PRESS RELEASES

Wood & Company cuts to core strengths, gets more local.   Warsaw 17th April 2001

 Wood & Company, the Central European broker has announced the closure of its brokerage subsidiary in Budapest, its sales office in London, and its representative office in Istanbul.  This completes a restructuring which focuses efforts back on the firm’s most established businesses, in Warsaw and Prague.

 Local emphasis.

“Our greatest achievement over the last ten years has been in the growing stature and, influence of our Polish and Czech/Slovak partners”, said Richard Wood, the firm’s founder.  “Although Brits and Americans were key to the firm’s early successes, it is a sign of the development of these countries that clients have found the Poles and Czechs that they trust and with whom they wish to do business.  We are lucky to have more than our fair share of those local people.  They have developed quality businesses from a Czech and Slovak privatization advisory business, to institutional sales and trading in Poland and Czech, to the best retail multi-channel retail brokerage product in Poland.

…but no more London office.

“Since it was set up two years ago, our London team has successfully marketed our local research and execution to fund managers in Western Europe and the US”, said Wood.  “Sadly, falling volumes in Central European markets have made it impossible for us to keep and attract a first class foreign team based in London.  We go back to the local model.  If we add value, a client can do business with us locally in each country.  Clients will suffer no disruption of service.

…and other newer offices closed

“As for Budapest and Istanbul, those businesses never developed the strong local roots required to add value to clients in these tougher times.  We believe that the Polish and Czech offices have done that and we must, therefore concentrate our efforts there.

For comment in Warsaw, contact beata.palkawood.cz, in Prague, contact jan.sykorawood.cz or vladimir.jaroswood.cz