Ceres has developed a range of cost-effective, compostable and sustainably sourced print materials, focused on large format and advertising print media which is marketed under the NatureWoven™ trade name. These materials are expected to replace vinyl which is the current material of choice for large format advertising. Vinyl has the disadvantage of being oil based and does not degrade and therefore needs to be sent to landfill for disposal when the useful life has ended.
The Company was formerly named Hartfield Securities PLC, a PLUS-quoted company which made an offer to acquire the entire issued share capital of Ceres Media PLC. The Offer was declared unconditional on 6 May 2011.
The Group’s head office is in London, United Kingdom, which is its main country of operation. The Group manufactures its products under contract using third party facilities in Europe and Asia and has established a European and US distribution and supply chain, allowing its product to be used by advertisers, brand owners and retailers through existing printing supply channels.
New legislation and consumer demand are encouraging corporates and brand owners to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill as well as focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Traditional print media used in advertising and retail marketing campaigns is not generally bio-degradable and is often disposed of in landfill sites or by utilising expensive and energy intensive recycling processes. The Group’s products assist advertisers, retailers and brand owners to comply with their corporate social responsibility goals.
The Group’s products are priced at substantially the same level as traditional vinyl products but customers benefit additionally from the reduced cost associated with the disposal of NatureWoven™ products as they do not need to be disposed of in landfill sites, allowing corporates and brand owners to promote their green credentials at no extra cost.
In addition to the continued development of its core range of products, the Group is seeking to patent its manufacturing technology and processes.
Placing
Simultaneous with admission, the Company raised £1,000,000 gross proceeds by way of a placing of 5,555,556 new ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company at price of 18 pence per share.
On admission to AIM the total number of voting rights is 31,779,517. This figure should be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company, under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.