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PLUS Markets has announced continued growth in activity during the first half of 2009. Twelve new companies have been admitted to the PLUS market so far this year with other new company applications received, providing a healthy pipeline and supporting this consistent growth.
Among the 12 new companies admitted to market in the period January to June 2009 was Essenden. Essenden’s loan notes impacted in May with a capitalisation of £17.78m, and were the first admission to PLUS by Cenkos, who joined as a PLUS Corporate Adviser in March.
Looking back over H1, in February, Caspian Minerals plc was the first company to issue Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) on PLUS, issued through the Bank of New York Mellon.
PLUS also welcomed the opportunity to facilitate the admission of some more unusual and innovative instruments, working closely with Barclays Bank plc and EDF Energy on the issue of the Nuclear Power Notes, the first Contingent Value Rights Instruments (CVRs) on PLUS, issued in connection with the acquisition of British Energy by Lake Acquisitions Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EDF.
2009 has seen a steady level of fundraisings on PLUS. Worship Street Investments raised £1.3m at admission in June, while 3D Diagnostic Imaging, which joined the market in April, raised more than £2 million at admission. In addition the market has seen more than 60 secondary market fundraisings.
PLUS has consistently attracted significant M&A activity during H1 2009. In May, Shepherd Neame completed the acquisition of 13 freehold pubs from Punch Taverns plc for a total consideration of £14.86 million while ARH Leisure Investments acquired the entire issued share capital of Frontier IP Limited, a subsidiary of AIM quoted Sigma Capital Group plc.
The largest M&A transaction this year, and the biggest ever on PLUS, was the takeover of Rafco by RAK Real Estate, currently valued at $927m. This transaction makes Kuwait based RAK Real Estate, the largest PLUS-quoted company by market cap at £603.67m. Arsenal Holdings with a market capitalisation of £438m previously held the title of largest company by market capitalisation on PLUS.
While PLUS continues to see success in the UK domestic market, marketing efforts continue internationally, particularly in China, South East Asia and India. The interest in PLUS in these regions is encouraging and promises to provide a good source of new investment opportunities.
Head of Capital Markets, Paul Haddock notes: “Interest remains high in our market among domestic and overseas corporates. The past six months have been extraordinarily challenging and companies seeking admission or fund raisings have done so in a difficult environment. However, we are very pleased with the performance of the market in terms of new admissions, fund raising and M&A. The first half of this year indicates that PLUS is in a very strong position to capitalise on the recovery, which will be led by the growth company sector.”
