THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING
APPENDIX 1) AND THE INFORMATION HEREIN (THE "ANNOUNCEMENT") IS
RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE, TRANSMISSION,
DISTRIBUTION OR FORWARDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN
PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, THE REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH
PUBLICATION, TRANSMISSION, RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR FORWARDING
WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD
BE READ IN ITS ENTIRETY, IN PARTICULAR, PERSONS RECEIVING THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD READ AND UNDERSTAND THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN
THE "IMPORTANT NOTICES" SECTION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
FURTHER, THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS MADE
FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO
SELL OR ISSUE OR SOLICITATION TO BUY, SUBSCRIBE FOR OR OTHERWISE
ACQUIRE SHARES IN QUADRISE PLC IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH ANY
SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED HEREIN ARE
NOT AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT OF 1933,
AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES ACT"), AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD
IN THE UNITED STATES, UNLESS REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT,
OR PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT
TO, REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF
THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED HEREIN IS BEING MADE IN THE UNITED STATES
AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN
OFFERING OF SECURITIES FOR SALE IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE
COMPANY DOES NOT CURRENTLY INTEND TO REGISTER ANY SECURITIES UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES
OF ARTICLE 7 OF EU REGULATION 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC
LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
(WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (AS AMENDED). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE
INFORMATION WILL BE CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC
DOMAIN.
16
January 2025
Premier African Minerals
Limited
Placing and Retail Offer to
conditionally raise up to £3.5 million
Premier African Minerals
Limited ("Premier" or
the "Company") is pleased
to announce a proposed fundraising of up to £3.5 million through
the issue of new Ordinary Shares by way of a placing and retail
offer (together, "the
Fundraising") primarily for the Zulu Lithium and Tantalum
Project ("Zulu").
Highlights
|
·
|
Placing to raise up to £3.5 million
through the issue of up to 12,600 million Placing Shares at 0.0275
pence per new ordinary share ("the Issue
Price").
|
·
|
A Retail Offer will be launched to
raise additional funds to enable Premier shareholders to
participate in the Fundraising at the Issue Price.
|
·
|
The net proceeds from the
Fundraising are intended to be used primarily for Zulu.
|
·
|
Participation by Canmax Technologies
Co. Ltd., the Company's largest shareholder and prepayment and
offtake partner at Zulu.
|
·
|
Conditional participation by George
Roach, Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
|
·
|
Additionally, following this
Fundraising, Premier will:
Ø Settle
certain immediately due creditor payments and essential staff
payments to ensure re-commencement of operations at
Zulu.
Ø Commence
the planned test run of the Zulu plant operation for a limited
period of 3-to-5-day test using ore already mined and ready to feed
to complete the commissioning of the Spodumene float circuit and to
evaluate alternative reagent use and dosing that will be managed by
the Betachem team.
Ø Secure the
15 to 20 tph Spodumene flotation plant currently in
Harare.
|
·
|
The Issue Price represents a
discount of approximately 30 % to the closing mid-market price on
15 January 2025.
|
·
|
Assuming the Placing and the Retail
Offer is subscribed in full, the Fundraising will represent
approximately 25 per cent. of the Company's enlarged issued share
capital.
|
The Company proposes to raise gross
proceeds of up to £3.5 million by way of a placing of up to 12,600
million new ordinary shares (the "Ordinary Shares") in the capital of the
Company (the "Placing
Shares") at a price of 0.0275 pence pence per Placing Share
(the "Issue Price") (the
"Placing"). The Placing
will be undertaken by way of an accelerated bookbuild (the
"Accelerated Bookbuild") which will be
launched following this Announcement. The Placing is subject to the
terms and conditions set out in the Appendix to this
Announcement.
In addition, the Company intends to
carry out a separate retail offer (the "Retail Offer Shares", and together with
the Placing Shares, the "New
Ordinary Shares") at the Issue Price on the BookBuild
Platform to raise the balance of the Fundraising not raised in the
Placing (the "Retail
Offer", and together with the Placing, the "Fundraising"). The Board values its
retail shareholder base, which have continued to support the
Company alongside various institutional investors. Given the strong
support of our retail shareholders, the Company believes that it is
appropriate to provide its retail shareholders the opportunity to
participate in the Retail Offer. A separate announcement will be
made in due course regarding the Retail Offer and its terms (the
"Retail Offer
Announcement"). For the avoidance of doubt, the Retail Offer
is not part of the Placing. The results of the Retail Offer are
expected to be announced on 21 January 2025.
The Placing is conditional
on, inter alia, (i)
the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects in
relation to the Placing and not having been terminated in
accordance with its terms; (iii) the Retail Offer and (ii)
Admission (as defined below). The
Retail Offer is conditional on the Placing.
Completion of each of the Placing and Retail Offer
is inter-conditional upon, inter alia, the gross proceeds of the
Fundraising, taken together with the value of liabilities that
creditors agree to settle by accepting new shares ("Settlement
Shares"), on the same terms as to price as the Placing, being not
materially less than £3.5 million. Accordingly, should the
gross proceeds of the Fundraising, together the value of Settlement
Shares issued at the Price, be materially less than £3.5million,
the Placing and Retail Offer will not proceed.
VSA Capital Limited ("VSA Capital") and Shore Capital
Stockbrokers Limited ("Shore
Capital") (together, the "Bookrunners") are acting as joint
bookrunners and placing agents in connection with the
Placing. Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is acting as
nominated adviser to the Company.
George Roach, CEO commented,
"The future of Zulu requires
successfully completing the commissioning of the plant and seeing
production on a profitable basis. Our entire team, our OEM and
other suppliers all appreciate this, and we are grateful as much to
our own long-suffering staff as to those other parties for their
understanding and willingness still to work with
us.
I
also wish to express our appreciation to Dr Luo Wei for his period
of service as Canmax representative and while we await confirmation
from Canmax of their proposed incoming representative, Premier has
extended board observer rights to Mr. CS Tay who has been actively
involved on behalf of Canmax since entering into the Offtake and
Prepayment Agreement."
Investors should note the important changes to the agreement
with Canmax in the Company's announcement made on 24 December 2024,
in which we discussed the amendments to the Offtake and Prepayment
Agreement. Canmax participation in this refinancing, applying
interest due to them under the Offtake and Prepayment Agreement to
a subscription to maintain their interest in the Company at 13.38%
is a demonstration of their shared determination to get the project
into commercial production.
Likewise my own participation. I have always tried to put the
Company first and I intend to demonstrate my confidence in the
Company by subscribing at the Issue Price for any remaining shares
available under the existing share authorities through the partial
repayment of my outstanding loan which is due in cash. My
participation comes last in line as maximising new cash into the
Company is the priority. If the Fundraising is fully subscribed,
and with the issue of new shares to Canmax, it is expected that my
participation will be substantially scaled back and the balance of
the loan, which remains unsecured, will be rolled over for a
further 13 months. I hope shareholders recognise my commitment to
the Company with this gesture, and that I am fully aligned with
them.
This Fundraising does not resolve everything, but I believe is
the start of a reset of Premier and is required to stabilise our
position and from here we can hopefully move forward quickly and
successfully at Zulu with necessary restructuring of both the board
and the management of the Company. I look forward to further
updates in this regard in the near future."
Zulu Project status
In the Notice of General Meeting
published on 4 December 2024 ("Notice"), the Company set out a
detailed update on the status of the Zulu plant and the need to raise additional funding to settle certain
immediately due creditor payments, complete the commissioning and
optimisation of both the Primary Flotation Plant and Secondary
Flotation Plant (as both defined below) to achieve the targeted
grade and recovery and provide additional working capital for the
Company.
