Admission to AIM

RNS Number:2707I
Prince Catering & Mgmnt (Overseas)
31 August 2006









               PRINCE CATERING AND MANAGEMENT (OVERSEAS) LIMITED

                          ("Prince" or the "Company")



                      CHINA RESTAURANT GROUP FLOATS ON AIM



Prince Catering and Management (Overseas) Limited, which is principally involved
in the operation of luxury Cantonese restaurants in China and Hong Kong,
announces that its shares were today admitted to trading on AIM, the world's
leading market for smaller growing companies. The Company's Nominated Adviser
and Broker is WH Ireland Limited.



The Company also raised approximately #427,900 by way of a placing, conditional
on Admission, at a price of 9.25p per placing share. The proceeds of the Placing
will be used to contribute towards the costs of Admission.



Prince operates one restaurant through a wholly owned subsidiary, one restaurant
through a 51% owned subsidiary and 11 others operated as managed restaurants
with a further managed restaurant expected to open in Xi'an before the end of
2006. In addition, the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") operate a
luxury hotel and a separate health club under management contracts with a
further hotel expected to open in Beijing later this year.



The Directors believe that admission will raise the Group's profile and the
reputation of the Group.



Background

The customers of a Prince restaurant are typically businessmen and groups from
amongst the middle and upper classes, whose numbers have increased with the
strong growth in the Chinese economy. The Group is able to take advantage of
established Chinese customs and habits which see a large amount of business
conducted around the restaurant table. Each of the Prince restaurants caters for
these key groups by offering a large selection of high class dishes complemented
by luxury settings within which to dine. Each restaurant also has a range of
separate dining rooms available for business to be conducted in private.



The Group has two distinctly different operation streams. The Group owned
restaurants, as the flagships of the Group, are located in Xi'an and Hong Kong,
which the Directors believe are amongst China's primary cities. The remaining
restaurants are operated under a management contract concept.



Of the Group's two main operating streams, the Directors believe that the
management contract concept will become the main source of income for the Group,
and is the area where the management will focus much of its efforts. The
management contract concept has a higher profit margin and lower capital
requirements than the Group-owned restaurant concept, and the Directors believe
it is also an area with the greater market potential. If suitable investors can
be located, the number of managed restaurants will increase and it is the
expectation that the overall profit margin of the Group will also increase. When
the number of managed restaurants is able to sustain it, it is intended that a
logistics centre and a training centre will be established to centralise all
procedures relating to the restaurants (including staff training and the
co-ordination of supplies). As it is envisaged that the owners of the
restaurants will be charged for using the facilities at the centres, these are
expected to become further profit streams for the Group. In order to increase
the awareness of the 'Prince' brand name, it is also the Directors' intention to
open, in due course, two new restaurants (which will be wholly owned by the
Group) in Beijing and Shanghai. It is believed these restaurants will positively
influence the development of the restaurant management business as consumers
will associate the Prince name with the establishments located in these key
cities.



For the reasons stated above the income/fees received by the Group depend
significantly on new restaurant openings. During the first 6 months of 2006
Prince Catering executed less management contracts for new restaurants than in
the same 6 month period of 2005. This has affected the Group's trading
performance for that 6 month period.



Sector

The beverage and catering business has been one of the fastest growing business
sectors in China. In 2004, the turnover for the beverage and catering sector
within the PRC was, in aggregate, RMB748.6 billion representing an increase of
21.6% compared with figures in 2003. In 2005, the turnover for the beverage and
catering sector within the PRC was, in aggregate, RMB888.7 billion representing
a further increase of 18.7%.



It is anticipated that the turnover for the beverage & catering sector of the
PRC will reach RMB1,000 billion in 2006. This increase in consumption reflects
the economic growth in China which has experienced a consistently high level of
growth over the past 10 years and, as a consequence, the average GDP growth
achieved in the past 5 years was 9.4%. As a result, the average income per
person has increased by 56% in the urban areas and 21% in the countryside,
during the period from 1998 to 2003. It is anticipated by the President of the
State Statistic Bureau of the PRC that the GDP growth rate will average over
7.5% per annum for the period 2006 to 2010.



In a report titled ''Information on the Beverage and Catering Market in China in
2005 and Forecast for 2006'', the Chinese Ministry of Commerce reported that
Chinese people on average spent RMB680 dining out during 2005. This showed a
marked increase compared to the average RMB186 spent in 1996. It is anticipated
that an average spend of RMB800 will be achieved in 2006. In Guangzhou, the
capital of south China's Guangdong Province, the average spending per person in
restaurants was RMB4,160 last year, the highest in China but, in terms of total
consumption, it was second after Shanghai, whose sales volumes in the restaurant
sector reached RMB35 billion. Beijing and Chengdu were ranked third and fourth
respectively.



Since the first Prince restaurant was established in Xi'an in 2002 the Group has
grown quite rapidly, and now manages 13 restaurants, all branded with the Prince
name. Discussions are also currently under way with potential investors for a
further 3 restaurants, although at this stage the Directors do not know how many
of the potential opportunities will be realised or how many new restaurants will
be opened.




