2 February 2024
Aukett Swanke Group
Plc
("Aukett Swanke",
the "Company," "ASG", or, together with its subsidiaries, the
"Group")
Commercial
Update
Aukett Swanke (AIM: AUK), the group providing
Smart Buildings, Architectural and Design Services, is pleased to
provide the following pre-close update ahead of its audited results
for the year to 30 September 2023 ("FY 2023"), expected to be
announced in March 2024.
Trading
Update
Unaudited management accounts indicate that in
the year to 30 September 2023 the Group made a small pre-tax
profit, before acquisition-related exceptional items, on revenue of
approximately £14 million (FY 2022: £7.1 million). For the current
year (FY 2024) we expect the Group's performance to remain second
half weighted.
Bank Finance
and Property Update
The Company is also pleased to report a new
12-month funding facility for its subsidiary Torpedo Factory Group
Limited ("TFG"). This is secured on The Old Torpedo Factory (the
"Property") in west London, which is currently listed for
sale.
The new facility comprises a £1.40 million
loan, of which £1.36 million is interest only and £0.04 million is
repayable on a monthly basis. This refinances and replaces an
existing mortgage on the Property which was due to expire on 7
February 2024.
Offers have been received for the Property but
no sale has yet been agreed. The new facility will allow the Group
to continue to progress these and other discussions to sell the
Property in an orderly manner. The Property was independently
valued at £3.08 million in July 2023, but in line with current
market conditions the directors anticipate the sale price will be
below this level. The Company will further update on progress in
due course.
TFG also has approximately £0.9 million of
CBILS-backed loan finance outstanding, which is repayable monthly
over the period to July 2026. This is unaffected by the new
facility.
The Group's only other bank borrowings are a
separate CBILS-backed loan of approximately £0.1 million, which is
due to be fully repaid by May 2024, and an overdraft facility of
£250,000.
Disposal of
Turkish Operations
The Group also reports that on 27 December 2023
it completed the disposal of its loss-making Turkish subsidiary,
Aukett Swanke Mimarlik ("ASM", previously Swanke Hayden Connell
Mimarlik) to ASM's management, for a nominal sum. ASM has entered
into a Name Licence Agreement, which provides for licence fees to
be paid based on revenue generated. Revenues, trading losses, and
assets subject to the disposal are not material given the Group's
size. The Group will record a loss on disposal which will be less
than £0.1 million.
The Group currently retains its two German
architecture investments, which remain profitable and from which
the Group receives management fees and dividends.
Nick Clark,
Chief Executive, commented:
"We are
pleased to have returned the Group to full year operational
profitability after several years of losses. Looking ahead to the
current financial year, we expect the enlarged Group to report
record revenues, with the second half performance as usual stronger
than the first half. The successful sale of our freehold property
would eliminate our net debt, enabling us to accelerate our smart
buildings strategy."
Contacts
Aukett Swanke Group Plc
+44 (0)
20 7843 3000
Clive Carver,
Chairman
Nick Clark, Chief
Executive
Strand Hanson Limited, Financial and Nominated Adviser
+44 (0) 20 7409
3494
Richard Johnson, James
Bellman
Zeus Capital Limited, Broker
+44 (0) 20 3829
5000
Simon Johnson, Louisa
Waddell
Investor/Media
+ 44 (0) 7979 604
687
Chris Steele
About Aukett Swanke Group plc
Aukett Swanke Group has a strong
foundation in architectural services and is on a transformative
journey to become a London-listed provider of Smart Buildings and
related services. ASG are uniquely positioned to ensure the
technical systems that run modern premises are designed as an
integral part of the structure, from the outset.
For more information go to
https://www.aukettswankeplc.com
The
information contained within this announcement is deemed by the
Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the
Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended by virtue of the Market Abuse
(Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.