The Zulu plant has not run
since July 2024 as the current Spodumene float circuit
("Spodumene Flotation
Circuit") is not fully commissioned and optimised and has
not yet demonstrated the ability to meet the continuous recovery of
Spodumene concentrate nor the expected grade. Since July 2024,
extensive test work has been completed on the Primary Flotation
Circuit, both at Zulu laboratory and, by Enprotec (the supplier of
the Primary Flotation Circuit) and by Betachem (the principal
supplier of the reagents) at the
independent Geolabs facility, and the recommendations are
that the Zulu plant be run for an initial 3-to-5-day period to
establish definitively whether the test work results can be
replicated on the Spodumene Flotation Circuit. This will drive any
decision that may be needed to achieve grade and recovery through
the Spodumene Flotation Circuit. The initial 3-to-5-day run, which
will require a two-week lead time to run the Zulu plant, is
targeted for late January 2025 or early February 2025.
To provide an alternative to the
existing Spodumene float plant if the test run is unsuccessful, the
Company plans also, subject to funding, immediately to acquire and
install an additional 15 to 20 tph Spodumene flotation plant
("Secondary Flotation
Plant") currently in Harare, and immediately
available to potentially mitigate any unforeseen issues that occur
under the 3-to-5-day plant test. The cost of running the test and
this acquisition is estimated at $800,000. This is expected to
allow Zulu to return to production regardless of the outcome of the
3-to-5-day plant test on the existing plant. The Secondary
Flotation Plant uses conventional froth recovery by mechanical
scaping and Zulu ore has already been successfully tested on a
similar plant in Zimbabwe.
The key objective of these remedial
actions to the float plant is subsequently to be able to restart
the plant into commercial production if the 3-to-5-day test run is
successful, and if not, rely on production solely through a
combination of the existing float plant and the Secondary Flotation
Plant. Shareholders should note
that the effectiveness of the measures referred to above on the
flotation plant will only be known following the 3-to-5-day test
and then if and when the Zulu plant is fully commissioned and
tested and brought into commercial production, the timing of which
continues to be uncertain and there can be no guarantee that the
planned 3-to-5-day test run nor the additional Secondary Flotation
Plant will support this. Depending on the outcome of the 3-to-5-day
test and the performance of the Secondary Flotation Plant, the
Company may need to pursue further financing options to enable
commercial production.
While Premier's focus at Zulu
remains principally on the Spodumene Flotation Circuit, test work
is also underway on wet high intensity magnetic separation that is
expected to recover Tantalum and evaluation of alternative ore
sorting is nearing completion in Germany, all of which should
lead to better efficiency and overall improved profitability, but
none of which prevent production at Zulu now.
Current Trading
As reported in the interim results
published on 30 September 2024 ("Interim Results"), at the
reporting date of 30 June 2024, the Group's total assets
exceeded the total liabilities by $12.481 million and its
current liabilities exceeded its current assets by $47.815
million. The major component of the current liability excess
comprised the $42.8 million (inclusive of interest)
received from Canmax as an advance receipt which is expected to be
settled from proceeds from the sale of SC6 to Canmax from
production at Zulu. The balance of liabilities principally
comprised trade creditors incurred by Zulu.
The Zulu plant has not run
since July 2024 and as at 31 December 2024, unaudited total
group liabilities (including amounts due to Canmax under the
Offtake and Prepayment Agreement including unsettled interest of
$10.8 million amounted to $65.445 million, of which group trade
creditors amounted to US$15.80 million. Premier's principal trade
creditors have, to date, remained supportive of Zulu pending the
flotation plant remedial work explained above, and further
reassurances that Zulu's operations will be recommissioned in good
time to support a full settlement.
Use
of Proceeds and Settlement of Creditors
The net proceeds of the Fundraising
are sufficient to commence with the final commissioning and
optimisation of the Primary Flotation Plant and purchase of the
Secondary Flotation Plant which the Board believes will underpin
the full recommencement of operations at Zulu in due course and to
address those trade creditors that require immediate full or
partial settlement in order to support the initial 3-to-5-day test
run.
The net proceeds of the Fundraising
are intended to be applied as follows:
· Completion of the 3-to-5-day flotation plant test run and
purchase and commissioning of the Secondary Flotation Plant. The
estimated cost is $800,000 inclusive of the Purchase of the
Spodumene float plant.
· Part
payment to the Government of Zimbabwe in respect of deferred VAT
and other statutory requirements of $250,000.
· Part
payment in respect of arrears of salaries and wages to employees of
$400,000.
· Part
payment to specific suppliers of plant spares and maintenance of
$180,000.
· Any
remaining balance will be used in part payments to contractors and
other creditors to enable ongoing commercial operations.
Negotiations regarding certain
creditors of the Company and Zulu accepting new shares of the
Company in settlement in full or part settlement of the liabilities
due to them have been taking place for several weeks. It is
expected that agreement will be reached with certain of these
parties once the terms of the Placing (including the Issue Price)
are notified to them ("Creditor
Settlements"). Details of the number of Settlement Shares
issued to creditors, and the value of the liabilities settled by
the Company and Zule, will be notified to shareholders at the time
of the Retail Offer Announcement.
Working Capital
The Company intends to prioritise
essential payments for the implementation of the 3-to-5-day test
run and purchase of the Secondary Flotation Plant, and those trade
creditors with which the Company has agreed payment arrangements.
Shareholders should note that
while the Board believes that the principal trade creditors are
supportive of the Company's overall plans, there can be no
guarantee that the ongoing approach for the settlement of trade
creditors will continue to be acceptable to all parties, in which
case the Company would need to accelerate its plans for raising
additional capital in order for the Company to remain a going
concern.
Outlook
The Fundraising and the expected
Creditor Settlements not sufficient for the full settlement of the
Company and Zulu's creditors, which remains reliant on the
successful commencement of commercial production at Zulu and
Premier will continue to explore its strategic options regarding
Zulu, as set out in the Interim Results. Premier's Board of
directors continue to believe that the best means of both realising
and restoring shareholder value through either the possible sale of
Zulu in its entirety, securing an investment partner into Zulu via
a partial sale, or entry into a Joint Venture, all require that
Zulu can demonstrate that it can produce Spodumene concentrate
through either the Primary Flotation Circuit and Secondary
Flotation Plant or ideally both as detailed above.
Canmax Participation
As announced on 24 December 2024,
Premier and Canmax agreed to vary the restated Offtake and
Prepayment Agreement in respect of Zulu which the parties had
previously agreed in August 2023 ("Amended Agreement")
in order both to reset the strategic relationship between Premier
and Canmax and also to place Premier into the best possible
position to bring Zulu into some level of production before the
long stop date of 1 April 2025, which Premier believes remains a
key component of how the parties will look to settle the prepayment
amount plus interest over time in accordance with the Amended
Agreement.
As further agreed under the Amended
Agreement, Canmax, at its absolute discretion, has the right to
receive partial repayment of interest owed under the Offtake and
Prepayment Agreement by the issuance of new ordinary shares
("Canmax Shares") in the
Company, such that Canmax would hold 13.38% of the issued share
capital of the Company on a fully diluted basis immediately
following the Fundraising ("Participation Rights").
Canmax have confirmed that on the
closing of the Fundraising they will exercise their Participation
Rights at the Issue Price to restore their original holding in
Premier to 13.38%. Canmax participation will be by way of a direct
subscription with the Company.
