Regulatory Announcement
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RNS Number:4668R
SQS Software Quality Systems AG
20 September 2005
| For immediate release | 20 September 2005 |
SQS Software Quality Systems AG
First German Company to have its Primary Listing in London
Admission to AIM - First Day of Dealings
SQS Software Quality Systems AG ("SQS"), one of Europe's largest independent providers of software testing and quality management services, today announces completion of its Admission to AIM and the commencement of trading in its Ordinary Shares.
Highlights:
The Placing
- The Company has raised approximately £10.8 million before expenses through a placing by Evolution Securities Limited and Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. KGaA of 5,673,000 shares at 190 pence per share
- The free float is approximately 43 per cent. of the Enlarged Share Capital of the Company following Admission
- On Admission, the Company has a market capitalisation of approximately £30 million
- Evolution Securities Limited, nominated adviser, broker, lead arranger and joint bookrunner and Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. KgaA, selling agent and joint bookrunner to SQS have placed all of these shares with institutional and other investors
- SQS is included in the Software and Computer Services Sector (97) and will have a RIC code of SQS.L
Commenting on the Intention to Float, Rudolf van Megen, CEO said: "We are very proud to be the first Germany company to have its Primary Listing in the UK and we look forward to growing the SQS business both organically and through acquisition. Growth in the software testing and quality management market is outpacing the IT services market and we look forward to exploiting this opportunity."
For further information please contact:
| SQS Software Quality Systems AG | www.sqs.de |
| Rudolf van Megen (CEO)/Rene Gawron (CFO) | +49 (2203) 91 540 |
| Evolution Securities Limited | 020 7071 4300 |
| Jeremy Ellis/Mike Read | |
| Smithfield | 020 7360 4900 |
| Sara Musgrave/Jo Thomas |
Notes to Editors
INTRODUCTION
SQS is one of the largest independent European providers of software testing and
quality management services by turnover. SQS is independent from software
vendors and other IT service suppliers. It can therefore provide unbiased
opinions to customers on the software products it is engaged to assess and
improve. SQS offers services designed to support the quality of software and IT
systems from initial project definition through the development stage and up to
final implementation and, thereafter, in relation to ongoing maintenance. For
more than twenty years, SQS has been offering a comprehensive range of
consulting services for enterprise and technical software systems to its clients
which now include "blue chip" companies in a variety of industries, including
financial services, telecommunications, logistics and manufacturing. SQS
currently has 8 offices in 5 European countries and generated approximately €48
million in revenue in 2004.
SQS's methodology and processes are based on its expertise which has been developed over the course of approximately 3,000 executed software quality projects with the aim of establishing a recognised standard for efficient software quality services. These methodologies which are continuously refined and updated, can be adapted to serve nearly every type of software system, from enterprise-wide IT systems to engineering based software embedded in technical systems. SQS's consultants work closely with their clients' businesses and IT professionals to understand the requirements of a software system and the environment in which it is installed. They adapt test procedures to suit the scale of the project and its stage of development. SQS's services can be used to detect and eliminate problems in existing software systems or to prevent problems from arising in software system design. SQS has also developed frameworks, in which off-the-shelf testing tools provided by third party vendors are combined with SQS's proprietary tool-based methods to provide customised solutions, further increasing the scope of SQS's consulting services.
From the outset, SQS has focused on how IT software quality can be improved. SQS has always recognised that no IT software system can work effectively unless it has a clearly defined purpose, and its limitations and specifications are clearly understood. SQS provides and continues to develop efficient testing and quality management services for both emerging and existing technologies and services to meet evolving business requirements.
SQS provides the following IT services and products in the field of software quality management and testing:
- IT professional services
SQS offers a variety of software testing and quality management services across all levels of execution, all of which can be offered under different types of contractual agreements; from time spent and materials used to fixed pricing.
- IT training
SQS is one of the largest European providers of quality management and software testing training courses. Certificated courses include ISTQB, ISEB and INTACS training.
- Tool licences and maintenance
SQS develops and designs a specialist range of software testing tools which work in conjunction with the tools available to competitors in the open market.
- IT events
SQS both organises and hosts the SQC conferences, two of the largest quality management and software testing events in Europe; being the international conference held in Germany during spring, and the UK conference held in London during autumn.
In year ended 31 December 2004, IT professional services contributed approximately 92 per cent., IT training and IT events 3 per cent. and tools licenses and maintenance 5 per cent. respectively to SQS's overall revenue.
SQS was founded in 1982 and as of 30 June 2005 employs 461 employees, of whom 337 are consultants and the remainder are divided between research and development (28), sales and marketing (16) and general administration (80). SQS's consultants are mainly from an IT/informatics or engineering background.
MARKET BACKGROUND
Software quality management and testing constitutes a segment of the IT services market, and therefore growth in the IT services market closely correlates with growth in software quality management and testing.
Research conducted by the European Information Technology Observatory ("EITO") in 2005 valued the market for IT services in Europe at €130 billion in 2005, growing at a rate of approximately 4.7 per cent. per year between 2004 and 2006. Based on their own estimates, the Directors believe that the market volume for software testing and quality management consulting services in Europe is growing more quickly than the overall IT services market. In Germany, according to a 2005 BITKOM (German association of IT product and service providers) market study, the IT consulting and IT support services market will grow at 2.1 per cent. in 2005 and 3.1 per cent. in 2006.
In addition, a 2005 Ovum Holway publication claims that, in 2004, the business
process outsourcing services market grew in the UK by 14 per cent. In 2004, IDC
estimated that worldwide spending in this field will grow by approximately 30
per cent. per annum between 2003 and 2008.
The software testing market
- Ends -
This information is provided by
RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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