16 September 2008
Independent International Investment Research Plc ("the Company" or “the Group”)
Trading update The board notes the announcement that the parent company of Lehman Brothers was placed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the last weekend. At present the full facts and their consequences are not clear. Lehman is one of the Group’s largest clients and the ultimate loss of business from this client would have a significant impact upon revenues and earnings in the current financial year and next financial year. The board understands that there remains a possibility that the broker-dealer division of Lehman, which is the Group’s client for equity research, may be sold as a going concern to another investment bank. In this case the Group’s business with Lehman may continue. The Company recently announced its intention to seek shareholder approval to delist from the AIM market. This was intended in part to reduce costs. Whilst the board believes that the loss of business from Lehman does not threaten the Group’s operations, the Group is not well positioned to raise capital at the present time and further cost saving measures may become desirable or necessary. At the same time, the turmoil in global investment banking may present significant new opportunities for the Group’s research services, as the industry seeks to streamline its own cost base; the Group is developing additional product lines and is seeking to diversify its business. A further announcement will be made in due course.
For further information please contact: Shane Smith, Chairman and CEO, Independent International Investment Research PLC David Worlidge/John East, John East & Partners Limited Shane.smith@iirgroup.com +44 7785 276 703
+44 (0)20 7628 2200
Notes to editors: Independent International Investment Research PLC (“Independent II Research”) (LSE:IIR) is the UK’s leading source for impartial research and strategy for global equities and foreign exchange. The Company was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange in 2000, and operates through two subsidiaries: Pronet Analytics.com Limited (regulated and authorised by the Financial Services Authority in the UK and registered as an Investment Advisor with the Securities Exchange Commission in the USA) which has been ranked consistently in the global top-five independent currency research firms; and Independent Research Pvt Limited, its research centre in Mumbai, India. The Group has become a leading specialist in the United States for the provision of research on non-US companies (primarily those with American Depositary Receipt programs). The Group’s core products are: GEO Monitor™, a research and tracking service providing intelligence on Initial Public Offerings around the world; Research Oracle™, a groundbreaking platform which provides access to the Group’s international research free of charge;
and Global Research, which provides access to financial models, sector analysts, short term trading strategies, and corporate access services. For information on the Group’s independent performance assessment by Investars™, go to http://www.investars.com/bvic_universe.asp?coveragematch=0&AlgorithmID=4&RegionID=4 &period=1&NumOfPositions=4&index=0&Trusted=1&itime=0&SearchID=0&imageField.x=112 &imageField.y=14 IIR is a member of the British Olympic Association Council, promoting and assisting Team GB athletes in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.