6 January 2010
Shareholders of international multi-skilled consultancy, WYG, gave a massive vote of confidence in favour of the Company’s proposed refinancing at today’s extraordinary general meeting in Leeds.
Over 95 per cent of the votes were in favour of the proposals which will secure the financial future of the Company and save around 2,700 jobs.
Speaking immediately after today’s meeting, Paul Hamer, Chief Executive, WYG Group, said: “We are absolutely delighted that through this challenging period our lenders, shareholders, clients and staff have continued to support us and believe in the future success of the business. Upon completion of the refinancing we will have significantly reduced the level of the Group’s debt, created a stable, long term financial future for the Company, secured around 2,700 jobs and provided renewed confidence to our clients.”
WYG’s banks will convert some £53m of debt into equity and provide new lending facilities totalling £58.25m and €38m of committed bonding facilities to help put WYG on a strong and sustainable financial footing.
60.5% ownership of the Company will transfer to the banks, 24.5% to staff and management and 15% to existing shareholders. As a result of this structure, WYG’s listing on the stock exchange will be transferred from the Main Market to the Alternative Investment Market.
Paul added: “The approval by shareholders of our restructuring has endorsed a fresh start for WYG despite the fact, as previously indicated, that the Group continues to face challenging market conditions. With a new leadership team and a restructured balance sheet, we will be putting in place fundamental building blocks to enable us to benefit from profitable opportunities at home and internationally, while continuing to take a prudent and cautious view of the market.”
A request has been made to the UK Listing Authority to cancel the listing of the Company’s Ordinary Shares on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange. These cancellations are expected to take place at 8am on 4 February 2010.
An application has also been made for the admission to, and commencement of trading in the Company’s ordinary shares on, AIM.
The remaining restructuring conditions precedent, which are essentially administrative in nature, are expected to be satisfied and the restructuring formally completed on Friday 8 January 2010, at which time a further announcement will be made.
