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01 February 2012 The Company was informed on 27 January 2012 that Mr. Keith Soulsby became interested in a further 232,661 ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") through the acquisition of Ordinary Shares by Wensley Roofing Ltd Directors Pension Scheme, of which Mr. Soulsby is a beneficiary. The acquisition took place on 27 January and represents 1.3 per cent. of the Company's currently issued share capital trading on AIM. Mr. Soulsby is now interested in 730,481 Ordinary Shares representing 4.1 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital trading on AIM. 25 January 2012 The Company was informed yesterday that, on 20 January 2012, Mr. Jon Pither acquired 200,000 ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares"), representing 1.12 per cent of the Company's currently issued share capital trading on AIM. Mr. Pither is now interested in 3,034,414 Ordinary Shares representing 17.04 per cent of the Company's issued share capital trading on AIM. Northern Bear confirms that it has 17,803,726 shares in issue and admitted to trading on AIM. The figure of 17,803,726 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in Northern Bear under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. 09 December 2011 The Company was informed, on 8 December 2011, that, between 28 and 30 November 2011, Graham Forrest, a former director of Northern Bear, disposed of 325,000 ordinary shares of 1 penny each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Disposal"). Following the Disposal, Mr. Forrest is now interested in 1,558,492 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 8.5 per cent of the Company's issued share capital. 29 November 2011 Northern Bear is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the six months to 30 September 2011 Highlights
Howard Gold, Chairman commented: "The Group has performed well in difficult market conditions. There have been a number of changes in the Group in terms of both businesses and personnel but the senior management team have remained focussed on core business and should be praised for the results achieved in the period. "The Group remains well positioned to capitalise on existing and future opportunities." Follow this link to download the unaudited interim results. 19 October 2011 The Company has been informed that, throughout the 17th and 18th October 2011, Mr. Roy Stanley acquired 680,000 ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 11 pence per Ordinary Share, representing 3.81 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital currently trading on AIM. Mr. Stanley is now interested in 896,500 Ordinary Shares representing 5.04 per cent of the Company's issued share capital currently trading on AIM. 11 October 2011 The board of directors of Northern Bear (the "Board") today announces the resignation of Graham Forrest, both as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and as a director of the Company, with immediate effect. The Company will use the occasion of Graham's resignation to review the Board's composition and to ensure that the talent that exists within the business is being utilised most appropriately. Howard Gold, Chairman of Northern Bear, will oversee this process, which will include, inter alia, the appointment of a new CEO. The Company looks forward to announcing its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2011 by 30 November 2011 at which time the Company will report that trading across all divisions is in line with management's expectations. 04 October 2011 The Company was informed, on 30 September 2011, that, on 27 September 2011, Steven Gray, a director of Northern Bear, transferred 100,000 ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Transfer"), for nil consideration. Following the Transfer, Steven Gray is now interested in 655,952 Ordinary Shares, representing 3.56 per cent of the Company's issued share capital. 23 September 2011 The board of directors (the "Board") of Northern Bear announces that, at the annual general meeting held today at 5 Osborne Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne, all resolutions were duly passed. In addition, in accordance with the statement issued in the annual reports and accounts, Keith Soulsby has stepped down from the Board to enable him to fully concentrate his efforts on the opportunities presenting themselves to Wensley Roofing, the business he founded and sold to Northern Bear in 2006. 05 September 2011 The Company was informed today that, on 2 September 2011, Mr. Jon Pither acquired 100,000 ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares"), representing 0.54 per cent of the Company's currently issued share capital. Mr. Pither is now interested in 2,834,414 Ordinary Shares representing 15.38 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital. 26 August 2011 Northern Bear is pleased to announce its annual accounts. Follow this link to download the Northern Bear accounts for the year. 10 August 2011 Northern Bear is pleased to announce its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2011. Highlights
