Admission to AIM

Libra Retail PLC 06 December 2005 LIBRA RETAIL PLC (the 'Company') 6 December 2005 Reverse takeover of Grafton Insurance Services Ltd and Admission to AIM Change of name to LEO INSURANCE SERVICES PLC Placing of 1,443,191 new Ordinary Shares at 14p per share to raise over £200,000 Allotment of 65,000 new Preference Shares at a price of £1 per share 1-for-10 Share Consolidation Libra Retail plc announces today that it has entered into an agreement to invest in Grafton Insurance Services Ltd, a newly formed company which is to trade as a property insurance broker. Grafton will be owned 50% by Libra Retail plc and 50% by the Management Shareholders. The Grafton Investment constitutes a reverse takeover under the AIM Rules, and so trading in the Ordinary Shares of 0.1p on AIM will be cancelled and the Company will apply to the London Stock Exchange for its issued and to be issued ordinary share capital to be admitted to trading on AIM. In addition, Libra Retail plc proposes to change the name of the Company to LEO INSURANCE SERVICES PLC, to consolidate its share capital and to raise over £200,000 through Teather & Greenwood to cover the costs of the Proposals. An EGM has been convened for 11.00 a.m. on 5 January 2006, at Dechert LLP, 160 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4QQ. Libra Retail plc is managed by a Board of four Directors: Larry Lipman Executive Chairman Paul Davis Finance Director Errol Lipman Executive Director Edward Young Non-Executive Director Expected Timetable for Admission Publication of the document 6 December 2005 Last time for receipted Forms of Proxy 11.00 a.m. on 3 January 2006 Extraordinary General Meeting 11.00 a.m. on 5 January 2006 Record Date for the Share Consolidation Close of business 5 January 2006 Admission and dealings in the Ordinary Shares of 1p expected to 6 January 2006 commence on AIM and expected date for CREST accounts to be credited Certificates in respect of the Ordinary Shares of 1p to be despatched 20 January 2006 Placing Statistics Placing price 14p Number of new Ordinary Shares of 1p being pursuant to the Placing 1,443,191 Number of Ordinary Shares of 1p in issue immediately following the 7,062,381 Placing Market capitalisation following the Placing at the Placing Price £988,733 Percentage of the Enlarged Issued Share Capital Placed 20.43 per cent. Estimated gross proceeds of the Placing £202,047 Full details of these proposals have been oultlined in a circular sent to shareholders today. Extracts from this circular are reproduced below. For further information please contact: Libra Retail Plc Teather & Greenwood Binns & Co PR Ltd Larry Lipman Paul Davis Jeff Keating Paul McManus Executive Chairman Finance Director Robert Naylor Tel: 020 7786 9600 Tel: 020 8815 1600 Tel: 020 8815 1600 Tel: 020 7426 9000 Mob: 07980 541 893 Extract from Letter from the Chairman circulated to shareholders today: Background Your Directors have a large number of connections in the property industry and we believe that we can make use of them to sell property insurance services. Paul Davis and I, together with Eddie Young, were formerly directors of Hercules where we were, amongst other things, partly responsible for the growth of that group's property insurance business. Whilst we do not suggest that the Company will replicate the success of Hercules' growth, we believe that the experience we gained there can be of value to the Company in its new investment. Reasons for the Grafton Investment The strategy of Grafton is to focus on arranging property insurance for contacts introduced to it by the Executive Directors. This was the basis on which the Hercules group started its insurance broking business and your Directors believe that that formula will be profitable once more. Grafton will be owned as to 50 per cent. by the Company and as to 50 per cent. by the Management Shareholders, who are individuals with experience in the insurance broking business and who, your directors believe, have the necessary expertise to manage Grafton's broking business. Since Grafton is a newly formed company, with no assets at this stage, the cost of the investment is nominal. Once the Proposals have been approved by the Company's shareholders, it is envisaged that both Safeland and Bizspace will appoint Grafton to act as their insurance broker for their respective property portfolios. In accordance with common practice within the property industry, commission will be shared between Grafton and the relevant insured party. The agreements with Safeland and Bizspace will be subject to termination by either party on not less than three months notice, save that no notice may expire prior to the eighth anniversary of the date of each agreement, unless Grafton is sold to a third party prior to the sixth anniversary, in which case