Disposal of Construction Division and Trading Upda
DISPOSAL OF THE CONSTRUCTION DIVISION AND TRADING UPDATE
Crest Nicholson plc ("Crest") announces that it has entered into a conditional agreement to dispose of its Construction
Division, Pearce Group plc ("Pearce") to its management team, headed by John Rackstraw. The agreement is conditional,
inter alia, upon the approval of Crest's shareholders, which will be sought at an extraordinary general meeting to be
held in January 2003.
The consideration which Crest will receive for the entire issued share capital of Pearce is £9.2m of which £7.7m is
payable in cash at completion with the balance of £1.5m satisfied by the issue of preference shares in the MBO vehicle,
Pearce Holdings Limited, redeemable in three equal instalments 18,30 and 42 months after completion, respectively.
The consideration represents a £50,000 premium to Pearce's consolidated tangible net assets at 31 October 2002 of
£9.2m. On completion, after the settlement of inter company indebtedness, there will be a cash outflow of around
£0.3m.
The audited accounts of Pearce for the year to 31st October 2002 showed a loss before tax of £3.3m, after an
exceptional charge of £1.1m associated with the costs of closure of M+W Pearce.
The housebuilding business of Cox Homes, previously part of Pearce, has been retained by Crest. Cox is a specialist
developer of small sites in and around the Cotswolds. It will operate as a separate business unit in Crest's
Residential Division.
Crest will continue the proven and successful trading relationship with Pearce for construction contracts on its
commercial and mixed use development projects. These will be placed on an arms length basis.
Change in Policy regarding FRS18 Income Recognition
At the time of its Interim Results, Crest announced that it was reviewing its accounting policy with regard to the
point at which a house or flat was regarded as complete for the purpose of income recognition. It has been decided to
move the point of income recognition from exchange of contracts and plastering to exchange of contracts and build
completion. The new policy will be implemented in the accounts for the year to 31st October 2002. Crest confirms its
previous statement that any change will have no material adverse impact on the profit for the current year.
Trading Update
The Board expects the results for the year to 31st October 2002 to represent a further record in terms of pre-tax
profits and earnings per share and to be in line with current market expectations.
Since the end of its financial year reservations both in terms of volumes and prices have been well ahead of Crest's
expectations and of the performance in the equivalent weeks last year. Crest holds a strong, well bought, land bank at
good margins. The Board is confident of continued progress which will be facilitated by the implementation of the
strategic decision to dispose of Pearce and concentrate on its core business.
Enquiries to:
John Callcutt, Chief Executive Rebecca Blackwood/Kate Miller
Clive Littler, Finance Director Brunswick Group Limited
Crest Nicholson PLC Tel: 0207 404 5959
Tel: 01932 847272
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