Howard Gold, Chairman of Northern Bear commented: “I believe that these results demonstrate the resilient nature of our businesses, as well as highlighting the Board’s continuing work to review the core focus of the Group and to identify and dispose of non-core, or under-performing businesses, in a timely fashion. “Following the disposal of three non-core businesses during the previous financial year, we now have a more streamlined group of businesses, wholly focused on the support services sector.” “The new financial year has started well and we currently enjoy an order book which is healthier than at any time over the past two years.” “We believe that as a group of businesses, we are very well positioned to take advantage of opportunities as they arise, particularly in the renewable energy sector.” “We look forward to reporting on progress on our newly formed renewables business in the coming months.” Follow this link to download the unaudited preliminary results. 03 August 2011 Notification of major interest in shares Follow this link to the full announcement. 05 July 2011 Northern Bear plc is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Northern Bear (Renewables) Limited ("NBR") entered into agreements (the "Agreements") with RGE Energy UK Limited ("RGE") and St Columb Solar Limited, a company controlled by Hazel Capital LLP, ("Hazel") relating to the provision of photovoltaic solar panel solutions ("Solar PV") to both the UK domestic and commercial markets. RGE is the UK subsidiary of Deutsche Eco AG, a worldwide operating solar company. Services of the Deutsche Eco group of companies include the planning, construction, financing and operation of solar power plants on leased rooftops and land. Hazel is an independent London-based specialist investment manager, investing exclusively in those clean-tech sectors that work to overcome global resource and energy constraints and achieve a sustainable environment. The Agreements will see the three organisations take a vertically integrated approach to Solar PV system financing, supply and installation. Under the terms of the Agreements, Hazel will, subject only to there being no material reduction in Feed In Tariffs payable, purchase up to £10 million of Solar PV systems from RGE over a three year period. Feed In Tariffs are reviewed annually on 1 April by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Under the terms of the Agreements, NBR will act as the exclusive installer of the Solar PV modules on sites to be identified by Northern Bear and which meet Hazel's pre-determined site qualification criteria. The arrangements will enable the group to draw upon the resources and expertise of the four roofing businesses within the Northern Bear group and its existing customers in the North of England in respect of installation projects. Under the terms of the Agreements and at the prices set, the £10 million of funding is forecast to provide sufficient capital to fit Solar PV systems to approximately 1,500 domestic properties. The Agreements contain certain commercially driven termination provisions, which the board of directors of Northern Bear (the "Board") consider to be conventional to a contract of this type. In addition, Hazel may terminate the Agreements should Mr Graham Forrest cease to be employed by the Company. Hazel have advised the Board that this provision reflects Mr Forrest's extensive involvement in the negotiations leading up to the Agreements and his knowledge of the sector. The Board has noted both Mr Forrest's long term commitment to the Company and his terms of employment in agreeing to the inclusion of this provision. Northern Bear Plc Chief Executive, Graham Forrest said: "We are confident that our Agreements with RGE Energy and Hazel Capital will be of significant benefit to the group, both in opening up new markets and enabling us to provide additional products to our existing customers. We have already received positive feedback from a number of our customers regarding the offer of fully paid for and maintained PV systems." |
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26 May 2011 The Board of Directors of Northern Bear (the "Board") announces that the Group has today entered into an agreement to dispose of, with immediate effect, its entire interest in one of its operating subsidiaries, The Roof Truss Company (Northern) Limited ("Roof Truss"), to Kevin Gray, the current Managing Director and a former proprietor of Roof Truss (the "Disposal"). Disposal of Roof Truss The Disposal follows a review by the Board of the operating performance of Roof Truss, as part of a wider review of the Group's operations. The total consideration payable by Mr Gray of £865,744 in respect of the Disposal is to be satisfied as follows:
