17 January 2020
LIVE COMPANY GROUP PLC
("LVCG", the "Company" or the "Group")
TRADING AND OPERATIONAL UPDATE
Live Company Group plc (AIM: LVCG) provides the following trading and operational update for the year ended 31 December 2019 and in respect of its outlook for 2020. Whilst the Group has demonstrated strong growth in 2019, results for year are expected to be below market expectations.
Whilst the Group's touring and event divisions exceeded expectations, with 71 shows and events occurring in 2019 against a projected 60, results for 2019 have been adversely impacted as a result of lower than expected license and content fees from
Based on the Group's unaudited management accounts, the Board of LVCG expects year end 2019 financials to be broadly as follows:
· Revenues of
- Gross margin from continuing operations, increased to 63% from 46%, reflecting the higher revenues in 2019 from and the higher margin of, the Group's touring shows.
· Net Asset growth of approximately
During 2019, the Group focussed resources to expand the BRICKLIVE brand through investing in increasing the number of touring assets and expanding the network of BRICKLIVE events in new regions, developing multi-year relationships with global IP partners and new BRICKLIVE partners, and developing the BRICKLIVE Zoo Programme.
The Board believes that the investments made in 2019 will provide the footprint for growth in future years. Whilst the Board believes that revenue growth rates for 2020 and beyond remain in line with previous market expectations, given the lower starting point, in light of the lower 2019 revenues, the revised revenue forecasts are reduced. Taking into account the revenue shortfall for 2019, the Board is taking steps further to increase the focus on sustainable and recurring revenues streams going forward. Whilst the forecast gross margin in 2020 will suffer slightly, as result of the increased deprecation charge arising from the intense 2019 asset build programme, the Board believes that the growing revenue will deliver significant growth to the bottom line in future years.
Highlights for 2019
· Delivered 71 BRICKLIVE shows and events (2018: 34) held across
· Invested in expanding our show content to meet demand and allow us to expand into new and existing territories. As a result, the Group now has:
- 17 touring shows (2018: 10) expanding the Group's ability to host multiple shows and events simultaneously globally; and
- 882 models (March 2019: 650)
· Created the BRICKLIVE Zoo division, exhibiting in multiple zoos across
· Appointed Licensing Management International Limited, for a five year term, to identify partners for the licensing and merchandising of BRICKLIVE branded merchandise and products.
Furthermore during 2019, the Group negotiated and secured multi-year contracts with global IP partners:
· Entered into agreements with Nickelodeon
· Entered into an agreement with Snowman Enterprises Limited, part of Penguin Random House, to produce themed tours of The Snowman and The Snowdog in the
· Negotiated a multi-year license agreement with Entertainment One
In 2019, the Group secured multi-year contracts with new global partners, namely:
· Imagine Exhibitions Inc., a company incorporated in
· AWC AG, a leading exhibition provider, to promote, manage and operate BRICKLIVE events in
· PALEXPO SA, an exhibition provider, to promote, manage and operate BRICKLIVE shows in Palexpo,
· Exhibition Hub SPRL, an exhibition provider, to promote, manage and operate BRICKLIVE shows in
· BRICKLIVE (
Outlook for 2020
As a result of the Group's significant investment during 2019 to expand and deliver new BRICKLIVE touring assets, the Group has already secured
The Group was pleased to announce on 14 January 2020, that it had entered into a multi-year license agreement with its third IP partner, Entertainment One
In addition to the multi-year contracts already in place, the Group has also entered into the following agreements in 2020, which will continue the expansion of the BRICKLIVE brand into new and existing territories:
· BRICKLIVE,
Mr Stefano Bethlen, the owner of MTF, has spent over 16 years working with The Walt Disney Company. His roles included Head of Business Affairs and Operations of The Walt Disney Company in
· BRICKLIVE,
Mr Con Apostolopoulos of TCA has over 20 years' experience in the entertainment industry and his roles have included President of Partnerships for Fox International Channels before becoming Senior Vice President of National Geographic.
