BNT Basepoint

RNS Number:8744A
Basepoint PLC
15 July 2004

Basepoint plc 2004 Annual General Meeting

Chairman's Statement

Basepoint plc's Chairman, The Viscount Lifford, made the following statement at
the Company's Annual General Meeting, held at Winchester Guildhall at 11 am on
Thursday 15 July 2004:

The 2004 Annual Report was recently distributed to shareholders and contains
detailed information on the state of the company's affairs for the financial
year to the end of February and the subsequent period up to the date of that
Report, the 19th of May.

In my statement accompanying the Annual Report I was particularly pleased to
record, in line with our strategy, the successful way in which the core skills
within the Group have been leveraged to build new centres without necessarily
owning them. This enabled the company to generate income from managing centres
and from the proportional ownership of centres as well as from the activity of
developing new centres. As a consequence these additional income streams
contributed to the company posting a record year. Profit increased by 71% and
net assets per share increased by 11% to #1.97. This success forms the basis for
the Resolution proposed for today's Meeting to pay a final dividend of 2.2p
making a total of 2.7p per share. This represents an increase in dividend for
the year of over 22% and maintains our progressive dividend policy.

Trading at our wholly owned centres has been buoyant through the first four
months of the new financial year. Temporary weakness experienced at some of
those centres during the last year has been remedied and I am delighted to
report that average occupancy so far in the new-year stands at an outstanding
93% of maximum. Two centres, owned in partnership with the Trustees of the Kodak
Pension Plan, opened last winter and I am pleased to report that trading to date
has been satisfactory and the prospects looking forward are most encouraging.

The centre at Gosport, which we are managing for the South East England
Development Agency (SEEDA), opened in May and has started well with occupancy
levels building in line with projections.

Work continues apace on new and potential centre developments. Construction work
on the partnership centres at Bournemouth and Swindon is progressing well and
they are scheduled to open in September and next January respectively. Planning
applications have recently been submitted for two new centres. Subject to the
completion of the planning and appraisal stages we anticipate one will be
adopted by the partnership and the other will come under the SEEDA banner. There
is also a significant level of preliminary activity taking place on other
potential new centres, with scope for adoption by regional development agencies,
the company or the limited partnership.

In summary I believe that we are moving ahead satisfactorily with our strategy
on all fronts and whilst uncertainty still exists on timing of new centre
development contracts I am confident that prospects for the medium and longer
term remain highly positive and your company will then be well positioned to
build on the outstanding result obtained in the 2003 - 2004 financial year.

Contacts:
David Boakes - Basepoint plc, Director of Finance & Operations
Email: davidboakes@basepoint.co.uk
Telephone: 01962 842244

Nicola Horton - Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance Limited
Email: nah@smith.williamson.co.uk
Telephone: 020 7637 5377





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