Press enquiries


David Youngman, WH Ireland Limited                       Tel: [phone]
Jiang Lei, First City Financial Public Relations:        Tel: [phone]
Allan Piper, First City Financial Public Relations:      Tel: [phone]





Directors

Mr. Guangfan Mai, aged 37 - Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Mai is the Vice Chairman of the China Catering Association and Honorary
Chairman of the Shenzhen Association of Hotels and Restaurants. A citizen of
Hong Kong, Mr. Mai has 20 years experience in catering and catering management.
As Chief Executive Officer of the Company and one of the main shareholders, he
is responsible for the culinary and creative direction of the Group. Mr. Mai
spends approximately 100 days a year in the kitchens improving the ''Prince''
menu and another 100 days a year training the Group's chefs.



Mr. Honkeung Shum, aged 46 - Executive Director

Mr. Shum is a senior hotelier. He was the accountant, founder and senior member
of the Hong Kong Hotel Controllers and Accountants Association. His 20 years of
hotel and restaurant experience included working as a revenue accountant in the
Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong Hotel, as financial controller in the Ambassador
Hotel, Hong Kong; as assistant financial controller in the Shangri-La Hotel
Shenzhen; as deputy group general manager in the TEDA Hotels Management Limited
and as group financial controller at Seaport Catering Management Limited. As an
executive director of the Company and the general manager of Prince Catering, he
is in charge of the day to day operation and business development of the Group.



Mr. Xingeng Dong, aged 37 - Executive Director

Mr. Dong is responsible for the day to day administration of the Group and
implementation of the Board's decisions. He has 12 years of finance and
investment banking experience having worked as manager of the Department of
Settlement for Companies, Far East Settlement Centre at the Xi'an branch of the
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and as a senior manager of Deheng
Securities Co., Ltd. A graduate of North-West University of Technology, majoring
in IT and financial management, he also received a further training in
enterprise management at the People's University of China.



Mr. Jinbi He, aged 42 - Executive Director

Mr. He is the president of Xi'an Maike Investment and Holdings Corporation
Limited and the Chief Executive Officer of Xi'an Maike Metal International Group
Co., Ltd, a copper trading company with an annual turnover of US$300m in 2004.
Since its inception in 1993, Xi'an Maike Group has been involved in metal and
non-ferrous metal trading, in both domestic and export markets, as well as real
estate development and management and catering. Mr. He, as one of the main
shareholder of the Group, is responsible for formulating the business and
strategic development of the Group. Mr. He is currently studying for an MBA at
the Chinese University of Hong Kong.



Mr. Yuktong Yip, aged 41 - Executive Director

Mr. Yip, a Hong Kong citizen, is responsible for formulating the strategy of the
Group's expansion, especially in the south of China where he is based. Mr. Yip
is a native of Dongguan, Guangdong province and migrated to Hong Kong in 1980.
From 1980 to 1988, Mr. Yip worked in the Hong Kong clothing and textile
industry. In 1988, he established Fly Eagle (H.K.) Enterprises Company,
primarily engaged in electronic goods trading. In 1996, Mr. Yip founded Sky Wise
Holdings Limited which is involved in consumer electronics manufacturing and
logistics. Mr. Yip is currently studying for an MBA at Qinghua University.



Mrs. Lauren K. K. Wu Lau, aged 50 - Non-executive Director

Mrs. Lau qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant in the UK in 1986 and
joined Kennic L.H. Lui & Co in the same year after returning to Hong Kong. Mrs.
Lau is a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a
fellow practicing member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public
Accountants and a fellow member of the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong. She has
had experience in auditing, tax planning, and corporate finance. Mrs. Lau's
technical expertise in both auditing and corporate finance, together with her
understanding of business customs and practice in Hong Kong and the United
Kingdom enables her to provide considerable support and assistance to clients,
particularly in start up situations and corporate planning. Mrs. Lau was a
council member of the Society of Chinese Accountants and Auditors from 1999 to
2001.



Richard Nicholas Tanner, aged 58 - Non-executive Director

Richard Tanner is a partner of Tanner De Witt solicitors in Hong Kong, a
partnership which he founded in 1999. Mr. Tanner specialises in corporate and
commercial law, acting for both local and overseas clients. He advises on the
establishment and operation of companies in Hong Kong and China, mergers and
acquisitions and contracts. He also advises on the protection and registration
of trademarks, banking arrangements and employment law. Mr. Tanner qualified as
a solicitor in England and Wales in 1978, and was the senior legal adviser to 3i
Plc before he moved to Hong Kong in 1985. Mr. Tanner qualified as a solicitor in
Hong Kong in 1985. He is a member of the Guidance Committee of the Law Society
of Hong Kong which provides guidance and advice to members of the profession
relating to professional ethics.



Financial Director

It is the Directors' intention to appoint an executive financial director
following Admission.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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