such notice may expire on or after the sixth anniversary (but not before). The maximum aggregate commission payable to Safeland under the proposed agreement with Safeland is £600,000 and the agreement will terminate upon that limit being achieved. The amount of commission estimated to be payable to Safeland under the agreement is approximately £20,000 per annum. Accordingly, your Directors do not envisage that this upper limit will be exceeded. My brother Errol and I have interests (through our investments in SHC) in over 50 per cent. of the share capital of Safeland. Due to those interests, the arrangements between Grafton and Safeland will also require the approval of Safeland's shareholders and a separate circular will be sent to them seeking their consent. The agreement between Grafton and Safeland will be entered into following that consent being obtained. Under the proposed Management Shareholders Agreement, the parties will have the option to require Grafton to be marketed for sale for the period beginning on and from 1 April 2010 and ending on (and including) 30 November 2010. If the best offer received from any potential third party buyer of Grafton is less than Grafton's net income during the twelve months prior to their offer (but is at least equal to 85 per cent. of that income) then the Management Shareholders shall be entitled to purchase the Company's shares in Grafton at the price offered by that third party or if higher for a price equal to Grafton's net income multiplied by the proportion of Grafton's shares then held by the Company. Grafton will apply to the FSA for authorisation to carry on business as an insurance broker in the UK as soon as possible after entering into the Management Shareholders' Agreement. Until such authorisation is given, it is intended that Grafton will (subject to the appropriate requirements of the FSA being satisfied) operate as an appointed representative of Anthony Jones (UK) Limited, a company in which one of the Management Shareholders is interested, which is authorised and regulated for the purposes of general insurance by the FSA. Other Proposals It is proposed to change the name of the Company to Leo Insurance Services Plc to reflect the nature of its new activities. The opportunity is also being taken to consolidate the Company's share capital into 5,619,190 Ordinary Shares of 1p each. The consolidation of the Company's share capital will take place on the basis of 1 new Ordinary Shares of 1p each for 10 existing Ordinary Shares of 0.1p each. It is also proposed that the Company's articles of association be altered pursuant to the Resolution in order to enable any fractions arising from the Share Consolidation to be aggregated and sold in the market for the benefit of the Company. Terms of the Placing The Company and Teather & Greenwood have, on 5 December 2005, entered into a Placing Agreement pursuant to which Teather & Greenwood have agreed, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, to use its reasonable endeavours to procure subscribers for the Ordinary Shares of 1p at the Placing Price. Unicorn Asset Management Limited has agreed, conditionally upon Admission taking place, to subscribe for 1,443,191 Ordinary Shares of 1p each at 14p per share, which will represent 20.43 per cent. of the Enlarged Ordinary Share Capital. This subscription will raise £202,047 for the Company, which will be used to cover the professional fees and other costs which the Company has incurred in connection with the Proposals. The Placing is not a rights issue or open offer and no new shares are being offered generally to shareholders, whether on a pre-emptive basis or otherwise. The Directors believe that the considerable additional costs and delay to which a rights issue or an open offer would give rise would not be in the best interests of the Company in the circumstances, given the size of the Placing. Preference Shares In order to provide the Company with sufficient funds to meet administration and overhead costs, it is proposed that 65,000 Preference Shares be created, allotted and issued to Safeland at the price of £1 per Preference Share. The Preference Shares provide for a fixed cumulative dividend at a rate of six per cent. per annum on the nominal amount of the Preference Shares which accrues on a daily basis from issue. The Preference Shares can be redeemed by Libra at any time on seven days written notice or at Safeland's request when all or any part of the dividend is in arrears for at least 12 months or, in any event, upon the second anniversary of issue. If the Preference Shares are not redeemed by the appropriate date, the dividend rate will increase to nine per cent. per annum. The Preference Shares do not confer a right to attend, speak or vote at any general meeting of the Company. It is not