Mears Regulatory News (MER)

5 Mar 2007 07:03

Mears Group PLC02 March 2007 MEARS GROUP PLCPRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENTYEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2006 Mears Group PLC is once again pleased to announce record results for the yearended 31 December 2006. The Company has today separately announced therecommended offer for Careforce Group plc. The highlights for the year include: • Turnover (including an increase in social housing turnover of 27.7%) £241.4m (2005: £203.5m), up 18.6% • Profit before tax pre amortisation £12.5m (2005: £9.8m), up 28.4% • Diluted EPS - normalised for full tax pre amortisation 13.63p (2005: 10.80p), up 26.2% • Dividend per share 3.3p (2005: 2.6p), up 26.9% • Net cash inflow £5.0 million (2005: £4.1m) • Operating cash flow conversion 101.5% (2005: 109.2%) • Margins increased across all business segments Bob Holt, Chairman, said: "I am delighted to announce another year of strong growth in profitability andturnover, our eleventh consecutive year of record profits. The recommended offerfor Careforce Group plc which we have announced today is an expansion of ourpublic sector services into the community domiciliary care provision market.There are enormous opportunities ahead for both our existing business and thesector we are moving into. I am confident that these combined factors will takethe Group to new levels in 2007 and beyond." For further information contact Bob Holt07778 798816 David Robertson07887 705357 A presentation for analysts will be held at 10.30 a.m. today at the offices ofInvestec, 2 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7QP. Chairman's Statement I am delighted to announce another year of strong growth in profitability andturnover, our eleventh consecutive year of record profits. The proposedacquisition of Careforce Group plc is an expansion of our public sector servicesinto the community domiciliary care provision market. Your Board believes thatthere is potential to develop the sophistication of the domiciliary care marketwhich has parallels with the way in which Mears has driven the development ofthe social housing market during the last ten years. Mears was listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London StockExchange (AIM) in October 1996. We had 83 employees and turnover of £12 million.Since then we have achieved an average annual compound growth rate in profits of40%. Throughout 2006 we have continued to build long term partnership relationshipswith our customers and are delighted to welcome new customers and new employeesinto the Group. We are positioned for another stage of our development with afocused management team targeting two growing public sector markets. We've continued our strong growth this year. In line with current marketexpectations, turnover was up 18.6%, operating profit before share basedpayments and amortisation was up 26.8% and the dividend is up 26.9% compared tothe previous year. We now employ 2,500 people and we have an order book inexcess of £1 billion. It is another very strong, very consistent set of resultsthat are a credit to our employees. Consistent qualities We have been through enormous changes since being listed all those years ago butthe same four qualities have remained: • We are not afraid of hard work. • We have an open and honest approach to partnership - with clients, with tenants, with suppliers and with advisers. • We have strong financial management across the entire business. • We know how to work together effectively. We have experienced increased competition and despite that we have kept ourorder book above the £1 billion level which reflects well upon our developmentteam and their insistence upon only bidding on those contracts where ourpartnership ethos will be valued. We will not compete solely on a price model inour chosen markets. I believe it is the quality of those orders that is mostsignificant. These are long-term relationships with clients based on the rightkey performance indicators. We have never taken on short-term contracts simplyto create more flattering figures. We are building a robust business, a businessbased on real partnerships, aimed at creating value for money and improving thelives of tenants. People our primary asset We have continued to recruit from the strong talent available nationally whilstretaining the large majority of our senior team. One of the true measures, in myopinion, of being an employer of choice is that the majority of the senior teamat Mears have been with the Group for a period of in excess of 6 years. Ourretention of key employees has been successful and we adopt the same partnershipapproach to our employees. A recent employee survey indicated that the Group isstill very much a fun place to work in. At the end of January 2007 we announced the resignation of Stuart Black. I tookon the role of Chief Executive Officer in addition to my existing role asExecutive Chairman of the Group and have reduced my outside commitments in orderto devote more time to the Group. At the same time we appointed David Miles tothe Group Board