Roof Truss designs, manufactures and fits trussed rafters for all types of houses across the North East of England. As at 31 March 2011, Roof Truss had unaudited net assets of £463,000 and made an unaudited profit before tax of £24,000 for the year ended 31 March 2011. The net assets subject to the transaction are £1,025,000, as the Group is retaining ownership of an inter company creditor balance of £343,000 and an overdraft of £219,000. The Board considers Roof Truss's operations to be non-core to the remainder of the Group and intends to apply the net proceeds to the development of the Group's core support services businesses. The Board believes that the Disposal is in the best interest of shareholders and leaves Northern Bear better placed to make operational improvements to its core businesses going forwards. PDMR Dealing Mr Gray has today sold 615,548 ordinary shares of £0.01 each in the capital of Northern Bear ("Ordinary Shares") representing approximately 3.2 per cent. of Northern Bear's issued share capital. Following this disposal, Mr Gray is no longer interested in any Ordinary Shares. Share Buyback The Group has today acquired, in the market, 615,548 Ordinary Shares at a price of 11.25 pence per share (the "Buyback"). These shares are to be held in treasury to satisfy future staff remuneration, or for potential re-issue or cancellation by the Group. Related Party Transaction The Disposal is classified as a related party transaction in accordance with the AIM Rules for Companies. Accordingly, the Board, having consulted with Strand Hanson Limited, consider that the terms of the transaction described above are fair and reasonable insofar as the Group's shareholders are concerned. In providing its advice, Strand Hanson has taken into account the Board's commercial assessments. Total Voting Rights Following the Buyback, Northern Bear will hold 615,548 of its issued Ordinary Shares in treasury (and will have 17,803,726 Ordinary Shares trading on AIM). In total, the Group will have 18,419,274 Ordinary Shares in issue. The above figure of 17,803,726 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in Northern Bear under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules 20 April 2011 The Company has today agreed to sell Hastie D Burton Ltd ("Hastie Burton"), which is 100 per cent. owned by its wholly owned subsidiary, Hastie Limited, to Datewood Builders Limited for a consideration of £1 (the "Disposal"). The Disposal follows a review by the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") of Hastie Burton's operations, as part of a wider review of operational performance across the business. Hastie Burton provides general building services to clients across the north east of England and has suffered as a result of the prevailing economic climate. In the year ended 31 March 2011, it recorded an unaudited loss before tax of £0.11 million and as at 31 March 2011 had unaudited net assets of £0.07 million. The Board believes that the Disposal is in the best interest of shareholders and leaves Northern Bear better placed to make operational improvements in the future. As a result of the severe weather conditions in November and December 2010, the Company traded below market expectations. Trading conditions improved in January, and activity has increased further since that time. Whilst March was a very positive month, the markedly improved environment has not been sufficient to enable the Company to trade in line with market expectations. As a result, the Board expects profit for the year ending 31 March 2011 to be below market expectations. 25 November 2010 The Company was informed today that, on 25 November 2010, Mr. Jon Pither acquired 246,500 ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares"), representing 1.3 per cent of the Company's currently issued share capital. Mr. Pither is now interested in 2,734,414 Ordinary Shares representing 14.8 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital. 24 November 2010 Northern Bear is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the six months to 30 September 2010. Highlights
*Calculated before share based payments and exceptional items Graham Forrest, CEO commented: "For the first time in two years we are able to report improved pre exceptional results from continuing operations, compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. "This solid performance, together with our robust cash management, have contributed towards a reduction in our net debt in the past 12 months of £1.0 million. "We continue to take the necessary steps to best position our business in a rapidly changing market place, and in this regard, we are continually evaluating numerous new opportunities." Follow this link to download the unaudited interim results. 24 September 2010 The board of directors of Northern Bear announces that, at the annual general meeting held today, all resolutions were duly passed. [Details of the resolutions can be downloaded from the Key Documents page of this website.] 