Following the Amended Agreement, the
immediate concern of Canmax enforcing its rights under the Offtake
and Prepayment Agreement (to recover the outstanding sum due as a
cash creditor) following an event of default under the Offtake and
Prepayment Agreement has been mitigated as much as the Company can
at this stage. Shareholders should
note that as described above there can be no guarantee at this time
as to whether production will be achieved by 1 April 2025 or what
further variations to the Amended Agreement will be agreed between
Premier and Canmax. However, the Board believes that Canmax's
support for both Premier and Zulu, as demonstrated by Canmax
maintaining its interest in Premier and supporting Premier's recent
General Meeting, provides the Board with confidence that a workable
solution is achievable between the parties.
George Roach Participation and Extension of Loan Repayment
Date
The Loan Facility Agreement
("Loan") provided by George
Roach as announced in August 2023, has not been settled to date and
the principal loan amount of approximately £1.7 million remains
due. The Board and George Roach have agreed that the Loan will be
part repaid, with relevant funds being used by Mr Roach to
subscribe for new shares in the Company at the Issue Price. This
agreement was reached as (i) Mr Roach expressed a strong desire to
participate in the Fundraising, on the same terms as other
investors, and (ii) in consideration of Mr Roach confirming to the
Company that he would not seek repayment of the balance of the Loan
(in all circumstances constituting the bulk of the Loan outstanding
currently) for a further 13 months after the close of the
Fundraising.
Due to constraints on the Company
with its current shareholder authority to issue new shares, the
Loan will only be part repaid and Mr Roach participate in the
Fundraising to the extent authority to issue shares remains (after
issue of the Placing Shares, Retail Offer Shares, the Settlement
Shares and Canmax Shares). Mr Roach's participation will be by way
of a direct subscription with the Company for up to a maximum of
£340,000 (the final figure being determined by the Board in
consultation with the Bookrunners and Beaumont Cornish). Mr Roach
understands that if the Fundraising is fully subscribed, or if
there is additional demand, he may be unable to participate at all,
in which case 100% of the Loan will remain outstanding. In such
circumstances the Company, in consultation with its advisers, would
seek new authority to allow Mr Roach to participate on the same
terms as the Fundraising.
Proposed Future and Actual changes to the Board
Composition
As previously announced by the
Company, the Board is actively reviewing the appointment of a new
Chief Operating Officer and other Board changes, including George
Roach being able to move to a non-executive role on such
appointment and completion of the current work programme at Zulu as
described above, with Mr Roach continuing in a consultancy role
which would include terms that are customary to such a role
including incentives based on performance.
Dr Luo Wei has resigned as a
director of the Company. Canmax have not yet formally confirmed who
will be their nominated representative on the boards of Premier,
Zulu and Zulu Lithium Mauritius Limited (collectively the "Companies"). Such nominee will be
subject to the satisfactory completion of standard regulatory
checks in compliance with the AIM Rules, before they are invited to
join the board of Companies and in the meantime, Premier has
extended board observer rights to CS Tay who has been actively
involved on behalf of Canmax since entering into the Offtake and
Prepayment Agreement.
Admission, settlement and dealings
Application will be made to the
London Stock Exchange for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to
trading on AIM. Admission of the Placing Shares is expected
to take place at 8.00 a.m. on 23 January 2025 and dealings in the
Placing Shares are expected at the same time ("Admission") or, in each case, such
later time and/or date as the Bookrunners and the Company agree
(being in any event no later than 8.00 a.m. on 28 February 2025).
Admission of the Retail Offer Shares is expected to take place at
8.00 a.m. on 23 January 2025 and dealings in the Retails Offer
Shares are expected at the same time or, in each case, such later
time and/or date as the Bookrunners and the Company agree (being in
any event no later than 8.00 a.m. on 28 February 2025). Details
regarding admission of the Settlement Shares will be confirmed
(with a further announcement made by the Company) once relevant
delivery instructions are confirmed by the respective
creditors.
The New Ordinary Shares, when
issued, will be credited as fully paid and will rank
pari
passu in all respects with the
existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all
dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after the
date of issue.
The New Ordinary Shares will be in
registered form and will be capable of being held in either
certificated or uncertificated form (i.e. in CREST).
Accordingly, following Admission, settlement of transactions
in the Ordinary Shares may take place within the CREST system if a
Shareholder so wishes. Shareholders who wish to receive and retain
share certificates are able to do so.
The Company will make a further
announcement in due course to confirm the number of Canmax Shares
that will be issued pursuant to Canmax subscription, and the amount
of Mr Roach's participation by way of direct subscription (these
figures can only be determined after the results of the Placing and
Retail Offer are known).
The ISIN of the New Ordinary Shares
is VGG7223M1005. The TIDM is PREM.
Market Abuse Regulation
The information contained within
this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU)
No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The
person who arranged the release of this announcement on behalf of
the Company was George Roach.
A copy of this announcement is
available at the Company's website, www.premierafricanminerals.com
Enquiries:
George Roach
|
Premier African Minerals Limited
|
Tel: +27 (0) 100 201 281
|
Michael Cornish / Roland Cornish
|
Beaumont Cornish Limited
(Nominated Adviser)
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
|
Douglas Crippen
|
CMC
Markets UK Plc
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3003 8632
|
Toby Gibbs/Harry Davies-Ball
|
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
|
Andrew Monk / Andrew Raca
|
VSA
Capital Limited
|
Tel: +44 (0)20 3005 5000
|
Beaumont Cornish Limited, which is
authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the
Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as nominated adviser to the
Company in relation to the matters referred herein. Beaumont
Cornish Limited is acting exclusively for the Company and for
no one else in relation to the matters described in this
announcement and is not advising any other person and accordingly
will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for
providing the protections afforded to clients of Beaumont
Cornish Limited, or for providing advice in relation to the
contents of this announcement or any matter referred to in
it.
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this
announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements.
Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and
phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage''
''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative
of those variations or comparable expressions including references
to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on
historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations
and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of
operations performance future capital and other expenditures
(including the amount. Nature and sources of funding thereof)
competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such
forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs
and assumptions and are based on information currently available to
the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking
statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general
economic and business conditions competition environmental and
other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the
availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured
and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond
the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors
believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure
investors that actual results will be consistent with such
forward-looking statements.
Glossary
|
"Placing Agreement"
|
means the agreement dated 16 January
2025 and entered into between the Bookrunners and the Company
relating to the Fundraising.
|
"Offtake and Prepayment Agreement"
|
Restated and Amended Offtake and
Prepayment Agreement entered into between Premier and Canmax as
announced on 15 August 2023 for Spodumene concentrate produced at
Zulu.
|
"OEM"
|
Original Equipment
Suppliers.
|
"SC6"
|
Spodumene concentrate.
|
"Spodumene"
|
the mineral name for lithium
aluminium silicate LiAlSi2O6 an important ore of
lithium.
|
"Tantalum(pentoxide)"
|
is the inorganic compound with the
formula Ta2O5.
|
"thp"
|
means metric ton per
hour.
|
Qualified Person's Statement
The technical information and
resource reporting contained in this announcement has been reviewed
by Mr Wolfgang Hampel. Mr Hampel has more than 27 years' experience
in lithium, rare elements and as well precious and base metal. He
is a Qualified Person for the purposes of the AIM Rules and
NI43-101, JORC, the Pan-European Reserves and Resources Reporting
Committee (PERC) and the South African Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy (SAIMM). He has compiled, read and approved the
technical disclosures in this regulatory announcement.
Notes to Editors:
Premier African Minerals
Limited (AIM: PREM) is a multi-commodity mining and natural
resource development company focused on Southern
Africa with its RHA Tungsten and Zulu Lithium projects
in Zimbabwe.
