News Releases
News releases 2009
16 June 2009
First Day of Dealings
Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc (AIM:HWH), the integrated corporate finance and broking house focusing on small and mid-cap companies, today announces the commencement of dealings of its Ordinary Shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. The Admission of Hanson Westhouse follows yesterday's general meeting of SovGEM Limited ("SovGEM") where shareholders approved, inter alia, the acquisition of Hanson Westhouse Holdings Limited, the holding company of Hanson Westhouse Limited, and the change of the Company's name to Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc.
Highlights
- The reverse takeover of SovGEM Limited by Hanson Westhouse Holdings Limited completed successfully
- SovGEM Limited renamed Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc
- Authorised share capital of the Company consolidated by a ratio of 5:1
- Placing of new shares at 59.5p per share successfully raised £850,000
- Board changes include the appointment of William Staple as Chief Executive, Jonathan Azis as Finance Director, and Sir Hayden Phillips and Andrew Beeson as Non-executive Directors of the Company. Garth Milne remains as Chairman of the Company.
- Advisory Panel appointed includes Christopher Holdsworth Hunt, Peter Meinertzhagen, Christopher Munro, Mark Greaves, Robert Hanson and Tim Stephenson
- New website containing the information required under AIM Rule 26 available at www.westhousesecurities.com
William Staple, Chief Executive of Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc, said: "We are delighted that the acquisition has now been completed and that the enlarged group under the new name of Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc has commenced trading on AIM.
"This transaction makes both strategic and commercial sense as we believe there is a great and timely opportunity to grow a high-quality relationship-based broking and corporate finance business focusing on small and medium-sized companies. The combination of Hanson Westhouse and SovGEM with, in particular, our experience in emerging markets, notably China, will create a well capitalised platform to exploit these opportunities. In addition the support we will receive from our extremely experienced non-executive directors and advisory panel will be invaluable going forward."
For further information:
Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc |
|
| William Staple, Chief Executive | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7601 6100 |
| william.staple@westhousesecurities.com | www.westhousesecurities.com |
| Nominated Adviser Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance Limited |
|
| Azhic Basirov / Joanne Royden-Turner | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7131 4000 |
| corpfinance@smith.williamson.co.uk | www.smith.williamson.co.uk |
| Broker Hanson Westhouse Limited |
|
| Tim Metcalfe | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7601 6100 |
| tim.metcalfe@westhousesecurities.com | www.westhousesecurities.com |
Media enquiries:
| Abchurch Communications Limited | |
| Henry Harrison-Topham / Jack Ballantyne | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7714 |
| jack.ballantyne@abchurch-group.com | www.abchurch-group.com |
Information on Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc
Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc holds 100% of the shares in the regulated, operating business, Hanson Westhouse Limited. Headquartered in the City of London, the business of Hanson Westhouse Limited started in 2004 (initially trading as Westhouse Securities LLP). Hanson Westhouse Limited offers both corporate advisory and broking services to small and medium sized public and private companies. It has a particular specialisation in servicing companies admitted to trading on the AIM market with international operations, particularly in the natural resources sector and those based in Asia.
Hanson Westhouse Limited is authorised and regulated by the FSA, is a member of the London Stock Exchange and is a registered AIM nominated adviser and broker.
Hanson Westhouse Limited currently employs over 30 staff headed by William Staple, the Chief Executive. Employees are divided approximately equally between the Corporate Advisory department, the Corporate Broking department and the Research department (excluding senior management and administration staff).
Hanson Westhouse Limited currently has 32 retained publicly traded clients in a range of sectors including 15 in the natural resources sector and 12 which have operations in Asia. The majority of the publicly traded clients are traded on AIM. In addition, Hanson Westhouse Limited acts for a number of private companies.
The business of Hanson Westhouse Limited is primarily based in the City of London, but it also has an office in Leeds. Hanson Westhouse Limited has formed a strategic alliance with Agile Partners, a small corporate advisory boutique based in Beijing, China, as well as other close working relationships with a number of advisory businesses worldwide.
The Company will continue to focus on Hanson Westhouse's existing areas of business, taking advantage of opportunities to grow the business through the hiring of additional staff as the Board feels is appropriate.
The Placing and proposed use of proceeds
Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc has placed with investors 1,428,571 new ordinary shares at 59.5p per share, to raise £850,000. The proceeds of the placing will be used to fund the costs related to the reverse takeover of SovGEM and to provide additional working capital for the Company. In addition, £125,000 of the proceeds of the placing will be used to repay part of the Company's £500,000 convertible loan.
Consolidation of share capital
Every five issued and every five authorised but unissued ordinary shares in the capital of the Company have been consolidated into one new ordinary share (“New Ordinary Shares”). The New Ordinary Shares have identical rights to those attaching to the pre-existing shares. A resolution to effect the consolidation was duly passed at the general meeting held on 15 June 2009. Any entitlements to a fraction of a New Ordinary Share arising as a result of the consolidation have not be issued to existing shareholders but have been aggregated and (so far as is practicable) will be sold in the market for the benefit of the Company.
Board of Directors
The Board of Hanson Westhouse Holdings plc comprises:
Garth Milne (Non-executive Chairman)
Mr Milne has been involved with investment funds in the City for over 30 years. He was formerly head of the investment funds team at UBS Warburg, having originally set up the team at Laing & Cruickshank. He is currently a non-executive director of Invesco Perpetual UK Smaller Companies Trust plc, Directors' Dealing Investment Trust plc, Real Estate Opportunities Limited and Utilico Emerging Markets Limited.
William Staple (Chief Executive)
Mr Staple joined Cazenove & Co in 1972 after qualifying as a Barrister. In 1981 he joined NM Rothschild & Sons and became a Director of the bank in 1986. He was seconded by Rothschild to the Takeover Panel as Director General in 1994, returning to Rothschild in 1996. Mr Staple left Rothschild in 1999 to help establish Benfield Advisory, part of the Benfield reinsurance broking group. He joined Brown Shipley in 2001 and became Chief Executive of Westhouse Securities (subsequently Hanson Westhouse) in 2005.
Jonathan Azis (Finance Director)
Mr Azis, Finance Director, was previously an adviser to Lord Hanson having been a director, company secretary and tax manager of Hanson PLC. A solicitor, he is a non-executive director of Victrex plc, Molins plc and on the council of Royal Albert Hall.
Andrew Beeson (Non-executive director)
Mr Beeson was the founder and chief executive officer of the Beeson Gregory Group and subsequently chairman of Evolution Group plc following its merger with Beeson Gregory, before leaving in 2003. He founded the City Group for Smaller Companies in 1992, now known as QCA (Quoted Company Alliance), and became its first chairman. Between 2001 and 2004 he was a director of IP Group Plc and is currently a non-executive director of Schroders plc and Nelson Bakewell Holdings Limited, is on the advisory board of Armstrong Bonham Carter and is co-Chairman of DataWind Inc.
Sir Hayden Phillips GCB (Non-executive director)
Sir Hayden is chairman of the National Theatre, and amongst other appointments he is an adviser to Englefield Capital and Deputy Chairman of Hanson Transport. His previous career was in the Civil Service, where he was Permanent Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's Department (now the Ministry of Justice) from 1998 to 2004, and Permanent Secretary of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport from 1992 to 1998. Before that he held senior positions in the Treasury, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office and in the European Commission.
Advisory Panel
Given that Hanson Westhouse is at an early and growing stage of its development it is considered to be advantageous to have access to experienced senior individuals who will help guide the development of the business across its various areas of operation. The advisory panel comprises the following people:
Christopher Holdsworth Hunt
Mr Holdsworth Hunt was co-founder and previous managing director of KBC Peel Hunt, a stockbroker specialising in corporate broking to small and medium sized companies. He was head of corporate finance and responsible for overseeing numerous flotations and secondary fund-raisings, especially of companies admitted to trading on AIM. Prior to founding Peel Hunt in 1989 he was a director of Morgan Grenfell Securities, having previously been a managing partner of Pinchin Denny & Co. He is a former member and deputy chairman of the Stock Exchange Domestic Equities Rules Committee.
Peter Meinertzhagen
Mr Meinertzhagen joined Hoare Govett in 1965, was head of Hoare Govett equity sales and was appointed Chairman of Hoare Govett Limited, subsequently ABN AMBRO Hoare Govett, in 1990. He served in this role until retiring in 2007 after nearly 42 years in the City. He is formerly a non-executive director of the London Stock Exchange plc.
Christopher Munro
Mr Munro is a director of Beckwith Asset Management and Pacific Capital Partners and a non-executive director of Jupiter Second Enhanced Income Trust. Previously he was chief executive of River & Mercantile Investment Management, a director of Robert Fleming Holdings with responsibility for the UK and European stockbroking department of Robert Fleming Securities and a director of Jardine Fleming Holdings, based in Hong Kong.
Mark Greaves
Mr Greaves joined NM Rothschild & Sons in 1977 working in London, Hong Kong and Singapore. He was appointed to the main board of Rothschild in 1994 and had overall management responsibility for all the group's businesses in Asia as Managing Director for the region. In 2002, he left Rothschild to set up Anglo FarEast Group, a consulting business specialising in transactions involving Asia and the UK, becoming Chief Executive of Hanson Capital in 2004. Mr Greaves, who is based in Singapore, is on the board of a number of companies including Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Limited, Sinosoft Technology plc and Octtane Pte Ltd.
Robert Hanson
Mr Hanson joined NM Rothschild & Sons in 1983 where he worked initially in London and later at its subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Chile and Spain. In 1990 he joined Hanson PLC becoming a main board director in 1992 with responsibility for strategy, mergers and acquisition transactions. He left Hanson PLC at the end of 1997 to set up Hanson Capital. He is a non executive director of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, e-commerce Logistics Ltd and chairman of Sport & Artist Management. He is also chairman of Hanson Transport Group, a private Hanson family company.
Tim Stephenson
Mr Stephenson is chairman of Stephenson & Co, a niche executive search firm that specialises in filling board appointments in the financial services sector. He started his career in the Army where he spent 7 years with the Welsh Guards. He then joined Gallahers where he held a number of senior production and human resource appointments and was a founder member for the Board Of The Labours Relations Agency (ACAS) for Northern Ireland. He was later Chief Executive of Grafton Inc, a specialist supplier to the IT industry, which was sold in 1986.
The advisory panel will provide advice to the Company in their respective areas of expertise and will meet formally two or three times a year, together with informal ad hoc meetings. Members of the advisory panel will also be available individually to advise the Company.