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Connect Group operates a diverse portfolio of businesses leading distribution specialists in carefully chosen markets. With a combined revenue of £1.8bn, we employ 4,500 staff and operate in the UK and worldwide.

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LGEN < 3%

Gap closed!

Interim Management Statement

Connect Group PLC ("the Group") a leading specialist distributor operating in three divisions; News & Media, Books and Education & Care, is today issuing its Interim Management Statement covering the 44 week period to 5 July 2014.

Total Group revenues increased 0.2% year on year and performance for the Group remains broadly in line with current market expectations for the full year.

The performance of each division is as follows;

· Connect News & Media; News revenues increased by 0.1% driven by strong World Cup sticker sales. Like for like revenues decreased by 2.1% with both newspaper and magazine performance continuing at recent robust run rates. Consequently, full year performance will be above previous expectations. Media revenues decreased by 3.2% and on a like for like basis by 2.8%.

· Connect Books; revenues increased by 2.6% due to recent acquisitions and by the continued strong performance of Wordery. Like for like revenues decreased by 3.2% reflecting increased pressure across other channels. Recent recovery actions expected to reduce costs and increase margins are being delivered, although as a result of continued sales pressure particularly in Library services and Academic markets we expect full year performance will be below previous expectations.

· Connect Education & Care; revenues increased by 2.2% and on a like for like basis by 2.2%. Core revenues were up 4.4% on a like for like basis with the Education and Early Years channels performing more strongly than the smaller Care channel. Momentum is building for the key peak trading period which has started as planned and full year performance remains in line with previous expectations.

There has been no change in the underlying financial condition of the Group since the half year ended 28 February 2014 and the Group continues to operate well within its bank facilities.

The Group will announce its preliminary results for the twelve months ending 31 August 2014 on 15 October 2014.

N+1 Singer Hold 173.50 184.00 184.00 Reiterates

Oriel Securities Buy 173.50 - 225.00 Reiterates

Pre Close Statement

Connect Group PLC ("the Group")a leading specialist distributor operating in three divisions; News & Media, Books and Education & Care, is today issuing its pre close statement for the twelve months ending 31 August 2014.

Since the previous update on 8 July 2014, the Group and each of its divisions have performed in line with management expectations and, as a result, Group underlying profit before tax is expected to be in line with recent guidance. Group basic underlying EPS is expected to be slightly ahead of recent guidance as a result of prior year tax credits being higher than previous management expectations. With respect to each division:

· Connect News & Media: Newspaper and magazine performance has continued at recent robust run rates. Media has performed in line with expectations.

· Connect Books: management actions are taking effect, and recent performance has stabilised in line with management expectations.

· Connect Education & Care: performance has been in line with management expectations through the peak trading period.

There has been no change in the underlying financial condition of the Group since the half year ended 28 February 2014 and the Group continues to operate well within its new bank facilities.

The Group will announce its prelim results for the twelve months ending 31 August 2014 on 15 October 2014. An analyst briefing will be held at 9.30am on 15 October 2014 at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, EC2V 6DN.

5yr contract extension with Guardian News & Media

Connect Group PLC ("the Group") a leading specialist distributor operating in three divisions; News & Media, Books and Education & Care, is today delighted to announce Smiths News, the UK's leading newspaper and magazine wholesaler, has reached an agreement with Guardian News and Media to extend their newspaper wholesaling agreement until February 2021.

The new agreement secures the existing 60% market share of Guardian News and Media's distribution business for an additional five years.

The contract is valued at £63m pa (at FY14 values) equating to 7% of the national newspaper distribution market. Guardian News and Media publishes both The Guardian and The Observer which sell 180,000 and 200,000 papers per day respectively.

Following this extension, Smiths News has now secured c.£1.2bn of revenues per annum (at FY14 values) through to 2019 equating to 84% of total sales.