The Company has a diverse portfolio
of projects, which include tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium
and tantalum in Zimbabwe and lithium and gold
in Mozambique, encompassing brownfield projects with near-term
production potential to grass-roots exploration. The Company has
accepted a share offer by Vortex
Limited ("Vortex") for
the exchange of Premier's entire 4.8% interest in Circum Minerals
Limited ("Circum"),
the owners of
the Danakil Potash
Project in Ethiopia, for a 13.1%
interest in the
enlarged share capital of Vortex. Vortex has an interest of 36.7%
in Circum.
In addition, the Company holds a 19%
interest in MN Holdings Limited, the operator of
the Otjozondu Manganese Mining
Project in Namibia.
Ends
APPENDIX 1
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE
PLACING
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE
PLACING FOR INVITED PLACEES ONLY
THIS APPENDIX 1 CONTAINS IMPORTANT
INFORMATION FOR INVITED PLACEES REGARDING THE PLACING. THIS
INFORMATION AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (THE "PLACING TERMS") DO NOT APPLY TO THE
RETAIL OFFER.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT
ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, INCLUDING THIS
APPENDIX 1 AND THE PLACING TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (TOGETHER, THIS "ANNOUNCEMENT") (WHICH IS FOR
INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY) ARE DIRECTED ONLY AT
PERSONS WHOSE ORDINARY ACTIVITIES INVOLVE THEM IN ACQUIRING,
HOLDING, MANAGING AND DISPOSING OF INVESTMENTS (AS PRINCIPAL OR
AGENT) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THEIR BUSINESS AND WHO HAVE PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS AND ARE: (A) IF IN
THE UNITED KINGDOM, QUALIFIED INVESTORS WHO FALL WITHIN ARTICLE
19(5) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL
PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (THE "ORDER") ("INVESTMENT
PROFESSIONALS") OR FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(a) TO (d) (HIGH NET
WORTH COMPANIES, UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, ETC.) OF THE ORDER;
OR (B) PERSONS TO WHOM THEY MAY OTHERWISE LAWFULLY BE COMMUNICATED
(ALL SUCH PERSONS, INCLUDING INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS, TOGETHER
BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT PERSONS").
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE
INFORMATION IN IT MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR
RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. PERSONS
DISTRIBUTING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR
INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS
AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL
BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR THE SALE
OR SUBSCRIPTION OR A SOLICITATION OF AN
OFFER TO BUY OR ACQUIRE ANY SECURITIES IN THE COMPANY.
THE PLACING SHARES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE US
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "US SECURITIES ACT") OR WITH ANY
SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ANY
STATE OR JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED
STATES OR UNDER ANY SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY
STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED
STATES AND MAY NOT
BE OFFERED, SOLD, RESOLD, PLEDGED, TRANSFERRED OR DELIVERED,
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE
UNITED STATES EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN
APPLICABLE EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE US SECURITIES ACT, IN EACH CASE, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE
SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE OR OTHER
JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES. THE
PLACING SHARES ARE BEING OFFERED AND SOLD ONLY OUTSIDE THE UNITED
STATES IN "OFFSHORE TRANSACTIONS" WITHIN THE MEANING OF, AND IN
ACCORDANCE WITH, REGULATION S UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND
OTHERWISE IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF
THE PLACING SHARES IS BEING MADE IN THE UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM OR ELSEWHERE WHERE SUCH
OFFERING WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE,
PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY,
IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES,
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER
JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION
WOULD BE UNLAWFUL (THE "RESTRICTED
JURISDICTIONS").
EACH PLACEE SHOULD CONSULT WITH ITS
OWN ADVISORS AS TO LEGAL, TAX OR BUSINESS
CONSEQUENCES AND RELATED ASPECTS OF A PURCHASE OF PLACING
SHARES.
The Placing Shares have not been
approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, any state securities commission or other regulatory
authority in the United States nor have any of the foregoing
authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the Placing or
the accuracy or adequacy of this Announcement. Any representation
to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States. The
relevant clearances have not been, nor will they be, obtained from
the securities commission of any province or territory of Canada,
no prospectus has been lodged with, or registered by, the Australian Securities and Investments
Commission or the Japanese Ministry of Finance; the relevant
clearances have not been, and will not be, obtained for the South
Africa Reserve Bank or any other applicable body in the Republic of
South Africa in relation to the Placing Shares and the Placing
Shares have not been, nor will they be registered under or offered
in compliance with the securities laws of any state, province or
territory of Australia, Canada, Japan or the Republic of South
Africa. Accordingly, the Placing Shares may not (unless an
exemption under the relevant securities laws is applicable) be
offered, sold, resold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or
into Australia, Canada, Japan or the Republic of South Africa.
Persons (including without
limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right
or other legal obligations to forward a
copy of this Announcement should seek appropriate advice before
taking any action.
This Announcement (including this
Appendix 1) should be read in its entirety. In particular, any
Placee should read and understand the information provided in the
"Important Notices" section of this Announcement.
By participating in the Accelerated
Bookbuild (as defined below) and the Placing, each Placee will be
deemed (i) to have read and understood this Announcement in its
entirety, (ii) to be participating, making an offer to acquire and
acquiring Placing Shares on the terms and conditions contained
herein and (iii) to be providing the representations, warranties,
indemnities, acknowledgements and undertakings contained in this
Announcement (including for the avoidance of doubt this Appendix
1).
In particular, each such Placee
represents, warrants, undertakes, agrees and acknowledges (amongst
other things) that:
1.
it is a Relevant Person and undertakes that it
will acquire, hold, manage or dispose of any Placing Shares that
are allocated to it for the purposes of its business;
2.
it is acquiring the Placing Shares for its own
account or is acquiring the Placing Shares for an account with
respect to which it exercises sole investment discretion and has
the authority to make and does make the representations,
warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements, undertakings and
agreements contained in this Announcement (including for the
avoidance of doubt this Appendix 1;
3.
it understands (or if acting for the account of
another person, such person has confirmed that such person
understands) the resale and transfer restrictions set out in this
Appendix 1; and
4.
except as otherwise permitted by the Company and
subject to any available exemptions from applicable securities
laws, it (and any account referred to in paragraph 2 above) is
outside the United States acquiring the Placing Shares in offshore
transactions as defined in, and in accordance with, Regulation S
under the US Securities Act.
No
prospectus
The Placing Shares are being offered
to a limited number of specifically invited persons only and will
not be offered in such a way as to require any prospectus or other
offering document to be published. No
prospectus or other offering document has been or will be submitted
to be approved by the FCA in relation to the Placing or the Placing
Shares and Placees' commitments will be made solely on the basis of
their own assessment of the Company, the Placing Shares and the
Placing, based on the information contained in this Announcement,
the announcement of the pricing of the Placing (the "Result of Placing Announcement")
(together, the "Placing
Documents") and any information publicly announced through a
regulatory information service ("RIS") by or on behalf of the Company
on or prior to the date of this Announcement (the "Publicly Available Information") and
subject to any further terms set forth in the Form of Confirmation
sent to Placees by Shore Capital or VSA Capital to confirm their
acquisition of Placing Shares.
Each Placee, by participating in the
Placing, agrees that the content of the Placing Documents is
exclusively the responsibility of the Company and confirms that it
has neither received nor relied on any information (other than the
Publicly Available Information), representation, warranty or
statement made by or on behalf of Shore Capital, VSA Capital,
Beaumont Cornish or the Company or any other person and none of
Shore Capital, VSA Capital, Beaumont Cornish the Company nor any
other person acting on such person's behalf nor any of their
respective affiliates has or shall have any responsibility or
liability for any Placee's decision to participate in the Placing
based on any other information, representation, warranty or
statement (regardless of whether or not such information,
representation, warranty or statement was given or made by or on
behalf of any such persons). Each Placee acknowledges and agrees
that it has relied on its own investigation of the business,
financial or other position of the Company in accepting a participation in the Placing. No Placee
should consider any information in this Announcement to be legal,
tax or business advice. Each Placee should consult its own
attorney, tax advisor and business advisor for legal, tax and
business advice regarding an investment in the Placing Shares.