as Managing Director of Mears Social Housing to bring addeddepth and insight at the operational level. I do believe that the strong management teams we have built throughout Mearswill demonstrate our resilience to these changes at Group level and I ampersonally committed to provide those teams with all the resources they requireto ensure they take the Group to the next stage of growth. Improving communities is part of our DNA Our Communities Affairs programme as part of our corporate social responsibilityremit is not just a set of policies it is at the heart of this Group. I believeour work should help to improve daily life for people. I say our job is to maketenants smile. Our proposed acquisition of Careforce Group plc brings us evercloser to the community and delivers on our strategy to become the leadingprovider of outsourced services in the community. Many of our employees come from the communities they serve and throughapprenticeship schemes we are helping to increase employment and opportunity indeprived areas. We are planning to make our workforce even more reflective ofour communities. Our community work has a real effect on people's lives. Throughout the year wehave been involved in over 220 community based initiatives which provided a realand tangible benefit to those communities. Our community affairs team voted, asour outstanding initiative, our work at the Russell Gardens sheltered housingdevelopment in Stockport. A fantastic demonstration of a local community workingwith us to create a "better life". Simon Howard from our Broadstairs office wasvoted Mears Customer Services Champion for services provided above and beyondour measure of service. He was awarded his prize at our annual conference inJanuary 2007, I commend him to you. A strong position in great markets I see excellent prospects in social housing. We continue to see a trend forlarger, longer-term contracts and that plays to our strengths as a leader inthat market. We can still maximise our advantages in terms of quality ofservice, scale, innovation and our proven commitment to working in partnership. I see no signs that change in the political climate will affect the socialhousing market significantly. The Decent Homes initiative was scheduled to endin 2010 - though we expect that to stretch to 2015. We are a leader in thestrong repairs and maintenance market and see little difficulty in continuing tobuild our business as Decent Homes comes to an end to be replaced by capitalworks programmes. The UK care market, of which domiciliary care represents a significant part, hasgrown strongly as a result of an increased trend for outsourcing to privatesector providers. The demographics of the UK show that those aged 85 plus are in the fastestgrowing age group. Government commitments that care should, where possible, becarried out in the home suggest that care provides a further opportunity forlong term growth. Looking ahead I would like to thank everyone at Mears for their commitment and hard work in2006. My firm expectation for 2007 is that the excellent team here will raisetheir game once again. I want everyone within this Group to get the most fromthe career opportunities they have and to be ambitious for themselves and thebusiness. There are enormous opportunities ahead for both our existing business and forthe sector we are moving into through the proposed acquisition of CareforceGroup plc. I remain absolutely committed to this Group and I am confident thatthese combined factors will take the Group to new levels in 2007 and beyond. Bob Holtbob.holt@mearsgroup.co.ukChairman2 March 2007 Operating and Financial Review Turnover In the year to 31 December 2006 we grew turnover to £241.4m (2005: £203.5m), anincrease of 18.6%. Within this overall figure social housing turnover was up27.7%, reflecting a strong performance in winning new business. Operating result We achieved an operating result before share based payments and amortisation of£13.0m (2005: £10.3m), a 26.8% increase. The Group managed to increase itsoperating margin from 5.1% in 2005 to 5.4% in 2006 despite the rapid increase inturnover and we continue to invest in our infrastructure ahead of the projectedorganic growth. We have had a significant overhaul of our information technologyplatform which has helped to enhance further the financial control throughoutthe business. We have also retained more work on decent homes in-house, whereHaydon, our mechanical & electrical division, has performed heating works at anumber of branches. Amortisation A charge of £0.3m arose in 2006. This represents the write down of theidentified intangible assets acquired on the acquisition of Laidlaw ScottLimited in June 2006. The excess of purchase price over the fair value of netassets is capitalised as goodwill and under IFRS is not amortised but will besubject to an annual impairment review. Share based payments The share based payment charge in 2006 was £0.5m, unchanged from 2005. There isno cash impact from this new expense which arose from the adoption ofInternational Financial Reporting Standards in 2005. Finance The Group