Final Results Final Results

PRESS RELEASE Not for release before 0700, 8 July 2004 FLETCHER KING PLC PRELIMINARY RESULTS Profit increase of 300% for the year ending 30th April 2004 Fletcher King, the London based property fund managers, asset managers and chartered surveyors, announces today its preliminary results for the year ended 30th April 2004. As outlined in the trading statement released in April of this year, the results are better than anticipated due to the early completion achieved on a large, one off, ratings transaction. Financial highlights: - Profit before tax up 300% to £332,000 (2003: £83,000) - Turnover for the year up 22% at £5.6m (2003: £4.6m) - Basic earnings per share grew 260% to 2.49p (2003: 0.69p) - Final dividend up to 1p (2003: 0.75p) for the second half plus an additional Special Final Dividend of 1p making the total dividend up by 130% for the year to 2.3p (2002: 1.0p) Operational highlights: - The Rating and Valuation department enjoyed another strong year carrying out sizeable rating contracts for companies including J Walter Thompson and New Star Asset Management and completing early the contract with Computacenter that contributed strongly to the group's performance. - Approximately £15 million already invested for the Bhs Pension Fund - Stratton House Investment Property Syndicate now nearly fully invested. The start of fund raising for a second fund is anticipated for the autumn of 2004. - Four significant new clients secured for the Asset Management department and further growth anticipated in the coming year. - Landlord and Tenant completed its first full year as a separate entity meeting all of its budgets for the year. - Fletcher King Howard carried out a number of significant projects during the year and contributed to the group's profits. A number of new commissions have also been secured. Commenting David Fletcher, Chairman of Fletcher King said: "As anticipated our results for the year are ahead of expectations. Although the improved results are influenced by the early completion of a major rating contract, we have grown profits, turnover and basic earnings per share by developing all areas of the group in what remains a difficult trading environment. We have also managed to raise dividends (by 30% excluding the Special Final Dividend), linking them to a growth in profit and the underlying business." For further information: David Fletcher, Fletcher King: 020 7493 8400 Tim McCall, mj2 020 7491 7776 FLETCHER KING PLC CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT RESULTS Trading in the second half of the year was better than anticipated and as a result we issued a Trading Statement on 20th April 2004 confirming that activity was ahead of expectations. This was mainly due to the rating contract carried out on behalf of Computacenter that was completed earlier than anticipated and under favourable terms. Turnover for the year was £5.623m (2003 £4.6m) with profits before tax of £332,000 (2003 £83,000). The board is proposing an Ordinary Final Dividend of 1p (2003 0.75p) together with a Special Final Dividend of 1p to reflect the positive impact on profitability of the transaction referred to above. These dividends will be subject to shareholder approval at the annual general meeting and will be paid on 27th September 2004 to Shareholders on the register at the close of business on the 3rd September 2004. With the interim dividend already paid the total dividend for the year will amount to 2.3p per share (2003 1p per share). THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MARKET The market during the year has been less volatile than for a number of years as inflation remains under control. The impact on oil prices of the situation in Iraq and the Middle East gave cause for concern, but generally, the market has dismissed any significant increase in prices. The letting markets, whilst by no means easy, have been generally more positive throughout the country. Offices in Mayfair and the West End have seen higher demand and space is now reported to be letting at £80 per sq.ft plus. Whilst the highest rents are for new Grade A space there is some evidence that well presented second hand space is letting well and rent free periods are reducing. There has been more take up in the City of London this year and a number of transactions in Docklands, although these markets continue to have a significant overhang and it will be some time before real rental growth returns. The Thames Valley and western approaches continue to suffer from a surfeit of space and this is likely to be the position for some time to come. The industrial market in the regions remains active with interest mainly from owner occupiers who continue to outnumber those who are seeking to lease space. Retail warehousing is more active than the high streets and rents have been pushed higher. The investment market remains very strong and anecdotal evidence points to substantial funds entering the market with the resultant downward pressure on yields. This situation is likely to remain for at least the next twelve months. THE OUTLOOK FOR 2004/05 I remain optimistic about the Mayfair and West End letting markets but less so in other parts of the south-east. Rental growth in industrials will continue slowly and growth in retail warehouse rents is likely to continue. I believe the investment market will remain buoyant throughout the coming year