intended that the Preference Shares will be admitted to trading on AIM. Directors Libra is managed by a Board of four Directors, whose details are given below: Larry Glenn Lipman, Executive Chairman, aged 49 I have gained extensive experience of the property market over the last twenty years. I am managing director of Safeland, where my primary focus is on trading opportunities and the assessment of potential investments and refurbishment projects. I am also chairman of Bizspace and, until its recent takeover, was executive chairman of Hercules. I have been closely involved in the successful development and rapid growth of both companies. Errol Alan Lipman, Executive Director, aged 47 Errol gained a diploma in hotel management and catering in 1978. He started to work in the property sector in 1985, when he joined in the sales and rental departments of a local estate agency which Safeland then owned. Errol has been a director of Safeland since its flotation in 1988 and he is primarily responsible for the group's acquisitions and sales of commercial and residential property as well as for the refurbishment and management of the building projects which the Safeland group undertakes from time to time. Paul Malcolm Davis, Finance Director, aged 52 Paul qualified as a chartered accountant in 1975. Having worked as a finance director in the music industry for 14 years at a major publishing house he joined Safeland in 1991 and was appointed finance director in early 1992. Paul is also an executive director of Bizspace and prior to its takeover by Erinaceous plc he was commercial director of Hercules. In each capacity he has had considerable experience in negotiating and arranging corporate transactions and being instrumental in the growth of each of those companies. Edward George Young, Non-Executive Director, aged 63 Edward qualified as a solicitor in 1968 after graduating from University College, London. He is a senior partner of the London firm of solicitors Philippsohn Crawfords Berwald and has extensive experience in commercial property law and practice. He is a senior legal adviser to a major publishing group and holds non-executive directorships on the boards of other companies. In particular, he was a non executive director of Hercules until its take over by Erinaceous plc last year. Following James Caan's resignation from the Board, as announced on 4 November 2005, the Company intends to appoint a new non-executive Director to the board in due course. Directors' interests and lock-in arrangements After the Share Consolidation and Placing have been implemented, SHC will hold 2,665,926 Ordinary Shares of 1p each representing approximately 37.30 per cent. of the Enlarged Ordinary Share Capital and Unicorn Asset Management Limited will hold 1,443,191 Ordinary Shares of 1p each representing approximately 20.43 per cent. of the Enlarged Ordinary Share Capital. In addition, the Directors' aggregate interest in Ordinary Shares of 1p will amount to 176,183 Ordinary Shares of 1p each representing approximately 2.49 per cent. of the Enlarged Ordinary Share Capital. Safeland will hold 511,919 Ordinary Shares of 1p representing approximately 7.25 per cent. of the Enlarged Ordinary Share Capital. The Directors, Safeland and SHC have agreed not to dispose of any interests in the securities of the Company for a period of 12 months following Admission, save in certain specific circumstances permitted by the AIM Rules. On 3 February 2005, Errol Lipman, Paul Davis and I were each conditionally granted options over Ordinary Shares of 0.1p worth £175,000 valued by reference to the average closing middle market quotation for an Ordinary Share of 0.1p (as derived from the Official List) for the first three dealing days after the initial admission, which was 1.92p. Each option is exercisable at any time after 18 months and before 10 years following the date of grant. Recommendation and Directors' Intention The Directors consider the Proposals are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Accordingly the Directors unanimously recommend you vote in favour of the resolution to be proposed at the EGM. The Directors have undertaken to vote in favour of the resolution to be proposed at the EGM in respect of their beneficial holdings of 1,761,832 Ordinary Shares of 0.1p in aggregate representing 3.14 per cent. of the existing issued share capital, with the exception of Edward Young who is not beneficially interested in any Ordinary Shares of 0.1p. In addition, SHC, which holds 26,339,257 Ordinary Shares of 0.1p (amounting to 46.87 per cent. of the existing issued ordinary share capital of the Company) has undertaken to the Directors that it will vote in favour of the Resolution. ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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