Upright Parent Company Sells Shares to Bolster Access Division

November 15, 2006 • Tanfield Group plc, parent company of UpRight Powered Access, passed all resolutions at its extraordinary general meeting held today. As a result, the placing of 50 million new ordinary shares has been declared unconditional. The placing has raised £20 million ($37.9 million) before expenses for Tanfield Group, at a placing price of 40p ($0.75) per new ordinary share with admission expected on November 16. The new shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares.

Previously, the directors stated that they will use the net proceeds of the offering as working capital to accelerate growth in Tanfield's Powered Access Division. According to Tanfield, the order book for the Powered Access Division continues to exceed expectations • orders have consistently hit £1 million ($1.9 million) or more per week earlier this fall • and the additional capital will bring the division more in-line with the growth in order intake. Additionally, Tanfield is in advanced negotiations with its bankers to extend the debt facilities available from approximately £5 million ($9.5 million) to approximately £9 million ($17.1 million).

The majority of the working capital will be invested in the supply chain, which will allow Tanfield to capitalize on sourcing components from low cost countries. It also will support an expansion of the company's global network of independent distributors, grow the machine spare parts business, and expand the UpRight product range.

To read the previous announcement, visit http://www.liftandaccess.com/index.php?id=1272.