15 September 2010 Northern Bear, the AIM quoted holding company for a portfolio of building services businesses based in the North of England, today announces the disposal of its subsidiary DJ McGough to its founders, Mr D McGough and Mrs S McGough (together the "Buyers") for a consideration of £1 (the "Disposal"). Under the terms of the Disposal, DJ McGough will also write off inter-company loans due to it from the Company amounting to approximately £0.3 million. In addition, the Buyers have gifted to the Company 547,368 ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares"), being all of the Ordinary Shares held by the Buyers for nil consideration. The Ordinary Shares held by the Buyers were issued to them by the Company as part of the consideration in relation to the acquisition of DJ McGough in April 2008. The Ordinary Shares to be gifted to the Company will be cancelled. The Disposal follows a review by the board of the Company (the "Board") of DJ McGough's operations. DJ McGough provides plumbing, heating and mechanical services to industrial, commercial and local authority clients across North East England and in the year ended 31 March 2010, DJ McGough achieved a profit before tax of £80,526 and as at 31 March 2010 had net assets of £0.9 million. However since the year ended 31 March 2010, DJ McGough has been trading at a loss and has required funding from the Company and there can be no certainty that there will be any pick up in its business activities in the near to medium term. As a result, the Board believes that the Disposal is in the best interest of shareholders. The Disposal will result in an impairment charge in the Company's current financial year, which will be treated as an exceptional charge. Mr D McGough, who is a director of DJ McGough, is considered to be a related party pursuant to the AIM Rules for Companies. As a result, the Disposal is deemed to be a related party transaction pursuant to AIM Rule 13. The Board considers, having consulted with Strand Hanson Limited, the Company's Nominated Adviser, that the terms of the Disposal are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned. In providing its advice, Strand Hanson Limited has taken into account the Board's commercial assessment of the Disposal. Following the gift and cancellation of 547,368 Ordinary Shares, Northern Bear's issued share capital will comprise 18,419,724 Ordinary Shares with each Ordinary share carrying the right to one vote. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in treasury. The figure of 18,419,724 Ordinary Shares may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. 12 July 2010 The Company was notified on 9 July 2010 that Graham Forrest, Chief Executive of the Company, has transferred, on 9 July 2010, 100,000 ordinary shares in Northern Bear plc to Laura Forrest, his daughter. Graham Forrest is now beneficially interested in 1,883,492 ordinary shares representing 9.93 per cent of the Company's issued ordinary share capital. 7 July 2010 Northern Bear is pleased to announce its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2010 Highlights
Howard Gold, Chairman of Northern Bear commented: “These results represent a strong performance in the context of the current economic climate, where the UK economy has just emerged from six successive quarters of negative growth and both the sector and geographic region in which we operate were particularly exposed to the downturn. “The new financial year has started well, with strong order books and a healthy pipeline far exceeding the outlook at the corresponding time last year.” Follow this link to download the unaudited preliminary results. 29 June 2010 The Board of directors of Northern Bear ('the Board') is pleased to announce that the preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2010 will be published on Wednesday 7 July. Additionally, the Board is pleased to announce that the new financial year has started well, with strong order books and a healthy pipeline, both far exceeding the outlook at the corresponding time last year. 15 April 2010 The board of directors of Northern Bear is pleased to announce a trading update ahead of the publication of the preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 March 2010. Despite a challenging economic environment and adverse weather conditions we have been able to consolidate our position as one of the leading support service businesses in the North East of England, and expect our year end result (pre-exceptional and restructuring costs) to be at the higher end of market forecasts. As indicated at the time of our interim statement, there had been a significant reduction in Northern Bear's net debt position in the two months up to December 2009 together with a substantial improvement in working capital. We are delighted that these positive trends have continued throughout the second half of the financial year. In addition, we are seeing the early signs of increased activity amongst our businesses and look forward to the future with cautious optimism. 29 January 2010 Appointment of Broker The Board of Northern Bear (the "Board") is pleased to announce the appointment of Seymour Pierce Directorate Change David Jay has resigned from his position on the Board and will leave the Company with immediate effect to pursue other business interests. Graham Forrest, Northern Bear CEO, said, "All at Northern Bear join me in thanking David for his contribution to the Company and we wish him well in his future endeavours". "I am now confident that we have both the right management and advisory team in place to build upon the solid foundations we have laid to date. Over the past 18 months we have continued to drive further costs out of the business and we are now well positioned to deliver increasing returns for our shareholders." For previous regulatory announcements please follow this link to our archive page
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