Agriterra Ltd Expansion of Beef Retail Business & Board Changes (0849K)

TIDMAGTA

RNS Number : 0849K

Agriterra Ltd

14 April 2015

Agriterra Ltd / Ticker: AGTA / Index: AIM / Sector: Agriculture

14 April 2015

Agriterra Ltd ('Agriterra', 'the Company' or 'the Group')

Expansion of Retail Business in Mozambique and Board Changes

Agriterra Limited, the AIM listed pan-African agricultural company, is pleased to announce the expansion of its retail butchery operations in Mozambique through the opening of a new unit and distribution centre in Nampula.

This ongoing retail expansion strengthens Agriterra's "field-to-fork" model, which comprises beef ranches, feedlot, abattoir and butcheries and represents further positive steps in the implementation of the Company's growth strategy to roll out retail units across Mozambique, building upon the existing Group infrastructure and network.

In addition, the Company announces that two of its non-executive directors, Euan Kay and Michael Pelham are stepping down from the Board with immediate effect.

Nampula - Distribution centre and retail unit

-- New distribution centre and retail unit opened in the city of Nampula, the capital of the Northern Mozambican Province of Nampula and the third largest city in Mozambique, with a population of 500,000.

-- 600m(2) site incorporates a distribution centre to serve Northern Mozambique and a retail butchery to cater for the rapidly increasing local demand for quality beef products.

-- The Nampula unit commenced trading on 1 April 2015 and sales are in line with internal management expectations and increasing quickly.

-- The Nampula site will support plans for further retail expansion into Northern Mozambique where significant growth is anticipated as a result of increased activities from international oil and gas, liquefied natural gas ('LNG') and other resource companies.

Expansion Strategy

-- The Nampula site provides a platform to expand into Northern Mozambique and to supply the rapidly growing Northern provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delegado - accordingly, two initial satellite retail units are planned in Nacala and Pemba during the 2015 calendar year.

-- Agriterra is evaluating the potential for various additional satellite sites around the new Nampula distribution hub, both in Nampula itself and the surrounding areas.

-- Additional, smaller satellite retail units are also planned to leverage off the Company's existing infrastructure at Dondo (near Beira) and a second retail unit in the major city of Beira.

Phil Edmonds, Chairman of Agriterra, said, "Our beef retail business is an essential component of our field-to-fork strategy and provides the Group with direct access to the Mozambique domestic market. Our retail business has proven to be a real success story since opening the doors of our first unit just over two years ago, and the expansion of our retail network remains a core pillar of our strategy to capture further market share within Mozambique. The domestic demand for quality beef products in Mozambique continues to increase providing Agriterra with a significant, and constantly growing, captive audience. The growth in our domestic market is particularly encouraging as it provides us with the scale and capability to target export sales. We are actively evaluating export opportunities which, if successful, could dramatically scale up our beef business in the medium term. I look forward to providing further news regarding our domestic expansion plans and export strategy in due course.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank both Euan and Mike for their support during their time on the Board and wish them both all the best as they now look to focus on their other interests."

**ENDS**

For further information please visit www.agriterra-ltd.com or contact:

 
 Andrew Groves   Agriterra Ltd        Tel: +44 (0) 
                                       20 7408 9200 
 David Foreman   Cantor Fitzgerald    Tel: +44 (0) 
                  Europe               20 7894 7684 
 Rick Thompson   Cantor Fitzgerald    Tel: +44 (0) 
                  Europe               20 7894 7684 
 John Beaumont   Peat & Co.           Tel: +44 (0) 
                                       20 3540 1723 
 Susie Geliher   St Brides Partners   Tel: +44 (0) 
                  Ltd                  20 7236 1177 
 Charlotte       St Brides Partners   Tel: +44 (0) 
  Heap            Ltd                  20 7236 1177 
 

This information is provided by RNS

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