Last checked at 1 Feb 2010 08:18
21st Century Technology plc
("21st Century", "the Company" or "the Group)
Holding in Company
The Board of 21 Century Technology plc, the vehicle installation service provider supplying public transport CCTV and other monitoring systems, has been informed that, following a disposal in the ordinary shares of the Company on 29 January 2010, Mr Paul Frodsham is now interested in 13,525,315 ordinary shares of 10 pence each, representing approximately 14.66 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company.
| For Further Information:
21st Century Technology plc |
Wilson Jennings Finance Director |
020 8710 4016 |
| Hogarth Partnership Limited | Barnaby Fry Vicky Watkins |
020 7357 9477 |
|
Daniel Stewart & Co plc (Nomad) |
Graham Webster |
020 7776 6550 |
Notes to editors:
Launched in 1993, the company began as Toad plc and was focused on the distribution of in-car entertainment systems and vehicle security products. Under the stewardship of Chairman Peter Ward, former Chairman and CEO of Rolls Royce Motors and Cunard Line, who joined the board at the end of 2001, the company's strategy has been to reposition itself away from its legacy businesses into markets with better growth potential while leveraging its core strengths - nationwide field force of vehicle electrical engineers, call centre and distribution facilities.
In line with this strategy, in 2005 the company took a controlling stake in 21st Century Crime Prevention Services Limited which recently merged with fellow subsidiary, Toad (UK) Limited, to form 21st Century Technology Solutions Limited.
The holding company was renamed "TG21 plc" in 2005 and, to reflect the repositioning of the group, changed this name to "21st Century Technology plc" in June 2009.
21st Century is the preferred supplier of on-board CCTV systems for Arriva UK Bus and the Go-Ahead Group and has pioneered the use of WiFi with on-board CCTV systems. Transport for London commissioned the company to undertake a trial of 'LiveView' - a system which transmits live CCTV pictures from on board the bus to a public transport and police control centre. 21st Century was also the first company to successfully launch Automatic Video Downloads and a bus CCTV monitoring system (HeartbeatTM) which allow the CCTV manager to remotely download CCTV footage from the bus to his computer and check that all the CCTV systems fitted to his buses are fully operational, without leaving his desk. The company's overhead camera passenger counting device, known as PAS - Passenger Analysis System, links to the ticket machine and enables bus operators to analyse specific bus route ticket sales and passenger numbers.
21st Century's EcoManager product has made a significant contribution to sales since its launch in July 2008. The EcoManager black-box system is aimed at reducing fuel and maintenance costs, reducing emissions and improving safety for bus operators by monitoring individual driving styles against fuel consumption. Following a successful trial, in April 2009 Arriva UK committed to install the device on all their new buses and to retrofit a large proportion of their existing fleet. In November 2009 Arriva North West and Merseytravel won the industry recognised Alexander Dennis Award for Innovation following their installation of the EcoManager system which yielded fuel savings of up to 12% and associated CO2 emission reductions.