04.03.2003

Lavendon admits attempted MBO

Speculation that one of the "approaches" for Lavendon Group received last year was in fact a Management Buyout has been confirmed by notes to the annual report.

The report comments that:

"The board announced on 23 August 2002 that an unsolicited approach had been received which might lead to an offer for the company. Subsequently, the executive directors were given leave to explore the possibility of a management buy-out and a preferred private equity provider was selected to work with; however, it became clear that, given the situation in Germany, there was no certainty that an offer, which would be acceptable to shareholders, would be made. At that stage, the board unanimously agreed on 3 February 2003 to terminate all discussions rather than risk damage to the business through continuing uncertainty and distraction of management, staff and customers, which could have continued for many weeks, if not months, and still not resulted in an acceptable offer.

"The board determined, therefore, that management should focus exclusively upon delivering performance, which we believe to be the most appropriate way to enhance the value of the company to the benefit of all shareholders."

The executive directors of Lavendon Group plc are David Price, Kevin Appleton and Alan Merrell.