Bonhill trading in line as it puts BSG division on market
By Josh White
Date: Wednesday 22 Jun 2022
(Sharecast News) - Business information, events, data and media company Bonhill Group updated the market on its trading on Wednesday, announcing the planned disposal of its business solutions and governance (BSG) division, to focus on its core offering within the financial services sector.
The AIM-traded firm said it expected group revenues in the first half to be up 9% on the same period last year, although the return to live events did create some margin dilution of around five percentage points as it outlined in its 2021 annual report.
For the first half, it said it expected to report an estimated EBITDA loss of £1.3m, "consistent" with the comparative period last year.
Operating cost savings had been "fully offset" by salary increases, the planned increase in National Insurance contributions, and general inflation, particularly in the UK.
Cash as at 30 June was expected to total about £1m, including the net proceeds of the fundraising in May.
As at 16 June, the group had secured 58% of its revenue target for the year ending 31 December, "broadly in line" with its position at the same time a year ago.
Looking ahead, Bonhill said following the management changes it announced on 7 April, it had reviewed the group and its constituent businesses.
As a result, the directors said they had resolved to dispose of its BSG division, to focus purely on financial services - namely the Investment News and Last Word businesses, which represented around 85% of its audited turnover in 2021.
The company said the BSG division comprises brands including SmallBusiness.co.uk, GrowthBusiness.co.uk, Information-Age.com and DiversityQ, which includes the 'Women in...' events series.
In 2021, the division reported revenues of £2.4m and EBITDA of £0.4m.
It currently employed around 20 staff, and was being made available for sale in part or whole.
The group said it had already received a number of unsolicited expressions of interest from third parties to acquire the division.
"After a slow start to the year, I'm pleased with the performance of the group, which is in line with the board's expectations, and look forward to a stronger second half," said interim group chief executive officer Patrick Ponsford.
"The proposed disposal of the business solutions and governance division will enable us to focus solely on financial services and play to our strengths."
At 0832 BST, shares in Bonhill Group were down 1.74% at 5.65p.
Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.
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