Trading Statement

Accuma Group PLC 12 July 2005 Press Release 12 July 2005 Accuma Group plc ('Accuma Group' or 'the Group') Trading Update Accuma Group Plc, the provider of personal debt advice specialising in Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), today releases a trading update following its successful listing on AIM in March 2005. The Market At the time of the Group's listing on AIM, the Board was confident that the scale of consumer indebtedness in the UK would provide significant growth prospects. That confidence continues to grow despite the prospect of lower interest rates. The Bank of England's Financial Stability Review (June 2005) indicates that household debt now averages 150% of annual net income and that it is likely that debt will continue to grow more rapidly than income over the next few years. The housing market has cooled and the opportunities for equity release to consolidate debt and/or fund lifestyles have diminished. Moreover, many homeowners are either experiencing or facing higher mortgage repayments as cheaper fixed rate deals end. Lenders are now tightening their criteria in the mortgage and secured-loan sector, leaving thousands of households without an effective solution to their debt problems. The record levels of consumer debt built up over the last decade, against a backdrop of low interest, inflation and strong house price growth that boosted consumer confidence, has now resulted in many thousands of households struggling to maintain monthly repayments. According to recent figures from the Department of Trade and Industry, personal insolvencies grew by 28% in Q1 2005 to 13,229. Included in this total were 3,139 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), Accuma's key product, an increase of just over 40% year on year. These figures do not include informal debt repayment schemes of which there are estimated to be many thousands. Resources Strengthened Accuma is in a strong position to benefit from increasing demand from over-indebted consumers. The Group now employs four Licensed Insolvency Practitioners, two of these having been appointed post-flotation. These appointments have increased capacity significantly beyond market expectations for the next financial year. In addition, a highly experienced Head of IT has been appointed in order to ensure that the Group's systems are robust and scalable as our case volumes increase and to enable further improvements and efficiencies to be made. The new appointment has considerable experience in the IT industry, including seven years at Motorola, where he served as European IT Infrastructure Manager. Overall, the Group has continued its trend of appointing individuals experienced in personal insolvency or consumer debt. This reduces the training period required and ensures that we are able to reach operational readiness within weeks of most appointments. The total number of employees now stands at 70. New IVA Case Numbers Accuma is pleased to announce significant growth in case numbers as its monthly run rate increases. During the quarter to the end of April 2005 (Q3), the monthly run rate averaged 46. This was a slight reduction on Q2 due to a planned reduction in marketing spend during October to December 2004. Since flotation, the run rate has increased month-on-month with 86 completions in May, and 106 in June. There are also 160 creditor meetings scheduled for July, and based on projected conversion rates, this would produce a Q4 run rate that is 146% higher than Q3, outperforming the market generally. This equates to a projected annualised run rate of approximately 1,800 cases, which will represent 95% of market forecasts for full-year 2006. The Board is confident that the monthly run rate will continue to increase. Outlook The Board previously stated its intention to build strategic relationships in order to broaden the Group's marketing channels and to ensure cost-effective client acquisition. We have appointed a business development manager to work closely with the Board to drive such initiatives. We are pleased to announce that we have made significant progress in this regard and a number of relationships are now being piloted. Early indications are positive and we will report more at the time of our preliminary announcement in October. Accuma's business model is underpinned by the value of its future contracted revenue which has grown from £3.1million at flotation to £4.7million (£3.3million off balance sheet) at the end of June, an increase of 52%. The Board is confident of performing comfortably in line with market expectations for 2004/5 and expects continued growth for 2005/6. Charles Howson, Chief Executive of Accuma Group, commented: 'We are delighted with our progress to date and, with all the indicators pointing to anticipated growth in our sector, we are confident of meeting increased demand for our services. ' For further information: Accuma Group plc Charles Howson, Chief Executive Tel: +44 (0) 0161 235 6460 charles.howson@accumagroup.com www.accumagroup.com Daniel Stewart & Co. Alastair Cade Tel: +44 (0) 20 7374 6789 alastair.cade@danielstewart.co.uk Media enquiries: Abchurch Peter Curtain / Chris Lane Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700 chris.lane@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
UK 100

Latest directors dealings