again maintained its broadly neutral cash position throughout the 12months to 31 December 2006 and achieved a net interest receipt of £0.01m (2005:payment £0.02m). The Group's focus on tight working capital control remains acornerstone of our offering given the tremendous scale of growth beinggenerated. Tax expense £2.1m has been provided for a tax charge (2005: £2.5m). The effective rate in2006 of 17.0% (2005: 27.4%) is low due to the impact of a corporation taxdeduction received on the exercise of share options. Earnings per share (EPS) Basic EPS increased 37.5% to 17.05p (2005: 12.40p). Our diluted EPS of 15.99pwas up 39.7% on the comparative 2005 figure of 11.45p. All figures are statedafter the impact of share based payments. If a full tax rate of 30% is appliedto the pre amortisation result the diluted EPS for 2006 rises to 13.63p (2005:10.80p), a 26.2% uplift. Dividend The dividend increase is in line with our earnings growth. A final dividend of2.4p per share is proposed which combined with the 0.9p interim dividend gives atotal dividend of 3.3p per share (2005: 2.6p). In accordance with IFRS, thefinal dividend has not been recognised within the preliminary announcement as itdid not represent an obligation at the balance sheet date. The dividend is payable on 2 July 2007 to shareholders on the register on 15June 2007. Cash flow The cash flow position continues to underline our strength as a business. A netcash inflow of £5.0m was achieved in 2006 (2005: £4.1m inflow). The Groupconverted 101.5% of operating profit into operating cash flow (2005: 109.2%).Some £2.2m was used to acquire the business of Laidlaw Scott Limited and £1.4mwas absorbed on the settlement of deferred consideration on previousacquisitions. A further £1.6m was invested in new technology and operationalbases. The Group benefited from the exercise of options in 2006 by some £1.6m.Our net cash position at 31 December 2006 was £11.9m, up from £6.9m at the startof the year. Acquisition The acquisition of the entire share capital of Laidlaw Scott Limited was settledwith an initial payment of £2.2m (including costs) for net assets of £0.2m plusan additional payment of up to £2.8m subject to future performance to 31December 2007. The business was substantially debt free and generated a profitbefore tax of £0.4m on a turnover of £6.0m in the year to 31 August 2005. Postacquisition Laidlaw Scott returned a pre tax result of £0.3m on turnover of£4.2m.The business is performing in line with our expectations and as a resultof this acquisition we are now pursuing a number of tender opportunities inScotland. We continue to seek out quality businesses with the potential to help us furtherour strategic objectives and improve or broaden our services. While we monitoropportunities to acquire a business in Wales, we continue to develop organicgrowth opportunities in the area. Order book The visibility of our earnings continues to improve. £222m of new social housingwork was secured in 2006 from 15 customers. Our order book now stands at £1.1billion (2005: £1.0 billion). The element of consensus market forecast turnoversecured for 2007 is 90%, with an additional 4% due from transactional businessand also 69% of the 2008 consensus market forecast, with an additional 15% duefrom transactional business. We continue to place great emphasis on winning goodquality contracts that can provide clear and sustainable margins. We also hold ahealthy mix of Decent Homes and repairs and maintenance work, giving us abalanced position in the social housing market that is not reliant on clients'future discretionary spending. Total equity Total shareholders' equity value rose by £9.9m in 2006 from £28.1m to £38.0m at31 December 2006. Key Developments and Achievements Mobilised contracts Over the last twelve months the following key contracts have come on-stream.These are: • London Borough of Greenwich, five-year Decent Homes contract. • Portsmouth City Council, three-year repair and maintenance contract. • Kensington Housing Trust, five-year repair and void maintenance contract. • London Borough of Kingston upon Thames, seven-year repair and void maintenance contract. • Maidstone Housing Trust - A five-year repair and maintenance contract. • Nottingham City Homes, five-year Decent Homes contract. • GM Procure - We have been appointed as a primary contractor partner with GM Procure to deliver Decent Homes services to authorities in the North West . Again we believe our existing contract with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council has been instrumental in securing this work. • Cross Keys Homes in Peterborough - We have secured a contract with an existing customer to provide the cyclical decorating for a period of seven years. Major contract wins In addition to the mobilised contracts we have also achieved a number of majorsuccesses, winning social housing contracts valued at £222m in total over thelast year. Highlights included: • Ealing Homes - The addition of a new Decent Homes contract to add to our existing repairs and maintenance contract. We are one of the client's core partners