Text 100, one of the world's leading technology PR consultancies, has announced that it will seek a quote on London's OFEX market through an introduction sponsored by Docklands-based ARM Corporate Finance. At the introduction price of 30p per share, this values the company at £6 million. Dealing in the shares is due to begin on Tuesday 11th March, and the company will be known as Text 100 Group plc.
The Group is not raising any new money through the introduction, being able to fund its expansion out of cash-flow. This will be the first time that any of the Group's equity has left the hands of its directors and staff.
Group Managing Director Tim Dyson explained: "This flotation will enable us to be very effective in rewarding our existing senior staff and making our career proposition even more attractive to some of the very best practitioners in PR, worldwide. What's missing from many packages available in PR today is any opportunity to share in the ownership of the agency and build a meaningful capital base over the medium term. We initially aimed to address this with our existing ESOP ( Employee Share Ownership Plan ). The move onto OFEX will increase the impact of the ESOP and allow our staff to monitor the value of their shareholdings and options."
Text 100 was set up in 1981 by Tom Lewis and Mark Adams, both of whom remain full-time directors, and the company is based firmly on principles of organic growth. The Group's first start-up subsidiary opened for business in Paris in 1987, and this was followed over the next 10 years by further European subsidiaries in Munich, Dublin, Amsterdam, Stockholm and latterly Madrid. Outside Europe, the Group has subsidiaries in Seattle, Johannesburg and New Delhi. In 1995, the Group also invested in the emerging 'consumer-tech' PR market through a new and separate PR brand, Bite Communications.
Chairman Tom Lewis commented: "After this OFEX introduction, the Text 100 Group will be a debt-free publicly quoted PR group more than 90% owned by or under option to its directors and senior staff. This is a strong and stable base from which to pursue our plans for growth."
Text 100 has grown steadily over the last 10 years, and in the year to 31st July 1996 recorded a Group turnover of £9.3 million and a pre-tax profit of just over £1 million. Its long term aim is to build a global PR brand which stands for excellence in the provision of full service public relations for companies in the technology sector. This will be achieved through building a global capability which offers clients true technology expertise on three levels: local; regional and global. The company currently includes many of the world's leading technology brands among its client roster with about 80% of those clients currently handled in more than one geographic market. Current clients include, in alphabetical order, Acorn, Alcatel, BT Global Challenge, BT GSS, Gateway 2000, Microsoft, Philips, Sony Computer Entertainment, Swatch Telecom and Rank Xerox.
