AGM Statement
2007-07-23 14:26:00

samedaybooks.co.uk plc (“the Company”)

AGM Statement

Samedaybooks.co.uk plc (AIM: SDK.L), is holding its Annual General Meeting today at 2.30 p.m.

Chairman, David Mahony, will make the following statement about the Company and current trading,

“As I reported in my Chairman’s Statement within the Annual Report and Accounts, the Board as it was then, supported and recommended the offer made by Charles Denton as a way forward from the trading and management difficulties the Company faced in the earlier part of the year. I am pleased to say that the offer by Charles to acquire control of the Company was successful and Charles has joined the Board of your Company as Deputy Chairman.

A number of changes needing shareholder consent will be required to implement the revised strategy of the Company. These will include:
- Changing the Company’s name;
- Increasing the authorised share capital;
- Extending the authorisation to the Directors to allot shares over and above the powers being proposed today; and
- A consolidation of the existing shares.

These matters will be the subject of an Extraordinary General Meeting which will be convened next month.

With regards to our trading we are currently in the process of vacating the present Guildford office premises and surrendering the lease on our Godalming shop. The new Chertsey premises will shortly be in operation and these will house both the Company’s head office and a bookshop.

Both the remaining book shops and Waterside have traded at expected levels in the early months of the current year. As part of the exercise of re-evaluating the Company’s operations going forward, we will be discussing with them their views as to the best ways to develop their businesses.

The Company announced today that it had agreed terms for the acquisition of certain assets of Countrybookshop the on-line bookselling business and community web-site for a consideration of £500,000. As announced on 4 July 2007 discussions regarding the proposed acquisition of Auction Assist, a company providing internet auction services are continuing and a further announcement will be made in due course.

The Group Board and Management

Henceforth the Board which has been strengthened by the appointment of Charles Denton as Deputy Chairman and Kevin Fleming as the future Finance Director will be responsible for strategic direction and control. I will be remaining as the non-executive Chairman of the Company and we will look to appoint a further non-executive director during the course of the current year.

Martin Hearn has accepted the post of Managing Director of Midas Merchant Ltd a subsidiary of the Company. As this is an operational role Martin is declining re-election to the Board of samedaybooks.co.uk plc. Martin will oversee an orderly handover of his non-Midas responsibilities. Further to the Directorate Change announcement released on 3 July 2007 the Board would like to clarify that Andrew Wells has given notice of his intention to step down as Finance Director at the end of September 2007, however, he will remain on the Board until the 31 December 2007.

The Board will be complemented by industry specific advisory panels or boards with a wide range of skills and industry contacts. The advisory board will be composed of individuals with particular technical or market expertise able to assist the operational companies in developing their businesses. We expect to make announcements regarding the initial appointments to this board over the next few months.

The Company announced earlier today that Mr. Sridhar Siddegowa founder of Countrybookshop will join the management team in order to provide strategic advice on e-commerce activities across the Group. In addition the Company is also pleased to announce that Mr. Kieron Smith has agreed to join the Company from 18 September 2007 to manage the e-commerce operations of samedaybooks.co.uk. Mr. Smith was most recently in charge of the new on-line operations being set up at Waterstones.”

Deputy Chairman, Charles Denton, will make the following statement about the future strategy of the Company,

“ArgentVive plc, the proposed new name of the Company intends to implement a strategy to acquire and develop internet based businesses as part of its strategy to become a major provider of technology and training services to enterprises of all sizes across a wide range of industry’s and markets.

There will be three divisions within the Group and we intend establishing these during the current financial year.

Technology
- specifically knowledge and reputation management, advanced search, and enterprise portals;
Training
- funding and delivery of e-learning, apprenticeships, skills for life, workforce development and recruitment; and
Trading
- a division to acquire, incubate and accelerate new e-commerce and web publishing businesses.

ArgentVive aims to be a primary resource for information management and learning solutions, and to leverage this position to help its clients achieve significant performance and profit improvements through the creative and innovative use of online technology and new digital platforms.

Enquiries:

samedaybooks.co.uk plc
Andrew Wells

Tel: 01483 300 255
Charles Stanley Securities
Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
Russell Cook
Carl Holmes

Tel: 020 7149 6000
IAF Securities
Financial Adviser and Joint Broker
Gary Pinkerton