Preliminary Results Announcement for the year ended 31 August 2014

2014 HIGHLIGHTS:

· Solid financial performance
o Group Underlying Revenue and Underlying PBT marginally ahead of last year
o Free cash flow of £37.2m, up 14.1%
o Net Debt reduced to £93.0m, 1.4x net debt / adjusted EBITDA

· Increased shareholder returns
o Underlying EPS 21.7p, up 2.8%
o Final dividend of 6.6p, making a full year dividend of 9.7p, up 4.3%

· Stronger than forecast Newspaper and Magazine sales
o Impressive World Cup sales
o Positive impact of Supermarket promotions

· Books division performance now stabilised with management actions continuing to take effect

· Education & Care division growing core categories and delivered good peak trading

· Launch of two new organic opportunities supporting ongoing diversification
o Pass My Parcel, a click and collect delivery service with Amazon, live in over 500 independent retailers
o Jack's Beans, a premium vended coffee service, live in 120 independent retailers

LAUNCH OF PASS MY PARCEL DELIVERY SERVICE WITH AMAZON

New click and collect delivery service with Amazon

Connect Group PLC ("the Group") a leading specialist distributor operating in three divisions; News & Media, Books and Education & Care, is today delighted to announce the launch of Pass My Parcel, a new and wholly owned 'click and collect' delivery service. Pass My Parcel is a solution developed by the News and Media division ("the Division") which over time has the potential to be part of the long term diversification strategy for the Division. Pass My Parcel has secured Amazon, the UKs leading on-line retailer to launch the service.

Pass My Parcel is a highly innovative new parcel collection service utilising the current Smiths News' specialist time sensitive distribution capability, physical network, and its daily relationship with thousands of local retailers across the UK, enabling the development and rollout to be achieved in a more cost effective way than other companies. Pass My Parcel will offer a unique twice daily distribution to participating independent retail outlets, 7 days a week, 364 days a year.

When selecting Pass My Parcel as a delivery option, customers ordering on-line by 7.45pm will be able to collect their parcel from 6.30am the next morning, or, if ordered by 11.45am will be able to collect from 4pm the same day. This service of two time sensitive deliveries per day, (once on a Sunday), offers customers a convenient and secure way to pick up their parcels, with a level of service and flexibility unlike any other offer in the market today.

Customers selecting Pass My Parcel delivery to their local independent retailer will be electronically sent a specially generated pin code in order to securely collect their parcel. This new service will allow customers more control over when and where they choose to pick up their items.

Pass My Parcel will utilise Smiths News' information systems, invoicing and communication facilities and provide access to over 500 independent retail outlets being serviced by 12 Smiths News' depots.

Ex-divi 8th Jan 2015 (6.6p)

Liberum Capital repeated its 'buy' call on the stock, with a 200 pence per share target price.

PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF TUFFNELLS PARCELS EXPRESS AND UNDERWRITTEN CIRCA £55 MILLION RIGHTS ISSUE

· Connect Group to acquire Tuffnells Parcels Express ("Tuffnells") a leading provider of next day Business to Business ("B2B") of mixed freight / parcel consignments, specialising in items of irregular dimension and weight;
· Leverages Connect Group's core capabilities in time sensitive and efficient delivery in specialist markets;
· A strong standalone business with proven track record underpinned by a large, fragmented and growing market;
· Provides the Group with a national distribution network with potential opportunities to enhance the Group's existing operations in the medium term, such as Pass my Parcel;
· The Acquisition is a significant strategic opportunity and a key step in the Group's medium term diversification ambitions;
· Initial consideration of £113.4m on a multiple of 6.3x LTM Adjusted EBITDA1, funded through recently extended debt facilities and circa £55m Rights Issue. Additional £15.3m deferred consideration subject to performance and retention conditions over a three year period;
· Run rate cost synergies of £2.0m per annum expected by year three and opportunity for additional revenue synergies through shared network and distribution capabilities;
· Strong financial effects of the transaction, being earnings enhancing in Year 1 and substantially enhancing in Year 3, with return on invested capital ahead of the Group's cost of capital in first full year2; and
· Strong cash generation supports continuation of the Group's progressive dividend policy

StockMarketWire.com
Connect Group has announced that shares not taken-up under its two-for-seven rights issue now been placed.

It said that J.P. Morgan Securities and Liberum Capital in their capacity as joint bookrunners, have procured subscribers for 4,197,167 new ordinary shares for which valid acceptances were not received at a price of 157p apiece.

