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1994-09-07
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From R.Hollands@sheffield.ac.uk Wed Sep 7 16:55:25 1994
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 94 22:02:27 +0100
From: R Hollands <R.Hollands@sheffield.ac.uk>
To: scivw@hitl.washington.edu
Subject: ANN : UK's 3rd VR company comes to market - Superscape VR plc
Press Release: 20th April 1994
UK'S THIRD VIRTUAL REALITY COMPANY COMES TO MARKET: SUPERSCAPE VR PLC
* placing sponsored by Henderson Crosthwaite Corporate Finance
* placing prices per share of (strlng)1.98
* 5,306,646 shares in issue following the placing
* market capitalisation at the placing price of (strlng)10.5m
* 92% of Placing Shares placed on behalf of the company
* dealing on the London Stock Exchange commences 28 April 1994
Shares in Superscape VR plc, the UK's third virtual reality company to come to
market, will commence trading on 28 April 1994.
According to Martin Hornby, non-executive Chairman of Superscape VR plc: "The
success of the placing, sponsored by Henderson Crosthwaite Corporate Finance,
confirms not only the confidence of the City in this technology, but also the
UK's position in the forefront of virtual reality developments. The credence
accorded to virtual reality in the UK will undoubtedly assist us in our
principle objective of developing further the opportunities for Superscape
software on a worldwide basis, most particularly in the USA and establishing
Superscape VR plc as the software supplier to the virtual reality industry."
Superscape VR plc, founded in 1983 and previously known as Dimension
International Limited, designs, develops and markets virtual reality software.
Virtual reality is a medium that provides participative three dimensional
visualisation, simulation and/or experience of virtual worlds. Superscape
software is being used to create and visualise virtual worlds on Intel based
486 or Pentium personal computers and has been designed such that applications
can be developed by people who are not professional programmers.
The principle purpose of the placing is to fund the marketing of Superscape
software on an international basis. The market in the USA is of strategic
importance to the company and the directors propose to establish a marketing
subsidiary in the USA as soon as practicable following the placing, to market
to the USA and Pacific Rim countries.
Ian Andrew is founder and Group Chief Executive of Superscape VR plc. He is a
pioneer of virtual reality software and is responsible for the team which has
created the Superscape product range. In the last two years, he has appointed
a number of senior executives to assist with the development of the company.
The board of Directors of Superscape VR plc includes three non-executives who
were members of the team which was responsible for the early development of
Micro Focus plc, now regarded as one of the world's leading software companies.
Martin Hornby (non-executive chairman) was previously financial advisor to
Micro Focus Group plc; Alan Wood, an investor in Superscape VR plc also
subscribed for a significant in Micro Focus Group plc several years before the
company went public; Robert Lowe (Deputy Chief Executive) will head up
Superscape's USA operation, having previously been responsible for sales,
marketing and other overseas operations for the Micro Focus Group from
1983-1990. Andy Tait is the Executive Director with responsibility for sales.
John Venning, FCA, is a non-executive director with responsibility for
financial policy.
There are already one hundred and sixty users of Superscape software, including
British Telecommunications plc, the Ministry of Defence, universities, Intel
Corporation and Reuters (Europe) SA. The software is used in over thirty
different application areas, with current users including designers, planners,
military advisors, engineers, marketing personnel and educators. In the six
months ended 31 January 1994, exports accounted for approximately fifty per
cent of sales of the company's software.
Superscape VRT is the Group's primary product. It is a second generation
product, succeeding Virtual Reality Studio, probably the world's first virtual
reality software product. Superscape VRT development VR software enables the
creation of virtual worlds. It contains run time software being the Visualiser,
a range of integrated editors, a library of over two hundred objects called
Virtual Clip Art, the Superscape Command Language which provides the ability to
assign intelligence and behaviour to virtual objects and a DXF interface,
enabling existing three dimensional data used with traditional computer aided
design programs to be converted into a format suitable for the creation of the
equivalent virtual world. Superscape VRT is priced at (strlng)3,450. The most
recent version, VRT3.5, was launched in February 1994 and has been designed and
packaged to facilitate additional volume sales through established distribution
channels.
Superscape Networks, Superscape Developers Kit, and the Superscape Visualiser
are additional products in the range.
Ian Andrew, Group Chief Executive concluded: "Until comparatively recently the
use of virtual reality has been limited to a relatively small number of
applications, mainly because of the cost of the necessary processing power. Now
with the reduction in these costs the world market for VR will grow rapidly.
Even within the constraints of our limited pre-placing resources we have still
managed to achieve fifty per cent of our sales from countries outside the UK,
with a significant proportion coming from the USA. The latest version of
Superscape VRT is designed and packaged to enable us to take advantage of
existing well-established distribution channels, thus giving us access to
significant new markets worldwide."
"And finally, the philosophy underpinning our product development strategy has
been to make the software as easy to use as possible. Superscape software is
being used by people who do not need to be professional programmers, at an
entry level cost which makes it accessible to a broad population of users."
For further information, please contact:
Ian Andrew
Superscape VR plc
Zephyr One
Calleva Park
Aldermaston
Berkshire RG7 4QZ
England
Telephone: +44 (0)734 810077
or
Patrick Hickey
Henderson Crosthwaite Corporate Finance
32 St. Mary At Hill
London EC3P 3AJ
England
Telephone: +44 (0)71 623 9992
or
Maggie Templeman (Press Officer)
Bluebell End
Beacons Bottom
Buckinghamshire HP14 3XG
England
Telephone: +44 (0)494 483674