Fairfax I.S. PLC acted as lead financial adviser and broker to the £3.1m placing and AIM IPO of Verdant Holdings plc.

Verdant Holdings plc is a newly incorporated company, established to invest in the environmental industry, one of the highest profile sectors of the global economy. In the UK it is estimated that the environmental goods and services sector is worth more than £25 billion per annum in revenues, employing 400,000 people in 17,000 companies (Source: Defra: ‘‘Mapping the UK Environmental Goods and Services Sector’’ February 2005). It is also estimated that global commerce could receive a $1 trillion boost from green business over the next five years as international markets create products and technologies to combat climate change (Source: The Telegraph ‘‘Green business could be worth $1 trillion’’ 8 October 2006).

On Admission, Verdant will have no trading business, giving the Directors a platform to carry out a detailed examination of potential investment targets. The Company, in determining potential acquisitions, will consider all sectors of the environmental industry including pollution reduction and remediation technologies, renewable or alternative energy sources, waste management, energy efficiency technologies and carbon trading. The Directors intend to complete the first acquisition within 12 months of Admission.

Issued by Fairfax Equities