Van Elle Holdings plc

('Van Elle', the 'Company' or the 'Group')

Pre-close Trading Update

Notice of Results

Analyst Briefing & Investor Presentation

Van Elle Holdings plc, the UK's largest ground engineering contractor, provides an update on trading for the 12 months ended 30 April 2025 ("FY25" or the "Period").

Full Year Trading Update

Group revenue for the year is expected to be £134m, approximately 4% below the previous year, reflecting the challenging market conditions that have prevailed throughout the Period. As previously announced, the Group experienced subdued activity levels and widespread delays to contract start dates, in particular due to significant delays to Building Safety Act ('BSA') approvals. The start of several major contracts which were due to commence in the final quarter of FY25 have now been deferred into FY26, impacting the final quarter performance.

Despite these challenges, as a result of a strong operational performance the Group delivered stable gross margins and with a focus on cash management, undertook several cost saving initiatives. Consequently, underlying profit before tax for FY25 is now expected to be approximately £3.5m.

The balance sheet remains strong. Net cash as at 30 April 2025 (excluding IFRS 16 property and vehicle lease liabilities) was £1.0m (30 April 2024: £5.5m) after investment for growth in capital equipment and acquisitions, including the final consideration payment of £1.9m for Rock & Alluvium, and the initial net cash consideration of £1.3m for Albion Drilling. The Group's current funding facility of £8.0m has £6.5m available for drawdown, providing significant liquidity headroom.

We are pleased to report that the order book has grown to £41.5m as at 30 April 2025 (30 April 2024: £35.1m), which excludes an industrial sector contract of approximately £10m, which was awarded to the Group's General Piling division in May.

Chief Executive, Mark Cutler, commented: "The last 12 months have been challenging for the business, and although it is disappointing that a recovery in activity levels didn't materialise as expected, against a volatile backdrop the performance as a whole demonstrates the progress made over recent years.

"Through organic initiatives and selective, strategic M&A, Van Elle now provides a wider and more diverse range of service offerings and is very well positioned across a range of attractive growth markets aligned to the UK Government's investment priorities.

"Amongst an increasing number of frameworks, the Group has agreed two more customer partnerships in the energy and water sectors and has a growing order book, underpinning our confidence in delivering strong growth in revenues and profitability when markets recover."

Notice of results

The Company expects to announce its results for the year ended 30 April 2025 on 23 July 2025.

Analyst Briefing: 10.00am on Wednesday 23 July 2025

An online briefing for Analysts will be held at 10.00am, Wednesday 23 July 2025. Analysts interested in attending should contact Walbrook PR on vanelle@walbrookpr.com or 020 7933 8780.

Investor Presentation: 3.30pm on Wednesday 23 July 2025

Mark Cutler, Chief Executive Officer, and Graeme Campbell, Chief Financial Officer, will hold a presentation to review the results and update its growth strategy at 3.30pm on Wednesday 23 July 2025, through the digital platform Investor Meet Company.

Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet Van Elle Holdings plc via the following link https://www.investormeetcompany.com/van-elle-holdings-plc/register-investor.

Investors who have already registered and added to meet the Company will automatically be invited. Questions can be submitted pre-event to vanelle@walbrookpr.com, or in real time during the presentation via the "Ask a Question" function.

Certain information contained in this announcement would have constituted inside information (as defined by Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014), as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018) ("MAR") prior to its release as part of this announcement and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of those Regulations.

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About Van Elle Holdings plc:

Van Elle Holdings is the UK's largest specialist geotechnical engineering contractor. Formed in 1984 and listed on AIM in 2016, the Company provides a wide range of ground engineering techniques and services including ground investigation, general and specialist piling, rail geotechnical engineering, modular foundations, and ground improvement and stabilisation services.

Van Elle operates through three divisions: General Piling, Specialist Piling and Rail, and Ground Engineering Services; and is focused on diverse end markets including residential and housing, infrastructure and regional construction - across which the Group has completed more than 20,000 projects over the last 35 years.