Release Date: 17th February 2003

IF THE SHOE FITS...

- Leading Uk Footwear Brand, Rombah Wallace,
Acquired By Adria -

Northern Ireland's leading textile company, Adria Ltd has today announced the acquisition of the UK footwear brand Rombah Wallace for an undisclosed sum. Norwich based Rombah Wallace has specialised in a range of formal and casual shoes for the men's and ladies markets for over 20 years. Among its customer base are the large retail department store, the John Lewis Partnership, as well as some 270 independent retailers throughout Ireland and the UK.

Adria, which was acquired from Charnos plc in May 2002 by the private equity firm, Amicus Partners, has a distinguished track record in Northern Ireland and is recognised internationally as a leading player in the hosiery sector. The company has in recent years focused on diversification of its business interests and on the development of higher value added products using advanced technical development and design and an investment driven high-tech manufacturing operation. With manufacturing joint ventures in Colombia and Sardinia, Adria continues to employ over 1100 people at its facilities in Northern Ireland.

Speaking about the deal, Terry McCartney, Adria Chairman said;
" This acquisition fits well with our long term strategy of creating a portfolio of apparel brands - one of the key strands of the Government endorsed KSA Industry Review and its recommendations for the textile sector. An exciting new hosiery range under our Charnos brand will be launched in March of this year. We believe there is synergy between footwear and legwear in the market place and we intend to exploit this as we move forward. Last year (2002) was a very successful year for new Adria as our soon to be published annual report will confirm. This footwear acquisition will only serve to consolidate our recent successes".

Paul Rowan of Amicus Partners said,
" We hope the design, product development, marketing and logistics management of the Rombah Wallace brand will be centred in Northern Ireland at our existing facilities in Strabane and Campsie. This could result in additional high quality jobs being created in the North West and we have been discussing these opportunities with Invest Northern Ireland in recent months. Shoe production will continue by Rombah Wallace's overseas manufacturing partners in India, South Africa and Spain"