TOYE & CO PLC (AIM: TOYE) Proposed Disposal of Great Queen Street

Toye & Co plc ("Toye" or "the Company"), the manufacturer of military and masonic regalia, medals, badges and related textiles, announces that it had entered into a conditional agreement to dispose of its property at 19-21 Great Queen Street to the Developer for a maximum consideration of between
£2.75 million and £3.25 million.
In view of the size of the Disposal relative to the size of the Company, it is a requirement of the AIM Rules that the Disposal be approved by Shareholders at a general meeting of the Company. The Disposal is therefore conditional on, inter alia, the passing of the Resolution set out in the Notice as an ordinary resolution of the Company.
A circular has today been posted to Shareholders ("the Circular"). The purpose of the Circular is to provide the background and reason for the Disposal and further details of the Disposal and to set out the Directors' reasons for considering that the Disposal is in the best interests of Toye and its Shareholders as a whole. In addition, this document contains a notice convening a General Meeting of the Company, to be held at 12.00 noon on 27 February 2013 at the Company's offices, 77
Warstone Lane, Birmingham B18 6NL, at which Shareholders' approval to the resolution necessary to implement the Disposal will be sought.

Background to and reasons for the Disposal

The Directors believe that it is important to respond to the continuously changing requirements of its markets and the current challenging trading environment by introducing the required operational changes to improve performance. Of the Company's three sites one has been occupied for over fifty years, the second for over one hundred years and the third for over two hundred years. During this period the world has changed significantly.
Toye has a lease for a term of 999 years from 17 August 1984 on a significant part of a property at
19-21 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5BE ("the Property"), which is currently the Company's registered office. The Property has been an increasingly expensive and underutilised facility yet has had strategic importance in serving the Masonic community and other markets from a recognised address. The Directors believe that the Company will only be able to retain and nurture its manufacturing skills by achieving efficiencies in the manufacturing process improving working conditions and retaining and growing its customer base by concentrating on delivering exceptional service.
Following a recent review of the Company's property assets it was agreed to investigate realising the value in the Property to allow the Company to take advantage of other investment opportunities. As a result, the Company has entered into a conditional agreement with the Developer to dispose of the Property for a maximum consideration of £3.25 million, the terms and conditions of which are summarised below and as set out in Part II of the Circular.
The reasons for the Disposal are, inter alia, as follows: