Exceptional Items

During the year there were some exceptional items recorded which were outside the normal trading activities of the company:

• Foreign exchange gains of £1.7m were recorded in the year on the translation of an intra-group loan balance as a result of Sterling weakening against the Euro during the year
• Restructuring costs of £1.4m include severance costs and costs relating to the restructuring of the sales forces in Italy, France, and the closure of the UK sales operations during the year
• Exceptional acquisition related costs were incurred in relation to a strategic acquisition opportunity during the summer of 2008. These discussions were put on hold as a result of the market volatility in the autumn of 2008. Costs of £0.6m were incurred to that point
• An impairment provision of £0.9m has been made against the value of the product rights for Spiromix, as a result of manufacturing delays which have resulted in the product not being available for sale in Italy during the year
• A provision of £1.2m has been made during the year for a debt due from a distributor.

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