NoHo Partners Plc
STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 3 April 2019 at 8:00am
NoHo Partners Plc issues 116,343 new shares in a directed issue
On 2 April 2019, the Board of Directors of NoHo Partners Plc ("NoHo Partners") decided, by virtue of the authorisation granted by the Annual General Meeting, to issue in a directed issue 116,343 new NoHo Partners shares ("Share"). The number of shares subscribed for in the share issue ("Issue") corresponds to 0.61 per cent of NoHo Partners share capital after the registration of the new shares.
The Issue will be to the Norwegian company Carpe Diem AS ("Seller") as part of an arrangement through which NoHo Partners expands to the Norwegian restaurant market ("Corporate Transaction"). The Issue will focus on a portion of the Corporate Transaction wherein a company named Dubliners AS ("Target") will be purchased from the Seller, and with the Issue NoHo Partners will finance the purchase of 203 shares in the Target, which corresponds to 19.3 per cent of the Target's entire shareholding. The subscription price per Share is EUR 8.83, which corresponds to the six (6) months' volume weighted average price of the NoHo Partners share.
In the Corporate Transaction, NoHo Partners will establish a joint venture with the Norwegian company Crea Diem AS ("Crea Diem"), with NoHo Partners owning 80 per cent of the joint venture. The new enterprise will purchase the shareholdings of certain Crea Diem and Carpe Diem subsidiaries as well as 70.0 per cent of the shareholding in the Norwegian company Trobbelskyter AS ("Trobbelskyter"). The set of restaurants included in the Corporate Transaction consists of a total of 15 restaurant units; NoHo Partners will own a majority share in eight of them, and a significant minority share in the other seven.
The shares will be registered in the Trade Register approximately on 5 April 2019, and they will confer shareholder rights to their owners starting from the registration date. Admission to trading the shares on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd Stock Exchange will be sought approximately on 10 April 2019. With the subscriptions, the number of NoHo Partners shares will increase to 19,008,690 shares.
It is the view of the Board of Directors of NoHo Partners that the Corporate Transaction supports the Group's international growth and implementation of its strategy. Another aim of the Issue is to commit the Seller to the company.
CEO Aku Vikström:
The focus of our profitable growth strategy is on significantly improving the profitability of domestic operations, and on fully completing the Royal Ravintolat integration. Simultaneously, we want to start building the foundation for future growth, which we expect from international markets, especially. Internationalisation is a vital part of the profitable growth path of the future, and the Nordic countries are a key market in achieving that. With high purchasing power, the Norwegian restaurant market is nearly twice the size of Finland in terms of value, and we see a lot of growth potential there. Our profitability programmes proceed on schedule, and now that a highly profitable and strategically appropriate portfolio became available, at an attractive price too, with an EV/EBITDA multiple of under five using the figures realised in 2018, we decided to act. In addition, with the deal we also get local expertise and over a century's worth of entrepreneurial experience, making the further organic growth of the Norwegian business operations possible for us.
NoHo Partners aims to achieve net sales of over MEUR 600 and a profit margin of approximately 7.5 per cent by the end of 2021.
Additional information:
Aku Vikström, CEO, tel. +358 44 011 1989
Jarno Suominen, CFO, tel. +358 40 721 5655
NoHo Partners Plc is a Finnish group established in 1996, specialising in restaurant services and labour hire. The company, which was listed on NASDAQ Helsinki in 2013 and became the first Finnish listed restaurant company, has continued to grow strongly throughout its history. The Group companies include over 200 restaurants in Finland and Denmark. Well-known restaurant concepts of the company include Elite, Savoy, Teatteri, Yes Yes Yes, Stefan's Steakhouse, Palace, Löyly, Hanko Sushi and Cock's & Cows. In 2018, NoHo Partners Plc's net sales was MEUR 323.2 and EBITDA MEUR 28.4. Depending on the season, the Group employs approximately 4,000 people converted into full-time workers. NoHo Partners Plc's subsidiary Smile Henkilöstöpalvelut Oyj employed approximately 10,000 people during the 2018 financial period.
NoHo Partners corporate website: www.noho.fi
NoHo Partners consumer websites: www.ravintola.fi and www.royalravintolat.fi
Smile Henkilöstöpalvelut: www.smilepalvelut.fi