and yields are likely to fall further as the year progresses. Falling yields coupled with rising five and ten year swap rates are putting pressure on the margin for debt financed investment purchases but any cut back in that sector will be more than replaced by Institutional investors. The Stratton House Investment Property Syndicate is now almost fully invested and we anticipate starting the second Fund in the autumn. Excluding the Special Final Dividend we have raised the dividend by 30% which is a reflection of the growth in our underlying business. We have demonstrated again this year that we endeavour to link dividends to growth in profits. Everyone within the organisation has worked extremely hard to produce these results and I thank them for their efforts. DAVID FLETCHER CHAIRMAN 8th JULY 2004 DIVISIONAL REVIEW FLETCHER KING LONDON Investment and Fund Management Last year saw another resilient performance from the UK property market. As in the previous year, the market was driven primarily by overseas and geared investors, but by the last quarter we began to see a significant shift, with institutional investors beginning to re-emerge with serious amounts of cash to invest. Conversely, the debt driven market showed signs of stalling as interest rates began to climb and yields continued to harden across all sectors. Many of Fletcher King's clients, particularly our fund management clients, were very active in the market during the course of the year. Significant purchases included a Government let office investment near Heathrow for £9 million and retail warehousing in the north for £10.35 million. Since our appointment at the beginning of the year as discretionary Fund Managers to the Bhs Pension Fund, we have invested approximately £15 million, and for the Stratton House Investment Property Syndicate, approximately £20 million has been spent. Significant sale instructions included a retail store in Ayr for £10.25 million and a small shopping centre in the south of England for £9 million. The coming year will again be very active and already we have a number of major sale instructions. We also have approximately £70 million to invest for In- House clients. Asset Management The Department met its targets during the year and secured four new clients. The most significant of these has holdings with a total rent roll in excess of £1m per annum including multi-let office buildings and two shopping centres. Government regulations affecting property, including the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulation 2002, and The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2004, are now coming into full force and considerable work has been done during the year to ensure all properties within our Management are compliant and that tenants are aware of their responsibilities. Much comment has been made in the trade press regarding the FSA's Regulation of the Property Industry in respect of insurance products. We are in the process of applying for clearance from the FSA to carry out insurance business. Most of our clients are expanding their portfolios and we are anticipating further growth in the Department during the year. Rating and Valuation Rating has been extremely busy this year and it was within this department that the one-off transaction referred to earlier was achieved. The notable assessments dealt with during the year included the saving of almost £1m in rate payments for Computacenter on their UK portfolio, a 41% saving on J Walter Thompson's London headquarters worth £2.8m over 5 years and in the same building a saving of in excess of £500,000 in payments for New Star Asset Management. During the year a 25% reduction was achieved on Tiffany's unit in The Royal Exchange and a 17% reduction on the headquarters of Avis in Mayfair. Current activity is strong and our list of instructions for the 2005 Valuation List is growing, whilst we still have several hundred appeals on the 2000 Rating List to be resolved. Valuations have also been extremely active and we have significantly increased the volume carried out for both RBS/NatWest and Barclays. As a result of increased interest from Irish Investors we have been particularly active for the Irish Banks. Significant valuations carried out in the year include a £40m office portfolio for Investec Bank and a £37.5m valuation for HSBC on a Central London residential and commercial portfolio. Agency Although agency represents a small part of our turnover it is, nevertheless, an important service we offer clients . As usual the department's main focus during the year has been the acquisition of premises for corporate clients. Acting on behalf of a literary agent we have acquired a new headquarters in Chelsea, for an international telecommunications company we have acquired two suites in Victoria and for a major international firm of engineers a project office in South London. Despite the poor letting market in the City and Midtown we were successful in letting a 20,000 sq.ft building in Midtown and selling a freehold City office building. The coming year will see further instructions from corporate clients to acquire new space. The department is also working on development projects which are likely to come to fruition during the year. Landlord and Tenant The department has completed its first full year as a separate entity within the firm and has met its budgets. It is handling a diverse range