Nothing in this paragraph shall exclude the liability of any person
for fraudulent misrepresentation.
Details of the Placing Agreement and the Placing
Shares
Shore Capital and VSA Capital are
acting as bookrunners and placing agent in connection with the
Placing and have entered into the Placing Agreement with the
Company and Beaumont Cornish under which, on the terms and subject
to the conditions set out in the Placing Agreement, Shore Capital
and VSA Capital, as agent for and on behalf of the Company, have
agreed to use their reasonable endeavours to procure placees for
the Placing Shares. The Placing is not
being underwritten by Shore Capital, VSA Capital or any other
person.
The price per Ordinary Share at
which the Placing Shares are to be placed is 0.0275 pence per
Placing Share (the "Issue
Price") and the final number of Placing Shares will be
decided at the close of the Accelerated Bookbuild following the
execution of the placing terms by the Company, Shore Capital and
VSA Capital (the "Placing Results
Agreement"). The timing of the
closing of the book and allocations are at the discretion of the
Company, Shore Capital and VSA Capital. Details of the number of
Placing Shares will be announced as soon as practicable after the
close of the Accelerated
Bookbuild.
The Placing Shares will be duly
authorised and will, when issued, be credited as fully paid up and will be issued subject to the
Company's articles of association in place at the time and rank
pari
passu in all respects with the Existing Ordinary Shares,
including the right to receive all dividends and other
distributions declared, made or paid on or in respect of the
Ordinary Shares after the date of issue of the Placing Shares, and
will on issue be free of all pre-emption rights, claims, liens,
charges, encumbrances and equities.
Application for admission to trading on AIM
Application will be made to the
London Stock Exchange plc (the "London Stock Exchange") for admission
to trading of the Placing Shares on AIM.
It is expected that Admission of the
Placing Shares will occur at or before 8.00 a.m. on 23 January 2025
(or such later time or date as Shore Capital, VSA Capital
and Beaumont Cornish may agree with the
Company, being no later than 8.00 a.m. on 28 February 2025) and
that dealings in the Placing Shares will commence at that
time.
Accelerated Bookbuild
Shore Capital and VSA Capital will
today commence the accelerated bookbuilding process to determine
demand for participation in the Placing by
Placees at the Issue Price (the "Accelerated Bookbuild"). This Announcement gives
details of the terms and conditions of, and the mechanics of
participation in, the Placing. No commissions will be paid to
Placees or by Placees in respect of any Placing Shares.
Shore Capital, VSA Capital and the
Company shall be entitled to effect the Placing by such alternative
method to the Accelerated Bookbuild as they may, in their sole
discretion, determine.
Participation in, and principal terms of, the
Placing
1.
Shore Capital and VSA Capital are arranging the
Placing as bookrunners and placing agents of the
Company.
2.
Participation in the Placing will only be
available to persons who may lawfully be, and are, invited to
participate by Shore Capital and/or VSA Capital. Shore Capital and
VSA Capital may themselves agree to be a Placee in respect of all
or some of the Placing Shares or may nominate any member of their
group to do so.
3.
The number of Placing Shares to be issued at the
Issue Price will be agreed by Shore Capital and VSA Capital (in
consultation with the Company) following completion of the
Accelerated Bookbuild. Subject to the execution of the Placing
Results Agreement, the Issue Price and the number of Placing Shares
to be issued will be announced on an RIS following the completion
of the Accelerated Bookbuild via the Result of Placing
Announcement.
4.
To bid in the Accelerated Bookbuild, prospective
Placees should communicate their bid orally by telephone or in
writing to their usual sales contact at Shore Capital or VSA
Capital. Each bid should state the number of Placing Shares which
the prospective Placee wishes to subscribe for at the Issue Price.
Bids may be scaled down by Shore Capital and VSA Capital on the
basis referred to in paragraph 6 below. Shore Capital and VSA
Capital reserve the right not to accept bids or to accept bids in
part rather than in whole. The acceptance of bids shall be at the
absolute discretion of Shore Capital and VSA Capital, subject to
agreement with the Company.
5.
The Accelerated Bookbuild is expected to close no
later than 6.30 p.m. today (16 January 2025) but may be closed
earlier or later at the discretion of Shore Capital and VSA Capital
subject to agreement with the Company. Shore Capital and VSA
Capital may, subject to agreement with the Company, accept bids
that are received after the Accelerated Bookbuild has closed. The
Company reserves the right (subject to the agreement of Shore
Capital and VSA Capital) to reduce the number of shares to be
issued pursuant to the Placing, in its absolute
discretion.
6.
Allocations of the Placing Shares will be
determined by Shore Capital and VSA Capital after consultation with
the Company (the proposed allocations having been supplied by Shore
Capital and VSA Capital to the Company in advance of such
consultation). Allocations will be confirmed orally by Shore
Capital or VSA Capital and a Form of Confirmation will be
despatched as soon as possible thereafter. Shore Capital or VSA
Capital oral confirmation, as applicable, to such Placee
constitutes an irrevocable legally binding commitment upon such
person (who will at that point become a Placee), in favour of Shore
Capital, VSA Capital and the Company, to acquire the number of
Placing Shares allocated to it and to pay the Issue Price in
respect of such Placing Shares on the terms and conditions set out
in this Appendix 1 and in accordance with the Company's articles of
association. A bid in the Accelerated Bookbuild will be made on the
terms and subject to the conditions in this Announcement (including
this Appendix 1) and will be legally binding on the Placee on
behalf of which it is made and except with Shore Capital and VSA
Capital consent, such commitment will not be capable of variation
or revocation after the time at which it is submitted.
7.
Each Placee's allocation and commitment will be
evidenced by a Form of Confirmation issued to such Placee by Shore
Capital or VSA Capital. The terms of this Appendix 1 will be deemed
incorporated in that Form of Confirmation.
8.
Irrespective of the time at which a Placee's
allocation pursuant to the Placing is confirmed, settlement for all
Placing Shares to be subscribed for pursuant to the Placing will be
required to be made at the same time, on the basis explained below
under "Registration and Settlement".
9.
All obligations under the Accelerated Bookbuild
and the Placing will be subject to fulfilment or (where applicable)
waiver of the conditions referred to below under "Conditions of the
Placing" and to the Placing not being terminated on the basis
referred to below under "Right to terminate under the Placing
Agreement".
10.
By participating in the Placing, each Placee
agrees that its rights and obligations in respect of the Placing
will terminate only in the circumstances described below and will
not be capable of rescission or termination by the
Placee.
11.
To the fullest extent permissible by law, neither
Shore Capital, nor VSA Capital nor Beaumont Cornish nor the
Company, nor any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors,
officers or employees shall have any responsibility or liability to
Placees (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a
Placee or otherwise). In particular, none of Shore Capital, VSA
Capital, Beaumont Cornish, the Company, nor any of their respective
affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees shall have any
responsibility or liability (including to the extent permissible by
law, any fiduciary duties) in respect of Shore Capital or VSA
Capital conduct of the Placing.
12.
The Placing Shares will be issued subject to the
terms and conditions of this Announcement and each Placee's
commitment to subscribe for Placing Shares on the terms set out
herein will continue notwithstanding any amendment that may in
future be made to the terms and conditions of the Placing and
Placees will have no right to be consulted or require that their
consent be obtained with respect to the Company's, Shore Capital's
or VSA Capital's conduct of the Placing.
