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First Artist loses £5.5m before revamp
Annual losses at now-transformed media and entertainment concern First Artist Corporation (FAN) have nearly quadrupled to £5.5 million before key disposals. In the year to last November, the AIM-quoted company, which will this week change its name to Pivot Entertainment, saw turnover fall 23 per cent to £74 million in the year to last November, as it disposed of many of its operations, including Optimal Wealth Management, which First Artist sold for £1.5 million, and First Artist Management, which went for £175,000.
Since the end of its financial year, First Artist has undergone a transformation, triggered by a £2.5 million equity injection at 11p by Pivot Entertainment, a New York-based entertainment marketing specialist, which also advanced a £1.4 million loan note. After that, David Stoller became executive chairman and Jeremy Barbera took on the role of chief executive, while earlier this month Jon and Phil Smith resigned as respectively chief executive and chief operating officer, and bought First Artist Sports from the company for £1 (with more to come if it now does well).
Following the Pivot investment, First Artist, which had been in breach of its banking covenants, agreed a waiver and £15 million revolving credit facility with Allied Irish Bank. In February, the company disposed of The Finishing Touch (Corporate Events) for £100,000 and a three-year profit share and raised £2 milliion at 20p before securing another £2 million at 23p in March, while Piviot converted its £1.4 million loan into shares at 20p.
First Artist's prospects now hang on Dewynters Group, its leading arts and entertainment agency, which had a profits setback but is now gaining from advertising and marketing several long-running West End hits, according to Stoller, Mewman Displays and strongly performing entertainments advertising agency SpotCo. Floated at 50p 10 years ago, shares in First Artist were trading around 115p four years ago before collapsing all the way to 7p during the past year.
They have since rallied to 30.5p, valuing the company at £20 million and giving Pivot and other funding backers useful paper profits. They should have further to go if the new strategy looks like paying off.
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