Earlier, Connect Group said it received valid acceptances in respect of 49,940,069 new ordinary shares - approximately 92.2% of the total offered.

And the offer price dropped immediately to 150.5 at which point I was able to buy a few. Rude not to. Couldn't buy as many as I would have liked as I had already had a little spend up in the morning.

StockMarketWire.com
Connect Group has completed the acquisition of The Big Green Parcel Holding Company Limited, whose principal subsidiary trades as Tuffnells Parcels Express, as previously announced on 12 November, for an initial consideration of £113.4 million. The group has partly financed the acquisition through the proceeds of a two-for-seven rights issue at 102.0p per share, being approximately £52.3m, net of expenses, as announced on 17 December.

TRADING UPDATE


Connect Group PLC, a leading specialist distributor operating in four divisions; News & Media, Books, Education & Care and Parcel Freight, is today issuing its Trading Update covering the19 week period to 10 January 2015.


Total Group revenues decreased 1.5% year on year, with overall performance broadly in line with management expectations.

The performance of each division was as follows;

· Connect News & Media;News revenues decreased by 1.8% and like for like revenues decreased by 2.8% with both newspaper and magazine performance continuing in line with recent run rates. Pass my Parcel was launched as planned and continues to be rolled out to new stores. Media revenues increased through new contract wins by 5.2% with like for like revenues up by 0.4%.

· Connect Books; revenues decreased by 1.2% through increased focus on more profitable contracts as part of the recovery plan. Like for like revenues increased by 1.8% due to the continued strong performance of Wordery partly offset by the ongoing market pressures in the UK and internationally. Recent recovery actions continue to reduce costs and increase margins.

· Connect Education & Care;revenues decreased by 2.0% and like for like revenues decreased by 1.2%. Core revenues were up by only 0.6% as a result of a strong early peak trading period in the prior year. Education and Early Years channels continue to outperform the smaller Care channel and non-core revenues were down broadly in line with recent run rates.

· Connect Parcel Freight;on 19 December 2014, the Group completed the acquisition of Tuffnells Parcels Express, establishing the Parcel Freight division. The division has made a positive start with encouraging trading over the festive period and performance to date is in line with management expectations.


There has been no change in the underlying financial condition of the Group since 12 November 2014 following the publication of the Prospectus in relation to the acquisition of Tuffnells.

The Group will announce its interim results for the six months ending 28 February 2015 on 22 April 2015.

Appointment of New Chairman

Connect Group, a leading specialist distributor operating in four divisions; News & Media, Books, Education & Care and Parcel Freight, will be announcing its Interim results for the six months ended 28 February 2015 on Wednesday 22 April 2015.

A meeting for analysts will be held at 9.00am at the offices of Buchanan, 107 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DN on Wednesday 22 April 2015, with an audio webcast of the results presentation available thereafter.

Hopefully the interims will spark a bit of positive action in the share price. It has gone nowhere fast for the last eight months.

Ominous drop before tomorrow's interims!

Interim Results for the 6 months ended 28 Feb 15

Highlights:

· Underlying revenue up 1.2% and underlying operating profit up 3.3%
· Results include the successful acquisition of Tuffnells from 19 December 2014
· Strong free cash flow generating £16.0m, up 34.2%
· Underlying rebased EPS of 8.6p, down 5.5% as a result of the phasing of post-acquisition profits from the Tuffnells acquisition and rights issue shares
· Rebased DPS of 2.9p up 3.6%, reflecting confidence in the Tuffnells acquisition and ongoing Group prospects

· News & Media:
o Continued resilience of newspaper and magazine markets
o Developing the Pass my Parcel offer with Amazon and accelerating investment
· Books:
o Stabilised performance and assessing longer term opportunities
o Wordery continuing impressive growth
· Education & Care:
o Growth in core categories with strength in Primary and Early Years
o Investments being made to enhance customer proposition
· Parcel Freight:
o Continued strong sales and profit growth in post-acquisition period
o Integration and synergies on target

This has been looking very soggy of late. No reason that I can fathom. Nothing adverse has been announced. Another 'buying opportunity' by any chance? Certainly in the bargain basement category at these levels.