and believe we are in a strong position to gain a significant share. Our client has already secured funding of £205m with potential for further additional funding. • Orbit Homes - A five-year repair and maintenance contract. • Twynham Housing Association in Dorset and Hampshire - A two-year repair and void maintenance contract. • Town and Country Housing Association in Kent and Sussex - We have secured a new five-year Decent Homes contract. • Cross Keys Homes in Peterborough - We have secured a contract with an existing customer to provide the gas maintenance for a period of five years. • Brighton and Hove City Council - A five-year repair and void maintenance contract. • Shoreline Housing Association - a four-year gas maintenance contract. • Watford Council - a three-year gas maintenance contract. Awards We are delighted that during the year we have received several awardsrecognising our commitment to customers, staff and investors: • Mears was awarded TPAS (Tenant Participation Advisory Service) Quality Standard Mark, which assesses the quality of resident involvement with contractors, tenants and landlords. This is the first time TPAS has awarded its quality mark to a supplier or contractor. • We were awarded 'Partnering Contractor of the Year' at the UK Housing Excellence Awards. • Mears and Richmond Housing Partnership won the 'Making Partnerships Work' award at the London Excellence Awards. • The Group achieved Age Positive Employer Champion status from the Department of Work and Pensions. • Mears was awarded Occupational Health and Safety Gold Award from RoSPA. • At the South West Financial and Corporate Communications Awards we were successful in the following categories: • 'Company of the Year' • 'Best Commitment to Environmental and Social Responsibility' • 'Best Communicators of the Year' We believe we are well placed to continue delivering on 'improving homes,improving neighbourhoods, improving lives'. Training and development of staff We are an established Investor in People and we are meeting the challenge of theskills shortage in our sector through a comprehensive national programme ofemployee development, together with structured work experience and trainingprogrammes for existing and prospective employees. This year we have been taking our trade professionals through a skills-based NVQprogramme and we have developed a unique Mears Professional Development Customerand Community Care NVQ to further raise our customer service standards Operational expertise. The Mears Way committee is headed by senior management from within the Group andis responsible for developing and documenting best practice and ensuring that weuse the benefits of scale without losing local focus. This includes our approachto the procurement of materials through to the delivery of customer service. Themain focus in 2006 was best practice customer care. The fact that we are nowachieving record levels of customer satisfaction across our business is atestament to that group's success. The overhaul of our core operational system, MCM, has given we believe the bestsystem of its kind in the market. It has modules both for response repairs andfor decent homes work. We are expanding the use of hand held technology acrossan increasing number of contracts and our new management KPI dashboard, enablesreal time analysis of performance across all branches. Customer and Community care With 40% of our staff participating in community improvement projects, Mears nowhas one of the highest levels of volunteering of any company of its size in theUK. Over 12,000 hours of community work was undertaken with 220 projectssupported, double that of the levels in 2005. It is by building strong community links that Mears improves its overall servicelevels, gets to understand customer needs better and brings all staff intodirect contact with the community they are serving. The CSR section of this annual report provides more detail around our work butgiven the Government strategic shift from Decent Homes alone, to one ofdeveloping Sustainable Communities, Mears is very well placed to benefit fromthis change. Outlook Our order book is at record levels with a very healthy new business pipeline. Government policy, which both embraces investment in communities and ongoingpublic private sector partnership, continues to generate new opportunities. Our investment in people, IT and operational best practice ensures we have thecapability to make the most of the growth opportunity. Bob Holt, Chief ExecutiveBob.holt@mearsgroup.co.uk David Robertson, Finance Directordavid.robertson@mearsgroup.co.uk 2 March 2007 Consolidated income statement For the year ended 31 December 2006 ----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- -------- 2006 2006 2005 2005 Note £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- --------Sales revenue 2 241,414 203,543Cost of sales (174,399) (144,954)----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- --------Gross profit 67,015 58,589Other administrative expenses (53,970) (48,302)----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- --------Operating