Share Plc (SHRE)
Share plc (SHRE) – First Day of Dealing & Admission to Trading on AIM
Share plc, parent company of The Share Centre, one of the UK’s leading independent stockbrokers, is pleased to announce the commencement of trading in its shares on AIM today.
Share has raised £1.08 million (before expenses) through a public offer for subscription at the offer price of 27p per ordinary share of 0.5p each, valuing the Company at approximately £43.2 million on admission. The Offer for Subscription met with encouraging demand despite difficult market conditions, and was nearly four times over-subscribed with 2,891 applications from personal investors.
Sir Martin Jacomb, Chairman of Share plc said:
“We are delighted to be bringing Share plc to AIM after 17 years of trading since The Share Centre was established. Today the business remains true to its founding vision of more people enjoying straightforward investing. This commitment to personal investors is reflected in our decision to provide personal investors the opportunity to invest in Share plc through the Offer for Subscription, whose success represents a vote of confidence in the Group from its customers.”
Key Points
Share plc was established in February 2000 as the parent company for a number of subsidiaries engaged in stockbroking related activities. Share plc’s principal operating business, The Share Centre, began operations in April 1991 to provide self-select share services for personal investors and is the main revenue-producing entity of the Group. The Share Centre is now one of the UK’s leading independent retail stockbrokers. Approximately 70 per cent. of its trading business is transacted through the internet website, www.share.com.
The Share Centre’s main business is the provision and administration of execution-only and advisory trading accounts (referred to as Share Accounts), Individual Savings Accounts, Personal Equity Plans which have now converted to ISAs, Child Trust Fund accounts and Investment Club Share Accounts to private investors, both directly and through corporate customers, throughout the UK. In addition, The Share Centre acts as an administrator of Share Incentive Plans and Enterprise Investment Scheme portfolios and promotes a Self-Invested Personal Pension Plan product which is administered by a third-party.
Share plc intends to grow its market share as measured against its direct competitors. Revenue is linked to general stock market performance and activity and the Group sets its revenue targets by measuring quarterly benchmarked revenue share against a peer group of similar businesses. The Company currently has 6.01 per cent. share of this market. This has increased from 5.1 per cent. since the first quarter of 2006.
The Directors intend to attract a substantial number of new account customers, particularly those which attract regular fee income. By implementing its marketing strategy (set out in the Company’s AIM admission document) and by offering customers high quality service, the Directors are confident that revenue will grow and that the Group’s market share will increase.
The Directors believe that admission to AIM will be beneficial for the Company’s business because it will: (i) enhance the profile of the Group with its existing and new customers; (ii) enable the Group to facilitate acquisitions either through the issue of equity or via a placing; and (iii) assist the Company in the recruitment, retention and incentivisation of key staff through the use of share based incentives.
Share plc’s AIM admission document is available on the Company’s website at www.share.com/aim.