Group
- On Admission, 31.7% of the Group’s issued share capital will be held by institutional investors and 53.2% by the Group’s Directors;
- Admission to AIM and commencement of dealings took place on 27 October 2006.
* On Admission, EMI options over 946,026 Ordinary Shares will remain unexercised under the Existing Share Scheme
George Materna, Chairman of Matchtech, commented:
“We have been extremely encouraged by the response we have received from the investment community to our story. This IPO shows that there is good investor demand for cash generative businesses with a proven track record and good growth potential.”
“Becoming a publicly listed company will further raise Matchtech’s profile and will enable us to attract and incentivise key employees who are the lifeblood of any recruitment business. It is a testament to the hard work of everyone in the Group that we have reached this milestone and are now so strongly positioned for the future.”
“Matchtech is already the 4th largest technical and engineering recruitment company in the UK. Our growth is underpinned by servicing clients involved in long-term, capital goods, capital asset and infrastructure projects. With the efficiencies that come from our differentiated business model based on a single site operation near Southampton, we believe that the Matchtech story has a great deal further to go.”
Background on Matchtech
Matchtech specialises in the provision of contract and permanent staff in the Engineering, Built Environment and Support Services sectors across the UK.
It was established in 1984 and has grown organically to become the UK’s 4th largest technical and engineering recruitment specialist and one of the UK’s 20 largest recruitment companies (Source: Recruitment International Top 100 Report – August 2006).
The candidates placed by Matchtech are supplied to clients through a variety of client relationships, from contingency-based placements through to master vendor contracts. The Engineering and Built Environment recruitment markets are being driven and are underpinned by the demand for qualified project and contract staff needed for the design, construction, management and maintenance of long-term capital assets and infrastructure projects funded by both the private and public sectors.
Operating from a single site near Southampton, Matchtech provides predominantly professionally-qualified candidates to clients in a broad range of industries including oil and petrochemicals, marine, aerospace, water, electronics, civil engineering, building structures and transport infrastructure. It structures its business across three main sectors: Engineering, Built Environment and Support Services.
Summary financial information
Set out below is a summary of the Group’s financial information for the three years ended 31 July 2006:
| Year ended 31 July 2004 | Year ended 31 July 2005 | Year ended 31 July 2006 | |
| £000’s | £000’s | £000’s | |
| Turnover | 94,828 | 124,149 | 158,128 |
| Gross profit (NFI) | 13,172 | 16,953 | 21,039 |
| Operating profit | 4,470 | 5,971 | 8,392 |
| Profit before tax | 4,078 | 5,465 | 7,843 |
| Profit after tax | 2,760 | 3,665 | 5,745 |
The Group’s financial information for the three years ended 31 July 2006 has been prepared under UK GAAP and has been adjusted to take account of FRS 20 ‘Share-based Payment’.
Net Fee Income (“NFI”) in the year ended 31 July 2006 of £21.0 million was 24.1 per cent. up on the previous year, and represented a gross margin of 13.3 per cent. Operating profit in the year ended 31 July 2006 was 40.5 per cent. up on the previous year, and represented a conversion rate on NFI of 39.9 per cent.
Reasons for the Placing and Admission
The Directors believe that Admission will:
- benefit the Company by raising its profile amongst clients and candidates;
- provide the selling shareholders with an opportunity to realise part of the value of their investment while remaining significant shareholders of the Company going forward; and
- enable the Group to continue to attract, retain, motivate, and incentivise key employees through their shareholdings, existing option arrangements and the proposed share incentive schemes.
Placing statistics
| Placing Price | 310p |
| Number of Sale Shares being placed on behalf of the Selling Shareholders | 22,420,406 |
| Percentage of the Company’s issued share capital being placed pursuant to the Placing | 31.7 per cent. |
| Market capitalisation of the Company at the Placing Price on Admission | £69.5 million |
| AIM symbol | MTEC |
*On Admission, EMI options over 946,026 Ordinary Shares will remain unexercised under the Existing Share Scheme
For further information please contact:
| Matchtech Group plc | 01489 898989 |
| George Materna, Chairman Paul Raine, Managing Director Tony Dyer, Finance Director | |
| Arbuthnot Securities Limited | 020 7012 2000 |
| Andrew Fullerton / Ian Williams | |
| Hogarth Partnership (for Matchtech) | 020 7357 9477 |
| John Olsen / James Longfield / Fiona Noblet |