ACQUISITION HIGHLIGHTS

• Autosheen is a leading, established franchise brand operating a national car valeting network, and is a former winner of the Franchisor of the Year Award.
• Myhome to acquire Autosheen for an initial payment of GBP200,000, satisfied by the issue of 439,900 new ordinary shares in the Company at 45.465p per share;
• A further payment of GBP150,000 will be made in August 2007 and a final payment of GBP150,000 will be made in August 2008. Both deferred payments will be effected by the issue of shares at the prevailing market price at time of issue;
• Autosheen is the Company's fourth acquisition since December 2005 and continues its multi-brand strategy of growing its residential services offering;
• Myhome will now operate five premium residential services brands: Myhome Clean; Nicenstripy, Surface Doctor; Ovenclean and Autosheen; and
• Autosheen has contracts to provide valeting solutions to some of the UK's largest vehicle fleets, such as Royal Mail, HM Revenue & Customs and Inchcape and has recently secured a contract providing its services to a major insurance company, which is offering vehicle valeting to its 750,000 policy holders.

Autosheen is a leading car valeting service francise, with 15 operatives currently in the UK. The car valeting provided involves a number of Autosheen branded products and has been tested to bring out the best in paintwork, leather, vinyl, glass and upholstery.

The fully trained and insured operatives use these specialist products to protect the interior, U.V. block to protect the paint, use a number of deodorisers to give the vehicle a 'showroom' freshness, and have an eco-friendly waterless valet solution.

In addition to the franchisees' own marketing efforts, Autosheen has also secured contracts to provide valeting solutions to some of the UK's largest vehicle fleets. Its client portfolio includes ARVAL, Inchcape Fleet Solutions, Velo Leasing, The Royal Mail and all Government Departments from HM Revenue & Customs to the Department of Work and Pensions. Some of these clients have the largest fleets of vehicles in Europe. Recently, Autosheen secured a contract providing its services to a major insurance company, which is offering vehicle valeting to its 750,000 policy holders.

Peter Butler, CEO of Autosheen, has over 30 years of experience in the motor industry, having directly qualified in Automotive Refinishing with a five year Apprenticeship. He has the benefit of having worked for several years with ICI refinish Support Services across Europe, and was awarded a fellowship with the Institute of Motor Industry in 2004.

The transaction comprises an initial consideration of GBP200,000, which has been satisfied by the issue of 439,900 new ordinary shares in the Company at 45.465p per share. Subject to a number of conditions, a further payment of GBP150,000 will be made in August 2007 and a final payment of GBP150,000 will be made in August 2008. Both these deferred payments will be effected by the issue of shares at the prevailing market price at time of issue. The total number of shares in issue now stands at 34,626,269.

Russell O'Connell, CEO of Myhome International plc, said: 'Autosheen is the latest addition to our portfolio of 'best of breed' franchise operations. Autosheen has all the essential ingredients to become a significant contributor to the Myhome group: a strong, established brand; a product range with retail potential; numerous national contracts; and a core franchise network that we can expand both nationally and internationally. Peter Butler is a CEO keen to maximize the benefits that being part of Myhome can bring to Autosheen, whilst he himself can bring his expertise to the wider group. We now look forward to our step up to AIM later this year with five strong brands, a clear growth strategy and significant financial support. It is a very exciting time for us.'

Peter Butler, CEO of Autosheen, noted: 'I am delighted to be joining the Myhome group of franchise companies. The combination of the Autosheen brand and the proven ability of the Myhome team to accelerate franchise recruitment will enable us to service more customers, particularly the national contracts where we need a larger network to keep pace with demand.'

Published: 22 August 2006

Back to news