Issue of Equity

Azure Holdings PLC 09 February 2004 9th February, 2004 AZURE HOLDINGS PLC ('Azure' or 'the Company') Open Offer of 12,422,500 new ordinary shares at 1p per share Introduction On 2 December 2003, the Company announced a placing of 19,500,000 new ordinary shares to raise £195,000 ('Placing') and an open offer of up to 12,422,500 new ordinary shares at 1p per share to raise up to £124,225 (before expenses) ('Open Offer')on the basis of ten new ordinary shares for each existing ordinary share held on the record date. The Company announces that the document containing the Open Offer is being sent to shareholders later today. The Open Offer is conditional, inter alia, on the passing of the resolution to be proposed at the EGM to be held on 3 March, 2004. Recent history The Company, which was floated on AIM as Cube8.com plc, acquired Room Service (UK) Limited, a food delivery company in January 2002. Following losses, Room Service (UK) Limited went into creditors' voluntary liquidation in January 2003. This left the Company with no trading activities and virtually no cash. It also had net current liabilities and a net asset deficiency of £141,000. This latter figure took into account a number of unlisted investments with a book value of £133,000, which were subsequently transferred to Coran Investments Limited in settlement of sums owed to it. This left the Company with no assets and liabilities due to creditors of £216,000. The Company was only able to survive with the forbearance of its creditors and was otherwise at risk of imminent insolvent failure. It was against this background that Chiddingfold Investments Limited ('Chiddingfold'), which is wholly owned by Peter Abbey, purchased the debts totalling £119,760 ('Debts') and began to negotiate a rescue package with the board, which included an arrangement with Chiddingfold to make a £100,000 loan to the Company, convertible into ordinary shares at 1p per share, to enable the Company to pay its remaining creditors. Following the appointment of Ray Harris and Nicolas Greenstone to the board and the resignation of Ronald Pearl as a director on 20 October 2003, the current directors decided that the proposed convertible loan from Chiddingfold described above would not be adequate to pay creditors and to provide necessary working capital and therefore, in the absence of any other firm proposals, the board negotiated a subscription by Chiddingfold and its associates and others to raise £195,000 by a placing of new ordinary shares at 1p per share. The Placing was implemented on 2 December 2003. It was also announced on 2 December 2003 that Chiddingfold had converted £105,000 of the Debts into ordinary shares at 1p per share. The balance of the Debts, the Chiddingfold Loan, will be settled by the issue of 1,476,000 new ordinary shares at 1p per share when their issue would not impose an obligation on Chiddingfold to make a general offer for the share capital of the Company under Rule 9 of the City Code. For arranging the placing of £195,000 and the conversion of the Debts, as well as for underwriting the costs of the Open Offer, the Company has agreed to pay Libra Investments Limited ('Libra'), an associate of Chiddingfold, a fee of £10,000 and a commission of £10,000, being 3.2 per cent. of the amount equal to the aggregate of the Placing and Debts converted. These amounts will be satisfied by the issue of new ordinary shares at 1p per share, again when their issue will not impose an obligation on Libra under Rule 9 of the City Code. As a result of the Placing and the conversion into equity of £105,000 of the Debts, Chiddingfold and its associates incurred an obligation under Rule 9 of the City Code to make a general offer for the share capital of the Company at 1p per share. Chiddingfold's offer, the acceptance of which was not recommended by Gerald Gold, the independent director, closed on 13th January, 2004 following which Chiddingfold and parties acting in concert with it held 25,522,761 ordinary shares, representing 81.69 per cent of the issued share capital of Azure. Since that date, Chiddingfold disposed of 6,500,000 ordinary shares, following which it was beneficially interested in 19.28 per cent. of the issued share capital of Azure. At the annual general meeting of the Company held on 20 October 2003, the Directors were asked to consider ways in which shareholders could participate in any future reconstruction of the Company. The Directors have responded by making arrangements for the Open Offer. Current trading and prospects It is the Directors' intention to seek an appropriate acquisition, which, owing to its size, would be classified as a reverse takeover under the AIM Rules, and to use the balance of the proceeds of the Placing and the proceeds of the Open Offer to fund the necessary due diligence and professional fees. Directors Brief biographical details of the Directors, are as follows: Nicolas Greenstone Nicolas Greenstone, aged 59, is a solicitor who has been in practice for more than 31 years. He specialises in corporate law and spent 13 years with Berwin Leighton, where he opened and managed its Paris office. Thereafter he spent nine years with Olswang and followed by nine years with Fladgate Fielder, at both of which he headed their corporate departments. He is a non-executive director of several AIM quoted companies and now practises as a consultant. Raymond Harris, FCA Raymond Harris, aged 63, is a chartered accountant and an executive director of the Company. He qualified as a chartered accountant in 1961 and became a partner of Bennet Nash Woolf in 1963. In 1976 he left the partnership and worked as a sole practitioner as Harris & Co. In 1977 he founded and began developing a multi-national telecommunications business. That business was sold in 1986 and Raymond continued to develop his accountancy practice until he merged Harris Co. with Gerald Edelman in 1989. On 30 June 2003 Mr Harris retired from the partnership of Gerald Edelman. He is a consultant with Adler Shine, chartered