· BRICKLIVE Show,
· BRICKLIVE Show, Franklin Institute,
· BRICKLIVE Tour and Show,
As highlighted by the agreements entered into in 2019 and those set out above, the Group, over the last 12 months, has sought to shift its focus to the expansion of its touring business compared to 2018 where the focus was predominantly on license and content fees.
To facilitate this, the Group expanded its touring asset base in 2019 and, to continue this growth, the Group secured funding through the restructuring of and increase in, the previous loan agreement with YA II PN, Ltd. and RiverFort Global Opportunities PCC Limited (formerly Cuart Investments PCC Limited) (together the ("Investors") as announced on 16 December 2019.
As a result of the new facility, the Group has accelerated its build programme for 2020, with the aim to build up to 16 BRICKLIVE themed tours by the end of 2020. The Group has the ability to draw down a further
Non-executive Director Fees
In support of the Group's continued focus on investing in the development of further show content, Mr Murugason and Mr Freebairn have agreed to be issued new ordinary shares of
The Fee Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares and application will be made for 116,667 Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective at 8.00 a.m. on 24 January 2020.
Following Admission, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 79,617,086 Ordinary Shares with voting rights. There are no Ordinary Shares held in treasury. The figure of 79,617,086 may be used by shareholders, following Admission, 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, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Following the issue of the Fee Shares, Mr Murugason and Mr Freebairn will be interested in 1,320,317 and 471,919 Ordinary Shares respectively, representing approximately 1.66% and 0.59% respectively of the Company's then issued share capital.
EIS Status
The Company is pleased to announce that it has now received confirmation from HM Revenue & Customs ("HMRC") that certain of the Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to the placing in February 2019 are eligible for EIS tax reliefs. As a result, the Company confirms it will issue the authorised EIS3 Form to the five applicable investors, in accordance with HMRC legislation.
Based on the receipt of the HMRC confirmation, the Company expects that, dependent on the individual investor's tax position going forward, any new Ordinary Shares issued by the Company pursuant to an equity fundraise are likely also to be eligible for EIS relief, subject to meeting HMRC requirements. However, the fact that a previous investment in the Company meets the EIS requirements is no guarantee that a future investment will also qualify for EIS tax reliefs.
Shareholder event
As announced on 16 December 2019, the Company is today hosting a shareholder event at 9.30 a.m. at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park,
The presentation to be provided at the event will shortly be available on the Company's website, along with the Group's Year Book, which provides images from some of the Group's shows and events held during 2019.
David Ciclitira, Chairman LVCG commented: "2019 has been a year of growth for the business. It has been a year of significant investment in all areas of the business, which included increasing the number of BRICKLIVE shows and events, launching the BRICKLIVE Zoo programme and BRICKLIVE's IP programme. There have been 71 BRICKLIVE events globally and we are now working with three international IP partners and have access to 12 IP properties. We recently announced our partnership with eOne, part of Hasbro Inc., and today we announce that we have increased our BRICKLIVE partner base to include
Enquiries:
Live Company Group Plc Tel: 020 7225 2000
David Ciclitira, Chairman Live Company Group
Ruth Cunningham, Chief Operating Officer
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) Tel: 020 7409 3494
Stuart Faulkner / Richard Tulloch
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Broker) Tel: 020 7186 9952
Damon Heath
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.
LIVE COMPANY GROUP
Live Company Group plc ("LVCG", the "Company" or the "Group") is a live events and entertainment Company, founded by David Ciclitira in December 2017. The Company was admitted to trading on AIM in December 2017, following the reverse acquisition of Brick Live Group and Parallel Live Group by LVCG.
The Group is a network of partner-driven fan-based shows using BRICKLIVE created content worldwide. The Company owns the rights to BRICKLIVE - an interactive experience built around the creative ethos of the world's most popular construction toy bricks. BRICKLIVE, which is fast becoming a leading children's education and entertainment brand, actively encourages all to learn, build and play, and provides inspirational events and shows where like-minded fans can push the boundaries of their creativity. Bright Bricks is the Group's production centre for building brick based models. The Group is an independent producer of BRICKLIVE and is not associated with the LEGO Group.
Website: www.livecompanygroup.com.
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