Cavendish advises on sale of Noble Denton Holdings Limited

Published October 15, 2006

NEW OWNERS SET NOBLE DENTON ON COURSE FOR GROWTH

Cavendish Corporate Finance is delighted to have advised the shareholders on the sale of Noble Denton Holdings Limited to a consortium of Norwegian investors consisting of Hitec Vision and Ferncliff. Under the terms of the transaction, key employees of Noble Denton will have the opportunity to re-invest in the bidding vehicle to retain a significant interest going forward.

Noble Denton, which can trace its roots back to 1904, is an independent, market-leading firm of consultants offering an integrated range of marine and engineering services to the global shipping, insurance and offshore energy industries. The group has more than 200 employees in all key oil and gas industry centres in Europe, North and South America, the Middle and Far East. The turnover of Noble Denton in 2006 is expected to exceed £30m with pre-tax profits of over £4m.

The deal enables the shareholders to realise a significant amount of cash now while at the same time allowing them to participate in the future growth of an independent Noble Denton, under the same senior management team, with two well funded investment houses. Hitec Vision Private Equity is one of Norway's largest private equity investors specializing in buy-out and growth stage investments in the oil and gas sectors both in Norway and internationally, and is among the leading investors in Europe in this segment. Ferncliff is a private investment company controlled by Mr. \xD8ystein Stray Spetalen which invests in the energy and energy service sectors.
The current high growth in the exploration, development and production spending of the oil and gas companies, which is expected to continue, applies especially to the offshore sector, with a surge in new-building and conversion of drilling units and FPSOs as well as sub-sea field developments and LNG carriers and terminals. As the complexity of these projects increases, they require ever more know-how and resources, which are currently in short supply and are expected to become even scarcer. The strategy for the ''new Noble Denton'' is aimed at exploiting these opportunities through the acquisition of similar and complementary companies in the marine and offshore engineering industry.

Noble Denton Group Managing Director, David Sutton, said "We are very excited by this development that permits Noble Denton to grow faster and further, whilst maintaining our independence. The Cavendish team was a constant source of invaluable advice and remained committed to the deal throughout a complex process."

For further information please see www.nobledenton.com and for comments and questions please call:
Philip Barker, Hugo Haddon Grant or Andrew Jeffs
Cavendish Corporate Finance +44 (0) 20 7908 6000