accountants, and an executive or non-executive director of a number of AIM quoted companies. As a chartered accountant and financial adviser, Mr Harris' work has led to the development of expertise in evaluating companies across a broad range of sectors. Gerald Gold Gerald Gold, aged 54, has a background in the restaurant and food business. His involvement with the Company arose from the time of the reversal of Room Service into Cube8 Group plc in January 2002. He has experience as a sales and marketing consultant and is also involved in an unquoted property group. Details of the Open Offer The Company is proposing to raise up to £124,225 (approximately £57,000 net of expenses) by the issue of up to 12,422,500 new ordinary shares of 1p each ('Offer Shares') at 1p pursuant to the Open Offer, which is not underwritten. The net proceeds of the Open Offer will be available for working capital. Chiddingfold has agreed to underwrite the expenses of the Open Offer to the extent that the proceeds are not sufficient to cover them, by subscribing for such number of new ordinary shares at 1p per share as is sufficient to provide such sum as is equal to the difference between the proceeds of the Open Offer and the costs of the Open Offer, when their issue would not impose an an obligation on Chiddingfold to make a general offer for the share capital of the Company under Rule 9 of the City Code. The Offer Shares will represent approximately 39.8 per cent. of the existing issued ordinary shares and will represent approximately 28.4 per cent. of the enlarged issued ordinary share capital of the Company following completion of the Open Offer, assuming full take-up of entitlements by qualifying shareholders. The Open Offer is conditional, inter alia, upon the passing of the resolution and on admission becoming effective by 4 March 2004, or such later date, being not later than 31 March 2004, as the Company may decide. The Offer Shares will, when issued and fully paid, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued ordinary shares. Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Offer Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that admission will become effective and that dealings in the Offer Shares will commence on 4 March, 2004. Under the Open Offer, qualifying shareholders have the opportunity to apply for 12,422,500 Offer Shares at the Issue Price, free of expenses, pro rata to their existing holdings of ordinary shares on the record date, on the following basis: 10 Offer Shares for every existing ordinary share held Qualifying shareholders will receive an application form containing details of their respective entitlements to subscribe for Offer Shares. The terms of the Open Offer provide that each qualifying shareholder may make a valid application for any number of Offer Shares up to and including his or her pro rata entitlement as shown on the application form. Shareholders should be aware that the Open Offer is not a 'rights issue' and that entitlements to Offer Shares will not be tradable or sold in the market for the benefit of those who do not apply under the Open Offer. Qualifying shareholders should be aware that under the Open Offer, unlike a rights issue, the Offer Shares not applied for will not be sold in the market or placed for the benefit of the qualifying shareholders who do not apply under the Open Offer. For applications under the Open Offer to be valid, completed application forms and payment in full must be received by 3.00 p.m on 1 March 2004. An application may only be made on the application form which is personal to the qualifying shareholder named in it and may not be assigned, transferred or split except to satisfy bona fide market claims. Related Party Transactions As described above, the Company has entered into an agreement with Chiddingfold pursuant to which Chiddingfold is underwriting the costs of the Open Offer. In addition, Chiddingfold has provided the Company with an unsecured loan facility up to the amount of £60,000. As Chiddingfold is a substantial shareholder of the Company, the above agreements are considered to be related party transactions. The Directors consider, having consulted with John East & Partners, that the terms of these transactions are fair and reasonable in so far as the shareholders of the Company are concerned. EGM An extraordinary general meeting of the Company will be convened to be held at the offices of Halliwell Landau, 75 King William Street, London EC4N 7BE at 11.00 a.m. on 3 March 2004. CREST CREST is a paperless settlement procedure enabling securities to be evidenced otherwise than by a certificate and transferred otherwise than by written instrument. In accordance with standard practice the Existing Ordinary shares and the Offer Shares will be made eligible for settlement in CREST as contemplated by the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001. The Company's articles of association permit the holding of ordinary shares in CREST. Expected timetable of principal events Record date Close of business on 2 December 2003 Latest time and date for splitting application forms to satisfy bona fide market claims only 3.00 p.m. on 26 February 2004* Latest time and date for receipt of application forms and payment in full 3.00 p.m. on 1 March 2004* Announcement of take-up under the Open Offer 2 March 2004* Extraordinary general meeting 11.00 a.m. on 3 March 2004 Dealings in the Offer Shares expected to commence on AIM 4 March 2004* Expected date for CREST accounts to be credited 4 March 2004* Definitive share certificates for the Offer Shares expected to 11 March 2004* be despatched or CREST accounts amended, as applicable * Under the terms of the Open Offer these dates may be extended as Azure may decide. For further enquiries: Azure Holdings Plc Nicolas Greenstone (Executive Chairman) 020 7723 8833 John East & Partners Limited John East/David Worlidge 020 7628 2200 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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