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2003

THUS Group plc has today signed an agreement with its banks to reduce the size of its loan facility from £90 million down to £60 million, reducing excessive headroom before THUS goes free cash flow positive.

The resizing of the loan facility follows the Company's preliminary results on 6 May which confirmed the performance trends within the business and reiterated the Company's target for sustainable, positive cash flow after interest and capital expenditure in quarter four of the current financial year ending 31 March 2004. April 2003's trading results are also in line with internal expectations.

The reduced £60 million loan facility will provide THUS with more than sufficient headroom above its forecast peak drawdown on the facility of less than £50 million, while enabling it to avoid unnecessary commitment fees on the unrequired portion of the facility.

The reduction in the size of the loan facility will take immediate effect. All other terms of the facility will remain substantially unchanged, although the opportunity has been taken to make minor positive alterations to some terms and conditions of the facility.

Commenting on today's announcement Chief Financial Officer, John Maguire said,

"The reduction in the size of the loan facility reinforces the solid progress that the business has achieved towards its long term financial goals since it was put in place at the point of demerger from ScottishPower in March 2002.

The original facility was sized to contain excessive headroom so as to more than demonstrate the Company's strong funding position, and with free cash flow positive now less than 12 months away, it makes sense to resize the facility to more accurately reflect our actual needs. With our gearing at 11%, our strong balance sheet remains a distinguishing feature in the sector, and we remain focused on delivering this year's targets."