13.
All times and dates in this Announcement may be
subject to amendment. Shore Capital or VSA Capital, as applicable,
shall notify the Placees and any person acting on behalf of the
Placees of any changes.
Conditions of the Placing
The Placing is conditional
upon, inter alia, (i) the
conditions in the Placing Agreement relating to the Placing being
fulfilled and (ii) the Placing Agreement not having been terminated
in accordance with its terms. The obligations of Shore Capital and
VSA Capital under the Placing Agreement in relation to the Placing
are conditional on customary conditions, including (amongst others)
(the "Conditions"):
1.
the London Stock Exchange agreeing to admit the
Placing Shares and the Subscription Shares to trading on AIM
(subject only to allotment);
2.
the Placing Results Agreement having been executed
by the Company and the Bookrunners no later than 6.00 p.m. on 17
January 2025 (or such later time or date as Shore Capital and VSA
Capital may otherwise agree with the Company);
3.
the delivery by the Company to Shore Capital, VSA
Capital and Beaumont Cornish of a warranty confirmation certificate
signed by a Director for and on behalf of the Company not later
than 5.00 p.m. on the Business Day immediately prior to the date on
which Admission is expected to occur (and dated as of such
date);
4.
the Company having complied in all material
respects with its obligations which fall to be performed on or
prior to Admission under the Placing Agreement;
5.
the Subscription having become unconditional in
accordance with its terms, save for any condition as to Admission;
and
6.
Admission occurring no later than 8.00 a.m. on 23
January 2025 (or such later time or date as Shore Capital and VSA
Capital may otherwise agree with the Company, being no later than
8.00 a.m. on 28 February 2025) (the "Closing Date").
Shore Capital and VSA Capital
may, at their discretion and upon such
terms as they think fit, waive compliance by the Company with the
whole or in part of any of the Company's obligations in relation to
the Conditions or extend the time or date
provided for fulfilment of any such Conditions in respect of all or
any part of the performance thereof. Any such extension or waiver
will not affect Placees' commitments as set out in this
Announcement.
If (i) any of the Conditions
are not fulfilled or (where permitted) waived by Shore Capital and
VSA Capital by the relevant time or date specified (or such later
time or date as Shore Capital and VSA Capital may agree with the
Company, being no later than 8.00 a.m. on 28 February 2025) or (ii) the Placing
Agreement is terminated in the circumstances specified below under
"Right to terminate under the
Placing Agreement", the Placing will
not proceed and the Placees' rights and obligations hereunder in
relation to the Placing Shares shall cease and terminate at such
time and each Placee agrees that no claim can be made by it or on its behalf (or any person on
whose behalf the Placee is acting) in respect thereof.
Neither Shore Capital, VSA Capital,
Beaumont Cornish nor the Company, nor any of their respective
affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees shall have any
liability to any Placee (or to any other person whether acting on
behalf of a Placee or otherwise) in respect of any decision they
may make as to whether or not to waive or to extend the time and/or
date for the satisfaction of any Condition to the Placing, nor for
any decision they may make as to the satisfaction of any Condition
or in respect of the Placing generally, and by participating in the
Placing each Placee agrees that any such decision is within the
absolute discretion of Shore Capital and VSA Capital.
Right to terminate under the Placing
Agreement
Each of Shore Capital and VSA
Capital is entitled, but after prior consultation with Beaumont
Cornish, at any time before Admission, to terminate the Placing
Agreement in accordance with its terms in
certain circumstances, including (amongst other things):
1.
the Company fails in any material respect to
comply with any of its obligations under this Agreement or it
commits a breach of the rules and regulations of the FCA and/or
London Stock Exchange and/or the AIM Rules, FSMA, MAR or any other
applicable law; or
2.
it comes to the notice of each of the
Bookrunners or Beaumont
Cornish that any statement contained in the Placing Documents or
Retail Offer Documents was untrue, incorrect or misleading at the
date of such document; or
3.
the appointment of SCS as Retail Offer Coordinator
for the Company pursuant to Clause 7.2 is terminated for whatever reason;
or
4.
it comes to the notice of each of the
Bookrunners or Beaumont
Cornish that any statement contained in any of the Placing
Documents or Retail Offer Documents has become untrue, incorrect or
misleading or any matter has arisen which would, if the Placing or
Retail Offer were made at that time, constitute an omission
therefrom; or
5.
it comes to the notice of each of the
Bookrunners or Beaumont
Cornish that any of the Warranties given by the Company was not at
the date of this Agreement true and accurate in any respect which
each of the Bookrunners or BCL considers (acting in good faith) to
be material in the context of the Placing or the Retail Offer;
or
6.
it comes to the notice of each of the
Bookrunners or Beaumont
Cornish that a matter has arisen which is likely to give rise to a
claim under any of the indemnities given by the Company in
Clause 10 (Indemnities); or
7.
any of the Warranties, given by the Company by
reference to the circumstances prevailing from time to time has
ceased to be true and accurate in any respect which each of
the Bookrunners or
Beaumont Cornish considers (acting in good faith) to be material in
the context of the Placing or the Retail Offer; or
8.
in the opinion of each of the Bookrunners or Beaumont Cornish
(acting in good faith) there shall have occurred any Material
Adverse Change (whether or not foreseeable at the date of this
Agreement).
If either Shore Capital or VSA
Capital (the "Withdrawing
Bookrunner") elects to terminate the Placing Agreement in
accordance with its terms but the other Bookrunner (the
"Continuing Bookrunner")
elects not to do so, then the Continuing Bookrunner has the right
to elect to continue to act as the sole placing agent of the
Company in connection with the Placing (the "Step-in Right") and in those
circumstances the Placing Agreement will continue, the Continuing
Bookrunner will assume all rights of the Withdrawing Bookrunner
under the Placing Agreement and all obligations of the Withdrawing
Bookrunner will cease and determine, subject to certain
exceptions.
Assuming the Step-in Right is not
exercised and the Placing Agreement is terminated, upon
termination, the parties to the Placing Agreement shall be released
and discharged (except for any liability arising before or in
relation to such termination) from their respective obligations
under or pursuant to the Placing Agreement, subject to certain
exceptions.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee agrees that (i) the exercise by Shore Capital or VSA
Capital of any right of termination or of any other discretion
under the Placing Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion
of Shore Capital or VSA Capital and that it need not make any
reference to, or consult with, Placees and that it shall have no
liability to Placees whatsoever in connection with any such
exercise or failure to so exercise and (ii) its rights and
obligations terminate only in the circumstances described above
under "Right to terminate under
the Placing Agreement" and "Conditions of the Placing", and its
participation will not be capable of rescission or termination by
it after oral confirmation by Shore Capital or VSA Capital of the
allocation and commitments following the close of the Accelerated
Bookbuild.
Restriction on Further Issue of Shares
The Company has undertaken to Shore
Capital and VSA Capital that, between the date of the Placing
Agreement and 90 days after the date of Admission (the
"Restricted Period"), it
will not, without the prior written consent of Shore Capital and
VSA Capital directly or indirectly offer,
issue, lend, sell or contract to sell, issue options in respect of
or otherwise dispose of or announce an offering or issue of any
Ordinary Shares (or any interest therein or in respect thereof) or
any other securities exchangeable for or convertible into, or
substantially similar to, Ordinary Shares or enter into any
transaction with the same economic effect as, or agree to do, any
of the foregoing (whether or not legally or contractually obliged
to do so) provided that the foregoing
restrictions shall not restrict the ability of the Company or any
other member of the Group during the Restricted Period to grant of
options under, or the allotment and issue of shares pursuant to
options under, any employee or non-executive share or option
schemes or long term incentive plans of the Company (in accordance
with its normal practice), or the allotment
and issue of the Retail Offer Shares pursuant to the provisions of
the Retail Offer.