result before sharebased 2 13,045 10,287payments and intangible ----- ------- ------- ------- --------amortisation-----------------------Intangible amortisation (255) -Share based payments (535) (515)----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- --------Total administrative costs (54,760) (48,817)----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- --------Operating result 12,255 9,772Finance income 130 70Finance costs (118) (92)----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- --------Result for the year before tax 12,267 9,750Tax expense 3 (2,068) (2,540)----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- --------Net result for the year 10,199 7,210----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- -------- Earnings per shareBasic 5 17.05p 12.40pDiluted 5 15.99p 11.45p----------------------- ----- ------- ------- ------- -------- All activities are continuing. Consolidated balance sheet At 31 December 2006 ---------------------------------- ------- -------- 2006 2005 £'000 £'000---------------------------------- ------- --------AssetsNon-currentGoodwill 13,811 10,647Intangible assets 1,029 -Property, plant and equipment 5,716 5,827Deferred tax asset 3,000 3,500---------------------------------- ------- -------- 23,556 19,974---------------------------------- ------- --------CurrentInventories 9,104 5,363Trade and other receivables 40,334 31,852Cash at bank and in hand 12,127 9,774---------------------------------- ------- -------- 61,565 46,989---------------------------------- ------- -------- Total assets 85,121 66,963---------------------------------- ------- -------- EquityEquity attributable to the shareholders of Mears Group PLCCalled up share capital 615 588Share premium account 5,547 3,960Share based payment reserve 1,485 1,040Retained earnings 30,363 22,466---------------------------------- ------- --------Total equity 38,010 28,054---------------------------------- ------- -------- LiabilitiesNon-currentOther liabilities 2,876 855---------------------------------- ------- -------- 2,876 855---------------------------------- ------- --------CurrentShort term borrowings and overdrafts 228 2,832Trade and other payables 42,186 33,215Current tax liabilities 1,438 1,764Pension and other employee benefits 383 243---------------------------------- ------- --------Current liabilities 44,235 38,054---------------------------------- ------- --------Total liabilities 47,111 38,909---------------------------------- ------- --------Total equity and liabilities 85,121 66,963---------------------------------- ------- -------- Consolidated statement of recognised income and expense For the year ended 31 December 2006 --------------------------------- -------- -------- 2006 2005 £'000 £'000--------------------------------- -------- --------Actuarial losses on defined benefit pension scheme (77) (101)(Decrease) Increase in deferred tax asset (550) 1,270--------------------------------- -------- --------Net income recognised directly to equity (627) 1,169Profit for the financial period 10,199 7,210--------------------------------- -------- --------Total recognised income and expense for the period 9,572 8,379--------------------------------- -------- -------- Consolidated cash flow statement For the year ended 31 December 2006 ------------------------------ ------- -------- -------- 2006 2005 Note £'000 £'000------------------------------ ------- -------- --------Operating activitiesResult for the year before tax 12,267 9,750Adjustments 6 2,312 1,974Change in inventories (3,468) (735)Change in operating receivables (7,697) (1,442)Change in operating payables 9,023 1,120------------------------------ ------- -------- --------Cash inflow from operating activities before taxes 12,437 10,667paidTaxes paid (2,394) (2,271)------------------------------ ------- -------- -------- 10,043 8,396------------------------------ ------- -------- --------Investing activitiesAdditions to property, plant and equipment (1,593) (3,125)Proceeds from disposals of property, plant and 146 330equipmentAcquisition of subsidiary undertaking, net of cash (3,543) (755)Interest received 136 67------------------------------ ------- -------- -------- (4,854) (3,483)------------------------------ ------- -------- --------Financing activitiesProceeds from share issue 1,614 607Discharge of finance lease liability (46) (75)Interest paid (124) (96)Dividends paid (1,676) (1,225)------------------------------ ------- -------- -------- (232) (789)------------------------------ ------- -------- --------Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year 6,942 2,818Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 4,957 4,124------------------------------ ------- -------- --------Cash and cash equivalents, end of year 11,899 6,942------------------------------ ------- -------- -------- Cash and cash equivalents is comprised as follows:Cash at bank and in hand 12,127 9,774Short term borrowings and overdrafts (228) (2,832)------------------------------ ------- -------- --------Cash and cash equivalents 11,899 6,942------------------------------ ------- -------- -------- Notes to the preliminary announcement For the year ended 31 December 2006 1. Basis of preparation The preliminary announcement contains extracts from the full financialstatements. The full financial statements have been prepared in accordance withInternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the EuropeanUnion and also in accordance with IFRS as issued by the International AccountingStandards Board. The financial statements are prepared under the historical costconvention. The accounting policies remain unchanged from the previous year. 2. Segment reporting The Group operates three business segments: social housing, mechanical andelectrical (M&E) and vehicle distribution. All of the Group's activities arecarried out within the United Kingdom. The table below forms an extract from that to be included in the full financialstatements. 2006 2005---------- ------- ------ -------- ------- ------ ------ ------- ------ Social Vehicle Social Vehicle housing M&E distribution Total housing M&E distribution Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000Business segments ---------- ------- ------ -------- ------- ------ ------ ------- ------Revenue 184,017 49,069 8,328 241,414 144,086 50,820 8,637 203,543---------- ------- ------ -------- ------- ------ ------ ------- ------Operatingresult preshare basedpayments andamortisation 10,697 1,937 411 13,045 7,964 1,908 415 10,287--------- ------- ------ -------- ------- ------- ------ ------- ------- 3. Tax expense The tax charge represents:------------------------------------ -------- -------- 2006 2005 £'000 £'000------------------------------------ -------- --------United Kingdom corporation tax effective rate 17.0% (27.4%) 2,118 2,670Reversal of deferred tax timing differences (50) (130)------------------------------------ -------- --------Tax expense 2,068 2,540------------------------------------ -------- -------- 4. Dividends The following dividends were declared on ordinary shares in the year:------------------------------------ ------- --------- 2006 2005 £'000 £'000------------------------------------ ------- ---------Final 2005 dividend of 1.90p (2005: final 2004 dividend of1.40p) per share 1,125 815Interim 2006 dividend of 0.90p (2005: interim 2005 dividendof 550 4100.70p) per share ------- --------------------------------------------- 1,675 1,225------------------------------------ ------- --------- The proposed final dividend of 2.40p per share has not been included within thepreliminary announcement as no obligation existed at 31 December 2006. 5. Earnings per share Basic earnings per share is based on equity earnings of £10.20m (2005: £7.21m)and 59.82m (2005: 58.16m) ordinary shares at 1p each, being the average numberof shares in issue during the year. For diluted earnings per share the average number of shares in issue isincreased to 63.79m (2005: 62.97m) to reflect the potential dilution effect ofemployee share schemes. A normalised earnings per share is disclosed in order to show performanceundistorted by amortisation of intangibles and the tax effect of share options.The normalised earnings per share is based on equity earnings of £8.69m (2005:£6.80m). Basic Diluted----------------------------- -------- ------ ------ ----------------------------------- -------- ------ ------ ------ 2006 2005 2006 2005 p p p p----------------------------- -------- ------ ------ ------Earnings per share 17.05 12.40 15.99 11.45Effect of amortisation of intangibles of£0.26m (2005: £-) 0.35 - 0.33 -Effect of full tax adjustment of £1.77m(2005: £0.41m) (2.87) (0.70) (2.69) (0.65)----------------------------- -------- ------ ------ ------Normalised pre amortisation earnings pershare 14.53 11.70 13.63 10.80----------------------------- -------- ------ ------ ------ 6. Notes to consolidated cash flow statement The following non operating cash flow adjustments have been made to the pre-taxresult for the year: -------------------- ------------------------- ------- 2006 2005 £'000 £'000-------------------- ------------------------- -------Depreciation 1,513 1,458Loss/(profit) on disposal of fixed assets 21 (21)Amortisation 255 -Share based payments 535 515Finance income (130) (70)Finance cost 118 92-------------------- ------------------------- ------- Total 2,312 1,974-------------------- ------------------------- ------- 7. Publication of Non Statutory Accounts The financial information set out in the announcement does not constitute theGroup's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2006 or 2005. Thefinancial information for the year ended 31 December 2005 is derived from thestatutory accounts for that year which have been delivered to the Registrar ofCompanies. The auditors reported on those accounts; their report was unqualifiedand did not contain a statement under s.237(2) or (3) Companies Act 1985. Thestatutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2006 will be finalised on thebasis of the financial information presented by the Directors in thispreliminary announcement and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange