AdVal Group plc announces that it has acquired all of the issued shares in KeyKnowledge Limited ("KeyKnowledge") not previously owned by it by buying out FT Knowledge Limited's 10% minority interest in KeyKnowledge for a consideration of £25,000. As part of that deal, FT Knowledge Limited has also transferred to KeyKnowledge all the electronic intellectual property rights in the library of titles that had previously been licensed to KeyKnowledge.

KeyKnowledge sells off-the-shelf e-Learning titles covering a range of business, human performance and management skills and has invested significantly in 2001 to create the "Professional Management Series" of ten new generation web-based titles and ten associated videos, the first of these titles having been launched at the end of 2001.
The purchase of the 10% minority interest in KeyKnowledge from FT Knowledge Limited has eliminated the original joint venture obligation for KeyKnowledge to pay ongoing annual licence fees of £175,000 in 2002 escalating by £25,000 increments annually until 2007 when a £300,000 payment would have been required.

Whilst the new deal means that KeyKnowledge will no longer carry the FT Knowledge brand beyond 30 June 2002, the removal of the Licence costs of the brand and the original library is considered by the directors to offer shareholders the best value in light of current trading conditions. This is especially the case as KeyKnowledge has now become well established and recognised in the market place as a brand in its own right. The Company expects to maintain and build the business, from its new cost base, in line with improving revenues and profitability as the new generation twenty title Professional Management Series adds critical mass to the existing KeyKnowledge library, and impacts the market as corporate buying activity in this sector returns to normal in the medium to long term.