(updates with co's stance on dividend distribution)

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Clerkenwell Ventures Plc. swung to a first-half pretax profit and said it remains confident the next year will present opportunities to beef up its acquisitions portfolio.

In an earnings update, the company which acquires, develops and operates leisure businesses, said it continues to evaluate possible acquisitions although vendor price expectations have been unrealistic in several cases.

Pretax profits for the six months to end-March came in at 345,000 pounds compared with a loss of 31,000 pounds the year ago. Net assets per share as at March 31 was 35.7 pence, up from 30.8 pence last year.

The company held a cash balance of 29.7 million pounds at period-end.

The company reiterated that it will only pay a dividend prior to its first acquisition, subject to the availability of distributable reserves, and added that it will, in the main, focus on delivering capital growth for shareholders. TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com ran/jfr/ran/jfr

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.