Accuma Group joins AIM

Accuma Group PLC
09 March 2005

Press Release                                                     9 March 2005


                                Accuma Group plc

                        ('Accuma Group' or 'the Group')

           First day of dealings on the Alternative Investment Market

Accuma Group plc ('Accuma' or 'the Group'), the provider of personal debt advice
specialising in Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), today announces the
commencement of dealings of its Ordinary Shares on the AIM market (AIM) of the
London Stock Exchange. Daniel Stewart is acting as Nominated Adviser and Broker
to the Company. The stock market EPIC is ACG.L.

Admission and Placing Statistics
Placing price                                                               82p
Number of Placing Shares to be issued                                 5,049,078
Value of Placing Shares at the Placing Price                         £4,140,244
Number of Existing Ordinary Shares                                   15,375,000
Enlarged share capital immediately following Admission               20,424,078
Market capitalisation at the Placing Price immediately following
Admission                                                           £16,750,000
Estimated net proceeds of the Placing receivable by the Group        £3,670,000

Reasons for Admission to AIM and use of proceeds of the Placing

The proceeds of the Placing of the New Ordinary Shares raised £4.1 million
(before expenses) will be used by the Group, among other things, to increase
marketing and advertising expenditure, in order significantly to increase client
acquisition and also to provide working capital for the Group.

Charles Howson, Chief Executive of Accuma Group plc, said: 'We are delighted to
have seen such strong demand for shares in Accuma during the placing. Our
listing will provide the Group with the capital to enable us to continue our
strong growth in the future.'


For further information:
Accuma Group plc
Charles Howson, Chief Executive                      Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]                       www.accumagroup.com
                                                           

Daniel Stewart & Co.
Alastair Cade                                        Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]


Media enquiries:
Abchurch
Peter Curtain / Chris Lane                           Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]                        www.abchurch-group.com
                                                       

Introduction

The Group is a provider of tailored financial solutions and advice to
individuals who are experiencing debt problems. The Group's principal aim is to
help individuals regain control of their financial affairs by advising them on
the most appropriate course of action based on their individual circumstances.
The Group is highly regulated as its key product, an IVA, is a legally binding,
court-approved agreement and can only be administered by Insolvency
Practitioners (IPs) - individuals licensed under the Insolvency Act 1986 to
undertake insolvency appointments.

The Group's operations comprise a personal insolvency practice specialising in
IVAs, general debt advice and the referral of individuals to other solution
providers where appropriate. The Group does not lend money, nor does it take
clients' debt on to the balance sheet, thereby limiting its business risk. The
solutions offered to individuals depend upon personal circumstances and
principally comprise the following:

Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

IVAs were introduced as part of the Insolvency Act of 1986 as an alternative to
bankruptcy, enabling individuals who were struggling with unsecured debt
payments to reach a legally binding compromise with their creditors. Penetration
of IVAs has historically been low due to the limited number of providers, cost
to the consumer and perceived complexity.

The Directors believe that this gives the Group an opportunity to build critical
mass and create barriers to entry in a relatively short timescale.

An IVA is a legally binding, court-approved agreement between the individual and
his/her creditors, under which the individual agrees to make fixed monthly
payments, generally over a five-year period.

IVAs must be supervised by an IP and have many advantages for both the debtor
and creditors. The debtor avoids bankruptcy which can be of particular
importance for home owners or those employed in occupations where bankruptcy
would be highly disadvantageous. The IVA conveys a legal obligation on the
creditors to freeze all interest and charges and, subject to adherence of the
terms by the debtor, to write off any outstanding debts after expiration of the
fixed period. An IVA therefore provides both certainty to and reduced pressure
on the individual.

From the creditors' side, the attractiveness of an IVA is the ability to
forecast a higher return than in bankruptcy combined with lower administrative
costs compared to traditional debt collection. This is driven by a legal
obligation on the part of the debtor to make fixed monthly payments, or to
introduce other funds, which have been assessed by Accuma Insolvency
Practitioners (AIP), one of the Group's trading subsidiaries, as being
affordable and sustainable.

AIP does not directly charge the debtor a fee for its services; these are
received as a priority from the contributions made by the debtor into the IVA
and are agreed and funded by the creditors. AIP charges the creditor an initial
fee of £2,500 - £3,000 as well as an average £78 monthly supervisory fee which
over the five-year period gives good cash-flow visibility. Where AIP believes an
IVA is inappropriate the following solutions will be recommended:

Informal Arrangement

AIP advises on two types of informal arrangement, managed and self-managed,
under which creditors agree to extend the repayment period for the individual.
This is not a legally binding agreement and often interest and charges continue
to be applied until the individual has repaid the amount in full. Under the
managed scheme, AIP refers individuals to a non-connected company which manages
the scheme between individual and creditor.

Re-mortgage

This solution is usually suitable for homeowners with positive equity in their
property. This has until recently been a particularly strong area of activity in
the UK with individuals re-mortgaging to consolidate high interest credit,
taking advantage of lower mortgage interest rates and the high perceived value
of their property. AIP refers such individuals to professional finance brokers
and receives a percentage of any commission payable to the finance broker.