By participating in the Placing,
Placees agree that the exercise by Shore Capital and VSA Capital of
any power to grant consent to the undertaking by the Company of a
transaction which would otherwise be subject to the restrictive provisions on further issuance under
the Placing Agreement shall be within the
absolute discretion of Shore Capital and VSA Capital and that it
need not make any reference to, or consult with, Placees and that
it shall have no liability to Placees whatsoever in connection with
any such exercise of the power to grant consent.
Registration and Settlement
Settlement of transactions in the
Placing Shares (ISIN: VGG7223M1005) following Admission will take
place within the system administered by Euroclear ("CREST"), subject to certain exceptions.
Shore Capital and VSA Capital reserve the right to require
settlement for, and delivery of, the
Placing Shares (or any part thereof) to Placees by such other means
that they may deem necessary if delivery or settlement is not
possible or practicable within the CREST system or would not be consistent with the regulatory
requirements in the Placee's jurisdiction.
Shore Capital and VSA Capital are
acting as settlement banks. Following the close of the Accelerated
Bookbuild, each Placee to be allocated Placing Shares in the
Placing will be sent a Form of Confirmation stating the number of
Placing Shares allocated to them at the Issue Price, the aggregate
amount owed by such Placee to Shore Capital or VSA Capital (as the
case may be) and settlement instructions. Each Placee agrees that
it will do all things necessary to ensure that delivery and payment
is completed in accordance with the standing CREST or certificated
settlement instructions in respect of the Placing Shares that it
has in place with Shore Capital or VSA Capital.
The Company will deliver the Placing
Shares to CREST accounts operated by Shore Capital and VSA Capital
as agent for the Company and Shore Capital and VSA Capital will
enter their respective delivery instructions into the CREST system.
The input to CREST by a Placee of a matching or acceptance
instruction will then allow delivery of the relevant Placing Shares
to that Placee against payment.
It is expected that settlement in
respect of the Placing Shares will take place on 23 January 2025 on
a delivery versus payment basis.
Interest is chargeable daily on
payments not received from Placees on the due date in accordance with the arrangements set out above at
the rate of two percentage points above LIBOR as determined by
Shore Capital or VSA Capital (as the case may be).
Each Placee is deemed to agree that,
if it does not comply with these obligations, Shore Capital or VSA
Capital (as the case may be) may sell any or all of the Placing
Shares allocated to that Placee on such Placee's behalf and retain
from the proceeds, for Shore Capital or VSA Capital account and
benefit, an amount equal to the aggregate amount owed by the Placee
plus any interest due. The relevant Placee will, however, remain
liable for any shortfall below the aggregate amount owed by it and
will be required to bear any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax or other taxes or duties (together
with any interest or penalties) imposed in any jurisdiction which
may arise upon the sale of such Placing Shares on such Placee's
behalf.
If Placing Shares are to be
delivered to a custodian or settlement agent, Placees should ensure
that the Form of Confirmation is copied and delivered immediately
to the relevant person within that organisation. Insofar as Placing
Shares are issued in a Placee's name or that of its nominee or in
the name of any person for whom a Placee is contracting as agent or
that of a nominee for such person, such
Placing Shares should, subject as provided below, be so registered
free from any liability to UK stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax.
If there are any circumstances in which any stamp duty or stamp
duty reserve tax or other similar taxes or duties (including any
interest and penalties relating thereto) is payable in respect of
the allocation, allotment, issue, sale,
transfer or delivery of the Placing Shares (or, for the avoidance of doubt, if any stamp duty or
stamp duty reserve tax is payable in connection with any subsequent
transfer of or agreement to transfer Placing Shares), neither Shore
Capital, VSA Capital nor the Company shall be responsible for
payment thereof.
Representations, warranties, undertakings and
acknowledgements
By participating in the Placing each
Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) irrevocably
acknowledges, confirms, undertakes, represents, warrants and agrees
(as the case may be) with Shore Capital and VSA Capital (in their
capacity as bookrunners and placing agents of the Company in
respect of the Placing) and the Company, in each case as a
fundamental term of their application for Placing Shares, the
following:
1.
it has read and understood this Announcement in
its entirety and its acquisition of Placing Shares is subject to
and based upon all the terms, conditions, representations,
warranties, acknowledgements, agreements and undertakings and other
information contained herein and it has not relied on, and will not
rely on, any information given or any representations, warranties
or statements made at any time by any person in connection with the
Placing, the Company, the Placing Shares or otherwise other than
the information contained in the Placing Documents and the Publicly
Available Information;
2.
the Ordinary Shares are admitted to trading on AIM
and that the Company is therefore required to publish certain
business and financial information in accordance with the rules and
practices of AIM, which includes a description of the Company's
business and the Company's financial information, including balance
sheets and income statements, and that it is able to obtain or has
access to such information without undue difficulty, and is able to
obtain access to such information or comparable information
concerning any other publicly traded companies, without undue
difficulty;
3.
to be bound by the terms of the articles of
association of the Company;
4.
the person whom it specifies for registration as
holder of the Placing Shares will be (a) itself or (b) its nominee,
as the case may be. Neither Shore Capital, VSA Capital nor the
Company will be responsible for any liability to stamp duty or
stamp duty reserve tax or other similar taxes or duties imposed in
any jurisdiction (including interest and penalties relating
thereto) ("Indemnified
Taxes"). Each Placee and any person acting on behalf of such
Placee agrees to indemnify the Company, VSA Capital and Shore
Capital on an after-tax basis in respect of any Indemnified
Taxes;
5.
neither Shore Capital, VSA Capital, nor any of
their affiliates agents, directors, officers and employees accepts
any responsibility for any acts or omissions of the Company or any
of the directors of the Company or any other person in connection
with the Placing;
6.
time is of the essence as regards its obligations
under this Announcement;
7.
any document that is to be sent to it in
connection with the Placing will be sent at its risk and may be
sent to it at any address provided by it to Shore Capital or VSA
Capital;
8.
it will not redistribute, forward, transfer,
duplicate or otherwise transmit this Announcement or any part of
it, or any other presentational or other material concerning the
Placing (including electronic copies thereof) to any person and
represents that it has not redistributed, forwarded, transferred,
duplicated, or otherwise transmitted any such documents to any
person;
9.
no prospectus or other offering document is
required under the UK Prospectus Regulation or the EU Prospectus
Regulation, nor will one be prepared in connection with the
Accelerated Bookbuild, the Placing or the Placing Shares and it has
not received and will not receive a prospectus or other offering
document in connection with the Accelerated Bookbuild, the Placing
or the Placing Shares;
10.
in connection with the Placing, Shore Capital, VSA
Capital and any of their affiliates acting as an investor for its
own account may subscribe for Placing Shares in the Company and in
that capacity may retain, purchase or sell for its own account such
Placing Shares in the Company and any securities of the Company or
related investments and may offer or sell such securities or other
investments otherwise than in connection with the Placing.
Accordingly, references in this Announcement to the Placing Shares
being issued, offered or placed should be read as including any
issue, offering or placement of such shares in the Company to Shore
Capital, VSA Capital or any of their affiliates acting in such
capacity;
11.
Shore Capital, VSA Capital and their affiliates
may enter into financing arrangements and swaps with investors in
connection with which Shore Capital, VSA Capital and any of their
affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of such
securities of the Company, including the Placing Shares;
12.
