A summary of business operations....

Stagecoach Theatre Arts, incorporated in the UK, was founded in 1988 by Stephanie Manuel and David Sprigg and it now operates the UK's largest network of part-time performing arts schools for young people aged between 4 and 19, with over 40,600 students world-wide.

A brief history of Stagecoach Theatre Arts:

• Founded in 1988 with three schools in Surrey
• By 1993 the business had grown to 24 managed schools
• Sale of the first three franchises in 1994
• Early Stages, classes for 4 to 6 year olds, launched in 1997
• From 1995 to 1999 Stagecoach schools opened in Malta, USA, Germany and Australia
• In 2000 Stagecoach wins the prestigious Sir Bernard Ingham Trophy for business franchising
• SportsCoach launched in April 2001
• Listed on AIM in December 2001
• Acquired 100% USA subsidiary in June 2002
• Acquired 90% German subsidiary in July 2003
• First USA franchisee in September 2003
• First German franchisee in September 2004
• First Mini Stages franchisee in September 2004
• Launch of Early Sporties in April 2005
• Launch of the on-line shop, www.stagecoachshop.co.uk, in 2008
• Launch of Stagecoach Greece in April 2008
• Stagecoach pays a maiden interim dividend of 0.5 pence per share and final dividend of 2 pence per share

Stagecoach Theatre Arts teaches children skills for life, such as confidence and communication, through the performing arts. Each "Stagecoach school", operated under franchise by the school principal, runs for 3 hours, typically at a weekend, from rented premises, with three teachers, and up to 45 students. Each week every student is taught one hour of dance, one hour of drama and one hour of singing.

A Summary of the Group's Results and achievements for the year ended 31st May 2009:

• Profit before tax up 2.7% to £726,000 (2008: £707,000)
• Franchise network fees up 3.2% to £29.4 million (2008: £28.5 million)
• Earnings Per Share increased by 3.9% to 5.3p (2008: 5.1p)
• Dividends of 2.5p per share (2008:2p)