Consolidation Loans

This is a highly competitive area of the market where individuals take out a new
loan to repay existing unsecured debts. AIP recommends professional finance
brokers and would usually receive a percentage of any commission generated.

Bankruptcy

If an individual is made bankrupt, a trustee is appointed to manage their
financial affairs and to sell any assets that may exist in order to repay their
debts. Accuma does not directly advertise or promote bankruptcy as a solution.
However, as the Group aims to provide a full range of solutions, if bankruptcy
is deemed the most appropriate option, the individual is provided with free
information detailing the actions to be undertaken.

The Market

Historically AIP has attracted prospective clients primarily through direct
advertising in a range of media channels including press, directories, radio,
the internet and more recently television. Prospective clients call a free-phone
number that is answered by a team of experienced debt advisers who collect
personal and financial details in order to ensure that recommendations can be
made based on the most appropriate course of action considering the personal
circumstances of the individual concerned.

According to a report published by the University of Wales, commissioned by The
Insolvency Service:

'Unsecured consumer debt has risen at a compound rate of 12-15 per cent each
year since late 1997. This phenomenon is in large part a reflection of
favourable economic factors, national credit policy, social pressures to
demonstrate certain patterns of perceived material influence, and hard marketing
by lending institutions.'

The Bank of England's recent Financial Stability Review (December 2004), noted
that unsecured lending had been rising more rapidly than mortgage lending. In
November 2004 consumer debt passed the £1 trillion barrier; £182 billion of
which is outstanding on credit and store cards, personal loans and overdrafts.

According to the Financial Times, the average household now borrows 140 per cent
more than its combined income, up from 90 per cent in 1998 and from 100 per cent
at the peak of the last boom in the 1980s.

The Bank of England also believes that 'the growth rate of household
indebtedness is likely to remain strong over the next few years' and with 42 per
cent of individuals with unsecured debts experiencing repayment problems the
Directors of Accuma believe that this increasing level of consumer indebtedness
creates a strong opportunity to rapidly increase market share and create
barriers to entry in a relatively short timescale.


Directors

Charles Taylor, B Comm, CA (aged 56) Non Executive Chairman

Charles Taylor qualified as a Scottish chartered accountant with Deloitte prior
to commencing a career in the banking and financial services sector where he has
held many senior positions. In 1991 he became Managing Director of Sovereign
Finance Plc prior to it being acquired by Alliance and Leicester Plc in 1996. He
then became Chairman of Sovereign Finance Plc and in 1998 he became Managing
Director of Girobank Plc. In addition he was Director of Commercial Banking at
Alliance and Leicester Plc and was also a member of several group committees
including the group audit committee. Charles left Alliance and Leicester Plc in
2002 and currently holds a number of non-executive directorships.

Charles Howson (aged 38), Chief Executive

Charles Howson has worked in a number of senior commercial roles, including
Marketing Director of Expense Reduction Analysts, a worldwide management
consultancy specialising in cost containment and procurement. In March 2001 he
joined the board of Baines and Ernst Limited, one of the UK's largest debt
management companies and became Chief Executive shortly afterwards. He was
instrumental in driving the company through a difficult period of regulatory
change whilst managing efficiencies and improving profitability. He left Baines
and Ernst Limited in October 2002 and later acquired Chambers Consultants
Limited.

In September 2004 the Insolvency Service, (a Government agency), set up an IVA
Working Group in order to review the IVA process and Charles Howson is a member
of this group.

Samantha Poole FCA (aged 40), Finance Director

Samantha Poole qualified as a chartered accountant in 1986 and spent the next 14
years in practice including four years with Arthur Andersen working with FTSE
350 companies. Samantha has since undertaken a number of commercial assignments
including Head of Finance and Company Secretary for Axiomlab Plc, an AIM-listed
venture capital company. Samantha joined the Group as Finance Director and
Company Secretary in December 2004.

Robert Benjamin (aged 42), Marketing Director

Robert Benjamin passed the Chartered Institute of Marketing examination in 1985.
He has held a number of senior marketing positions within consumer marketing
organisations specialising in brand building and direct-response advertising.
Robert has considerable experience in advertising within the debt solutions
industry having worked for Baines and Ernst Limited from July 2000 to August
2003 (latterly as Marketing Director).

Nicola Lesley Francis MIPA MABRP (aged 45), Executive Director

Nicola Francis qualified as an Insolvency Practitioner in 2001. She has
extensive personal insolvency experience having spent 9 years at the Official
Receivers Office prior to spending eight years working in private practice.
Nicola is licensed by the Insolvency Practitioners Association and is a Member
of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals.

Terms defined in the Prospectus have the same meaning in this press release.


Availability of Prospectus

Copies of this Prospectus are available free of charge from the Company's
registered office and at the offices of Daniel Stewart, during normal business
hours on any weekday (Saturdays and public holidays excepted) and shall remain
available for at least 14 days after Admission.




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