Lakehouse shifts to AIM and reveals £39m win

Support services group Lakehouse has announced it is to leave the main stock market and join AIM, believing it will reap “significant benefits” from the move.

Following a review of the business, management determined AIM was a “more appropriate market for a company of Lakehouse’s size”, enabling it to attract investors without the need for costly prospectus documentation.

The company said it expected its shares to commence trading on AIM on 2 May.

“There will be significant benefits from the proposed move to AIM, which will enable the company to more effectively deliver value to all of its stakeholders, including shareholders,” it said in a statement.

Lakehouse also revealed details of a new contract worth £39m to supply smart meters to Scottish Power customers in the West Midlands.

Starting in May, the four-year deal will involve the installation of some 400,000 meters, comprising both smart meters and ‘business as usual’ installations.

In January Lakehouse announced a 54% slump in underlying pre-tax profit for the year to September 2016 to £9.9m, on underlying revenue of £305.8m, down 9.2%.

At the time of the results announcement Holt said the 2016 financial year had been “challenging” for the group, “but one we believe will prove to be transformational, having focused on reviewing the strategy of the group, stabilising operational performance with a view to improvement and controlling costs at every level, whilst retaining a high quality of client service”.

Bob Holt, Lakehouse’s executive chairman, said the Scottish Power contract “reaffirms our strategy of becoming a best in class supplier in the energy services market”.

He added: “Elsewhere the group is performing to the board’s expectations as a result of the strategic initiatives implemented in each division and we expect a strong second half performance from the group as previously indicated.

“We remain focused on restoring shareholder value by delivering against our organic growth strategy.”