Corporate finance: News in brief

For the year to 1 April 2002, the company reported turnover up by 21% to £104m, with pre-tax profits up by 34% to £6.1m. The company benefited from the strategic acquisition of The Wine & Beer Company for £7.25m in October 2001. PwC’s Mark Speller said:

‘Despite the extremely difficult conditions of the past 12 months, many of AIM’s companies have shown great resilience.’

The UK buyout market has surged in value, with the strongest quarterly performance recorded since the second quarter 2001. Figures from the Centre for Management Buy-out Research revealed total deal value from July to September of £5.6bn, almost £2bn higher than the previous quarter; this despite continuing concerns over economic outlook, with private equity investors producing the fifth highest quarter value of the last decade. The research also showed renewed activity at the top end.