Trading Update

RNS Number:9483W
Maverick Entertainment Group PLC
16 January 2006

16 January 2006

                                 Trading Update
                                         
Maverick Entertainment Group plc ("Maverick" or "the Group"), the AIM listed
company specialising in the creation, acquisition and development of
intellectual property rights ("IP") in children's films, television programmes,
characters and related entertainment products, announces a pre-close trading
update.

Muffin the Mule update:

* 26 episodes delivered to the BBC and first broadcast on 5 September 2005

* Estimated 25,000,000 viewers tuned in to the first series in UK

* Muffin products to be launched at London Toy Fair later this month in
  conjunction with Character Options and Martin Yaffe International. Toy Fair
  sponsored by Muffin

* 25% of initial production investment now covered through sales to date


Trading Update:

* Confident that the Group's objective of returning to profit, before interest
  and tax, in the financial year to 31 December 2005 will be achieved, compared
  to a loss of #2.7m in the previous financial year

* The Group has signed a worldwide sub-publishing agreement with BMG Music
  Publishing for all its IP

* New two year agreement signed with Lace Group for DVD distribution

* Signing of two new IP contracts for popular characters from the 1950s and
  1960s - "Bleep and Booster" and "Bengo the Boxer Pup"


Mike Diprose, Chief Executive                Lulu Bridges/Paul Dulieu
Maverick Entertainment                       Tavistock Communications
Tel: [phone]                            Tel: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]      Email: [e-mail]


Trading Update

Muffin the Mule Update

The Company is pleased to update shareholders on the progress made with the
exploitation of its key IP: Muffin the Mule. The Group delivered the 26 episode
Muffin the Mule cartoon series to the BBC in the second half of the financial
year and it was first broadcast on TV on 5 September 2005. According to official
BARB/DGA viewing figures, in aggregate, 16,475,000 people tuned in to the first
26 episodes during September and October 2005, averaging 633,653 per day. An
estimated 25,346,153 people watched the entire run which comprised of four
showings a day across forty days.

The qualitative research from BARB/DGA showed that the series was particularly
strong on the CBeebies channel. 23 out of 26 episodes of Muffin the Mule won
their slot meaning the programme had more viewers than any other programme
broadcasting at the same time, exceeding the performance of even terrestrial
channels. Episode Engagement (a measure of loyalty and appreciation) for Muffin
the Mule was high at 90%. Muffin the Mule produced an exceptional performance on
CBeebies, achieving an 18.6% share of total audience available. Muffin the Mule
also produced a good performance on BBC 2, achieving a 9.4% share.

We are very encouraged by Muffin the Mule's performance, particularly as this
year marks the 60th Anniversary of the original Muffin the Mule programme. The
Company's two major licensees, Character Options and Martin Yaffe International,
are launching product at the London Toy Fair in late January. Muffin is also a
sponsorship partner at the fair and to mark this, the original Muffin the Mule
puppet will be featuring at the show.

The progress to date with Muffin the Mule has resulted in 25% of the original
investment into the series being recovered through sales and advance sales. We
are actively seeking co-producers to fund more episodes, particularly for the
international markets. Sales to some smaller territories have been signed, but
it is felt an international co-producer who is affiliated with a major
broadcaster will add momentum to the series.


Trading Update

The Company has signed a sub-publishing agreement with BMG Music Publishing
International for all our IP with immediate effect. BMG will be collecting music
back royalties for Snailsbury Tales and Muffin the Mule generated by TV
broadcasts worldwide, as well as proactively using the music for ancillary uses
such as ring tones and downloads.

We have also acquired two new exciting IP opportunities. "Bleep and Booster" and
"Bengo the Boxer Pup" were popular characters in the 50's and 60's. Bleep and
Booster, in particular, featured regularly on the BBC's Blue Peter TV series
throughout the 60's as animatics drawn by the artist William Timym and was
narrated by Peter "Pugwash" Hawkins. William Timym was also the artist
responsible for the Bengo character who was animated for TV in the 1950's. The
Company has signed an IP agreement with the estate of William Timym.

Trading in the second half of the financial year has shown a significant
improvement on the first half year and with particularly strong revenues
generated through the DVD distribution deal with Lace Group. We are, therefore,
extremely confident of achieving our objective outlined at the time of our
interim results of reporting an operating profit for the full year. Furthermore,
we are pleased to announce a new two year deal with Lace Group to continue
distributing our catalogue to key high street locations. Lace will also
distribute the new release titles we have during the period. The new deal will
see DVD sales in 2006 increase as distribution continues to improve. Margins are
also improved due to economies of scale and improved buying power and
efficiencies. The board believes that the recovery will continue throughout
2006.

Chief Executive Mike Diprose comments: "The Group has experienced major change
over the last couple of years, but with focussed direction has got back on the
right track. Our intention for 2006 is to work with like-minded production and
distribution companies to continue the momentum in an ever cluttered and
competitive field. We now have a strong portfolio of IP and an effective and
profitable publishing business".




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