FAN Volution Group Plc

RNS Number:7117O
First Artist Corporation PLC
26 February 2008

Date:               26 February 2008

On behalf of:       First Artist Corporation plc ("First Artist" or "the Group")

Embargoed for:      0700hrs



First Artist Corporation plc

Trading Update

First Artist Corporation plc (AIM: FAN), the media, entertainment and events
group, today provides an update on current trading prior to entering the close
period before reporting its interim results for the six months ended 29 February
2008.  This includes the Christmas trading period and the January football
transfer window.



The overall performance of the Group has been in line with management
expectations.  The Board is pleased with a strong pipeline of income and new
business opportunities across the Group, which will drive growth during the
traditionally stronger second half of the year and beyond.



Media



Dewynters, the UK's leading theatre and entertainment media agency is continuing
to trade strongly.  Dewynters will be promoting a number of new West End shows
including musicals, 'Gone with the Wind' and 'Sleeping Beauty', which open in
the UK in April and June 2008 respectively.



Sponsorship Consulting, an independent sponsorship consultancy, has recently
signed new term contracts with existing clients Unilever and Shell, as well as
generating a good flow of new business, which will bear fruit in the second half
of the year.



First Rights, established in 2007 to develop sponsorship rights, has won six
clients in its first nine months of operation, including the appointment to
secure sponsorship for the Eighth Special Olympics GB National Summer Games to
be held in Leicester in July 2009.



Entertainment / Sports



Our Football division has experienced a strong January football-trading window.
First Artist Sport completed 19 deals during the window, including Felipe
Caicedo from FC Basel to Manchester City, Leigh Bromby from Sheffield United to
Watford F.C., Jean-Alain Boumsong from Juventus to Lyon and Shaun Derry from
Leeds United to Crystal Palace. Trading has been as expected, with a strong deal
pipeline for the second half of the year.



First Artist Management, our 'Total Management' celebrity and media agency
representing actors, sport and TV presenters and other media personalities,
continues to trade well.  The company introduced Natalie Pinkham for 'Dancing on
Ice' and recently signed David Platt for Sky Sports.



Optimal Wealth Management, the high net worth Independent Financial Advisory
firm, continues to be have a strong financial input into the Group.  In January
the company successfully gained Chartered status from the Chartered Insurance
Institute (CII), an exclusive title only awarded to firms which meet rigorous
quality and compliance criteria relating to professionalism and capability.



Events



Event management company, The Finishing Touch, is trading sizeably ahead of the
same period last year, which has been achieved despite a challenging corporate
events market.  The Finishing Touch continues to deliver an excellent service to
its public sector client, the Training & Development Agency for Schools, and a
strong second half performance is expected.


Current Trading & Outlook



The Board is pleased with the continued progress that the Group has made during
the period and remains confident that trading for the full year will be in line
with market expectations. Cash generation remains strong in the Group.

The Group expects to report its interim results for the six months ended 
29 February 2008 in April 2008.


- ends -




Jon Smith, Chief Executive
Richard Hughes, Group Managing Director                www.firstartist.com
First Artist Corporation                               Tel: 020 7993 0000

Emma Kane / Samantha Robbins / Sanna Lehtinen          sr@redleafpr.com
Redleaf Communications                                 Tel: 020 7822 0200

David Floyd
Dawnay Day, NOMAD                                      Tel: 020 7509 4570

Katie Shelton
Daniel Stewart, Broker                                 Tel: 020 7776 6550



Notes to Editors:



-         First Artist Corporation plc floated on AIM in 2002

-         First Artist's group companies are among the leading brands
          in their fields under the following categories:

        o Media - advertising, marketing and signage for West End, Broadway and
          Las Vegas shows via the Dewynters and Newman Displays brands, and 
          strategic sponsorship consulting via Sponsorship Consulting and First 
          Rights

        o Entertainment - representation of media personalities and football
          players/clubs across UK, Europe and the US via its First Artist Sport 
          and First Artist Entertainment companies together with wealth management 
          under its Optimal Wealth Management arm

        o Events - offers a broad range of events such as conferences, company
          activity days, venue finding, delegate  management and client events 
          for private and public sector clients such as the Training & 
          Development Agency, under its Finishing Touch business

-         First Artist is acting as a consolidator in the fragmented
          media, entertainment and events sectors focusing on high quality brands 
          with the potential to cross sell to other Group companies

-         First Artist has strong visibility of earnings across a
          diverse and non-cyclical range of activities in both live and digital formats

-         The Group benefits from a strong, experienced management team
          with extensive expertise across all the sectors in which it operates


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

TSTUVOBRWBRUUAR

Volution (LSE:FAN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024

Volution (LSE:FAN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024