of instructions and this year will be negotiating reviews and renewals on a rent roll of approximately £5m. Its most successful transaction during the year was a saving of over £350,000 in rent for a tenant of a major Mayfair building. FLETCHER KING HOWARD Our wholly owned construction services subsidiary continued to run profitably and its contribution to profit was in line with expectation. During the year it acted for a diverse range of clients including a fastrack fit out of offices in Burton upon Trent for Punch Pubs Limited, the completion of a £5.5m distribution hub for NYK Logistics in Derby , a £2m extension for IVAX at Runcorn, a £3.5m sports complex and swimming pool for Berkhamstead Collegiate School and a 80,000 sq.ft warehouse for Holland & Barrett in Burton upon Trent. Work continued to progress on Frontier Estate's new £24m mixed development at Hatfield. The current year begins well and recent commissions include a 70,000 sq.ft. warehouse for Jordans Cereals Limited, a £2m distribution depot for Carlsberg Tetley Limited, a £10m medium security Learning Disability Unit in Northampton for St Andrews Hospital, a 120,000 sq.ft. distribution depot in Daventry for John Mills Limited and a £3m theatre in Redditch for The Redditch Borough Council. We are budgeting for Fletcher King Howard to grow both its own profitability and its contribution to the Group's profit in the coming year. FLETCHER KING MANCHESTER Our Manchester office remains one of the City's leading industrial property specialists and it is currently involved in over 800,000 sq.ft of new industrial and warehouse development throughout the North West in areas such as Trafford Park, Earle, Warrington and Deeside in North Wales. During the year the office has been involved in advising L'Oreal on two major schemes in the area one, a 16 acre site for the construction of a new 257,000 sq.ft distribution unit and the other an 85,000 sq.ft facility. The office has been recently retained by Euro Car Parts, one of the leading suppliers of car parts to the motor trade, to acquire trade counter units throughout the UK. To date 6 units have been acquired and a further 9 are targeted for this year. The coming year is likely to be very busy and we anticipate a keen occupier interest in the developments on which the company is acting. FLETCHER KING PLC CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT for the year ended 30 APRIL 2004 2004 2003 £000 £000 TURNOVER 5,623 4,614 Staff Costs (3,593) (2,853) Depreciation (76) (83) Other operating charges (1,675) (1,628) OPERATING PROFIT 279 50 Share of results of associated undertakings 9 7 Interest receivable and similar income 47 30 Interest payable and similar charges (3) (4) PROFIT ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAXATION 332 83 Tax charge on profit on ordinary activities (113) (22) PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 219 61 Dividends (203) (88) RETAINED PROFIT(LOSS) FOR THE YEAR 16 (27) Earnings per share - basic 2.49p 0.69p - diluted 2.45p 0.68p The basic earnings per share is based on the profit for the financial year ended 30th April 2004 of £219,000 (2003 : £61,000 ) and on 8,807,279 (2003: 8,807,279) ordinary shares in issue throughout the year. The diluted earnings per share is based on the profit for the financial year ended 30th April 2004 of £219,000 (2003 : £61,000 ) and on 8,926,433 (2003: 8,926,433) ordinary shares in issue during the year adjusted for the weighted average number of options outstanding at the end of each period. FLETCHER KING PLC CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET as at 30 APRIL 2004 2004 2003 £000 £000 FIXED ASSETS Tangible Assets 178 221 Investment in associated undertakings 27 19 Other investments 253 253 458 493 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 1,640 1,496 Cash at bank and in hand 1,836 1,318 3,476 2,814 CREDITORS amounts falling due within one year (1,537) (907) NET CURRENT ASSETS 1,939 1,907 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT 2,397 2,400 LIABILITIES CREDITORS : amounts falling due - (17) after one year PROVISION FOR LIABILITIES AND CHARGES - (2) NET ASSETS 2,397 2,381 CAPITAL AND RESERVES Called up share capital 881 881 Share premium account 76 76 Profit and loss account 1,440 1,424 EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS 2,397 2,381 FLETCHER KING PLC CASHFLOW STATEMENT for the year ended 30 APRIL 2004 2004 2003 £000 £000 Net cash inflow from operating activities 643 375 Dividends received from associated undertakings - 26 Returns on investments and servicing of finance 44 26 Taxation (21) (41) Capital expenditure and financial investment (35) (262) Equity dividends paid (92) (88) Cash inflow before financing 539 36 Financing (21) (23) Increase in cash in the year 518 13 The financial information set out above does not comprise the company's statutory financial statements. Statutory financial statements for the previous financial year ended 30 April 2003 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors' report on those financial statements was unqualified and did not contain any statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The auditors have not yet reported on financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2004, nor have any such financial statements been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.
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