Artisan plans EnterpriseAsia coup
Article Date: Jul 19 2000Stephen Dean, chairman of fast-changing Aim-listed contractor and property developer Artisan (UK), intends to oust the board of EnterpriseAsia.com, the sluggish internet investment group with £12 million cash where Artisan holds 20 per cent. Fast-growing and restructured, Artisan has called a special meeting of Enterprise shareholders for Thursday, with the aim of ensuring Enterprise's cash is put to uses perceived to be more favourable to Artisan. Robert Tyerman reports.
Artisan's pre-tax profits for the year to March soared by 250 per cent to £4 million on turnover ahead by a brisk 53 per cent to £35 million. In line with the company's entrepreneurial spirit, its growth was helped by profits on trade investments and by acquisitions, and since the year end Artisan has made more than £5.5 million on sales at its Bickerton subsidiary.
Dean has stated his aim of turning Artisan, with a current market value of £42 million at 17p a share, into a '£100 million company'. He does not dissent from sympathetic analysts' predictions of profits for 2000-01 of £10.5 million.
EnterpriseAsia.com, now 6.75p a share on Aim, was set up to explore on-line opportunities in China and the Far East. Dean complains that most of its Asian investors have sold out and the company plays no useful role.
But it still has £122 million cash, worth more than 5p a share, according to Dean. He reckons he and his colleagues at Artisan can find better uses for the money and is confident that holders of enough of the other 80 per cent of Enterprise can be persuaded on Thursday to agree.
He bought 500,000 more Artisan shares earlier today at 16p and Chris Muselle, Artisan's finance director, bought 50,000 at the same price. These purchases no doubt helped ther shares gain 1p in early trading, to 17p.
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