The Board of Petards announces that it has received a preliminary approach which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the Company.

The Company announces that it has received a preliminary approach from Water Hall Group plc that may or may not lead to an offer being made for the Company. There can be no certainty that an offer will be made for Petards, nor as to the terms on which an offer may be made.

Rule 2.6(a) of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Takeover Code"), requires that Water Hall Group plc, by not later than 5.00 p.m. on 18 October 2012 (the "relevant deadline"), either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Petards in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Takeover Code applies.

The relevant deadline will cease to apply to Water Hall Group plc if another offeror announces, prior to the relevant deadline, a firm intention to make an offer for Petards. In such circumstances, Water Hall Group plc will be required to clarify its intentions in accordance with Rule 2.6(d) of the Takeover Code.

This is an announcement falling under Rule 2.4 of the Takeover Code and does not constitute an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code. There can be no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made.

A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.
 

Rule 2.10

In accordance with Rule 2.10 of the Takeovers Code, the Company confirms that it has 6,367,100 ordinary shares of 1 pence each in issue. The ISIN reference for these securities is GB00B4YL8F73.