18 September 2024
Aukett Swanke Group
Plc
("Aukett Swanke",
the "Company," "ASG", or, together with its subsidiaries, the
"Group")
Completion of Property
Disposal and Corporate Update
Aukett Swanke (AIM: AUK), the Smart Buildings
and Architecture Group, is pleased to announce the completion of
the sale of The Old Torpedo Factory freehold and provides a
pre-year end corporate update.
The board expects that trading results for the
second half of the year to 30 September 2024 will be at a breakeven
level and, consequently, the Group will report a loss for the full
year, broadly in line with the loss reported for the first
half.
In response, a cost reduction programme,
initially announced in June 2024, has now been extended, to provide
approximately £2 million of annualised Group savings, up from the
originally planned £1 million.
Smart
Buildings
The Group is at the relatively early stages of
establishing itself as a leader in the provision of smart buildings
services, drawing upon the heritage and industry connections of the
established architecture businesses and by targeted
acquisitions.
Since March 2023 the Group has completed four
Smart Buildings related acquisitions:
·
Torpedo Factory Group
·
ecoDriver
·
Anders + Kern
·
Vanti
Performance of these businesses has been mixed,
with Torpedo Factory Group (incorporating Vanti) operating around
breakeven levels, with a strong performance by Vanti offset by
losses in the Stage Technology business. This business performed at
reduced levels following the conclusion of its largest ever project
at the end of the previous year.
The Vanti asset acquisition, completed in March
2024, has both boosted the Group's smart buildings credentials and
added over £2 million of new contract wins. Vanti now forms the
core of the Group's smart buildings offering. We remain excited by
the potential of its Smart Core building operating system in
particular.
ecoDriver provides sensors, meters, and
proprietary software to monitor client sites and help them identify
waste energy. The business is growing strongly from a low base, and
as discussed further below has developed some novel technology to
benefit clients and assist in scaling the
business.
Anders + Kern, which is a distributor of smart
building technologies largely to audio visual system integrators,
has suffered from two major suppliers being taken over in the past
year, with both acquirors having pre-existing routes to market away
from the Group. Accordingly Anders + Kern has substantially reduced
its cost base and is reviewing its product range.
Architecture
The Group's executive architecture business,
Veretec, continues to grow profitably and has added staff to meet
demand. However, at our design business, Aukett Swanke Limited,
continuing delays with a number of projects have prevented it
making a positive contribution.
Consequently, the board expects that trading
results for the second half of the year to 30 September 2024 will
be at a break even level and the Group will therefore report a loss
for the full year, broadly in line with the loss reported for the
first half.
Property sale
and Cost reduction programme
The board has taken action to strengthen the
Group's financial position through both the sale of a freehold
property, which has significantly reduced Group debt, and the
implementation of a substantial cost reduction
programme.
Property sale
The £2.5 million (plus VAT) sale of The Old
Torpedo Factory freehold, first announced in June 2024, completed
on 17 September 2024, with approximately £1.42 million of the
proceeds used to fully repay the outstanding mortgage and a further
approximately £0.23 million used to reduce the outstanding
CBILS-backed loan to c. £0.44 million.
The balance of the consideration will be used
to strengthen the Group's working capital position.
Cost reduction
programme
The Group's increased focus on smart buildings
requires investment and will take time to generate meaningful
profits. There is therefore a need for the other parts of the Group
to make positive financial contributions. To the extent this
positive contribution can be improved by taking action to reduce
costs, such action has been and is being taken.
In June 2024, we announced an intention to make
annual Group savings of over £1 million. Three months on, we have
identified and largely implemented approximately £2 million of
annualised Group savings across a combination of staff costs and
other matters including the financial impact of reducing
debt.
ecoDriver to
launch EDDIE the AI Sustainability Engineer
The Group is pleased to announce
that its Vanti and ecoDriver businesses are both exhibiting at
the Smart Buildings Show at ExCeL London on 9-10 October,
with management at both businesses having speaking slots. At the
show, ecoDriver will launch the first generation of EDDIE
(ecoDriver Data Intelligence Engine), an AI engine that will link
to the building energy performance data for each client's sites.
Clients can interact with EDDIE via a straightforward chatbot style
interface. This allows them to interpret the data and to identify
and eliminate waste energy in new and more accessible ways. It also
allows ecoDriver to scale revenues without material increases to
its cost base.
Nick Clark, Chief Executive of Aukett Swanke,
commented:
"The Group has continued to make rapid progress in the second
half, with the first sale of the Smart Core building operating
system since the Vanti asset acquisition, and now the pending
launch of ecoDriver's AI product, developed in house over the first
year of ecoDriver's ownership by the Group. EDDIE is an example of
the way that AI can help us bridge the green skills gap, removing a
potential barrier to growth."
"To support this and other initiatives, in particular the
continued development of the Smart Core building operating system,
we need the other parts of the business to be performing well. The
annualised cost reductions are designed to support Group
profitability while it develops and acquires the technologies
required to become a global leader in designing, delivering &
operating smart, sustainable buildings &
spaces."
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
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 is 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.