Shore Capital and VSA Capital do not intend to
disclose the extent of any investment or transactions referred to
in paragraphs 10 and 11 above otherwise than in accordance with any
legal or regulatory obligation to do so;
13.
Shore Capital and VSA Capital do not owe any
fiduciary or other duties to any Placee in respect of any
representations, warranties, undertakings or indemnities in the
Placing Agreement;
14.
its participation in the Placing is on the basis
that it is not and will not be a client of any of Shore Capital or
VSA Capital in connection with its participation in the Placing and
that neither Shore Capital nor VSA Capital have any duties or
responsibilities to it for providing the protections afforded to
its clients or customers or for providing advice in relation to the
Placing nor in respect of any representations, warranties,
undertakings or indemnities contained in the Placing Agreement nor
for the exercise or performance of any of its rights and
obligations thereunder including any rights to waive or vary any
conditions or exercise any termination right;
15.
the content of the Placing Documents and the
Publicly Available Information has been prepared by and is
exclusively the responsibility of the Company and neither Shore
Capital, VSA Capital nor any of their affiliates agents, directors,
officers or employees nor any person acting on behalf of any of
them is responsible for or has or shall have any responsibility or
liability for any information, representation or statement
contained in, or omission from, this Announcement, the Publicly
Available Information or otherwise nor will they be liable for any
Placee's decision to participate in the Placing based on any
information, representation, warranty or statement contained in
this Announcement, the Publicly Available Information or otherwise,
provided that nothing in this paragraph excludes the liability of
any person for fraudulent misrepresentation made by such
person;
16.
the only information on which it is entitled to
rely and on which such Placee has relied in committing itself to
subscribe for Placing Shares is contained in the Placing Documents
or any Publicly Available Information (save that in the case of
Publicly Available Information, a Placee's right to rely on that
information is limited to the right that such Placee would have as
a matter of law in the absence of this paragraph 16), such
information being all that such Placee deems necessary or
appropriate and sufficient to make an investment decision in
respect of the Placing Shares;
17.
it has neither received nor relied on any other
information given, or representations, warranties or statements,
express or implied, made, by Shore Capital, VSA Capital or the
Company nor any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors,
officers or employees acting on behalf of any of them (including in
any management presentation delivered in respect of the Accelerated
Bookbuild) with respect to the Company, the Placing or the Placing
Shares or the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of any information
contained in the Placing Documents, or the Publicly Available
Information or otherwise;
18.
neither Shore Capital, VSA Capital nor the
Company, nor any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors,
officers or employees or any person acting on behalf of any of them
has provided, nor will provide, it with any material or information
regarding the Placing Shares or the Company or any other person
other than the information in the Placing Documents or the Publicly
Available Information; nor has it requested any of Shore Capital,
VSA Capital, the Company, any of their respective affiliates or any
person acting on behalf of any of them to provide it with any such
material or information;
19.
neither Shore Capital, VSA Capital nor the Company
will be liable for any Placee's decision to participate in the
Placing based on any other information, representation, warranty or
statement, provided that nothing in this paragraph excludes the
liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation made by
that person;
20.
it may not rely, and has not relied, on any
investigation that Shore Capital, VSA Capital, any of their
affiliates or any person acting on its behalf, may have conducted
with respect to the Placing Shares, the terms of the Placing or the
Company, and none of such persons has made any representation,
express or implied, with respect to the Company, the Placing, the
Placing Shares or the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the
information in the Placing Documents, the Publicly Available
Information or any other information;
21.
in making any decision to subscribe for Placing
Shares it:
(a)
has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters
to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of subscribing for
the Placing Shares;
(b)
will not look to Shore Capital or VSA Capital for all or part of
any such loss it may suffer;
(c)
is experienced in investing in securities of this nature in this
sector and is aware that it may be required to bear, and is able to
bear, the economic risk of an investment in the Placing
Shares;
(d)
is able to sustain a complete loss of an investment in the Placing
Shares;
(e)
has no need for liquidity with respect to its investment in the
Placing Shares;
(f)
has made its own assessment and has satisfied itself concerning the
relevant tax, legal, currency and other economic considerations
relevant to its investment in the Placing Shares; and
(g)
has conducted its own due diligence, examination, investigation and
assessment of the Company, the Placing Shares and the terms of the
Placing and has satisfied itself that the information resulting
from such investigation is still current and relied on that
investigation for the purposes of its decision to participate in
the Placing;
22.
it is subscribing for the Placing Shares for its
own account or for an account with respect to which it exercises
sole investment discretion and has the authority to make and does
make the acknowledgements, representations and agreements contained
in this Announcement;
23.
it is acting as principal only in respect of the
Placing or, if it is acting for any other person, it is:
(a)
duly authorised to do so and has full power to make the
acknowledgments, representations and agreements herein on behalf of
each such person; and
(b)
will remain liable to the Company and/or Shore Capital or VSA
Capital for the performance of all its obligations as a Placee in
respect of the Placing (regardless of the fact that it is acting
for another person);
24.
it and any person acting on its behalf is entitled
to subscribe for the Placing Shares under the laws and regulations
of all relevant jurisdictions that apply to it and that it has
fully observed such laws and regulations, has capacity and
authority and is entitled to enter into and perform its obligations
as a subscriber of Placing Shares and will honour such obligations,
and has obtained all such governmental and other guarantees,
permits, authorisations, approvals and consents which may be
required thereunder and complied with all necessary formalities to
enable it to commit to this participation in the Placing and to
perform its obligations in relation thereto (including, without
limitation, in the case of any person on whose behalf it is acting,
all necessary consents and authorities to agree to the terms set
out or referred to in this Announcement) and will honour such
obligations and that it has not taken any action or omitted to take
any action which will or may result in Shore Capital, VSA Capital
the Company or any of their respective directors, officers, agents,
employees or advisers acting in breach of the legal or regulatory
requirements of any jurisdiction in connection with the
Placing;
25.
where it is subscribing for Placing Shares for one
or more managed accounts, it is authorised in writing by each
managed account to subscribe for the Placing Shares for each
managed account;
26.
it irrevocably appoints any duly authorised
officers of Shore Capital or VSA Capital as its agent for the
purpose of executing and delivering to the Company and/or its
registrars any documents on its behalf necessary to enable it to be
registered as the holder of any of the Placing Shares for which it
agrees to subscribe for upon the terms of this
Announcement;
27.
the Placing Shares have not been and will not be
registered or otherwise qualified and that a prospectus will not be
cleared in respect of any of the Placing Shares under the
securities laws or legislation of the Restricted Jurisdictions, or
any state, province, territory or jurisdiction thereof;
28.
the Placing Shares may not be offered, sold, or
delivered or transferred, directly or indirectly, in or into the
above jurisdictions or any jurisdiction (subject to certain
exceptions) in which it would be unlawful to do so and no action
has been or will be taken by any of the Company, Shore Capital, VSA
Capital or any person acting on behalf of the Company, VSA Capital
or Shore Capital that would, or is intended to, permit a public
offer of the Placing Shares in the Restricted Jurisdictions or any
country or jurisdiction, or any state, province, territory or
jurisdiction thereof, where any such action for that purpose is
required;
29.
no action has been or will be taken by any of the
Company, Shore Capital, VSA Capital or any person acting on behalf
of the Company or Shore Capital or VSA Capital that would, or is
intended to, permit a public offer of the Placing Shares in the
United States or in any country or jurisdiction where any such
action for that purpose is required;
30.
unless otherwise specifically agreed with Shore
Capital and VSA Capital, it is not and at the time the Placing
Shares are subscribed for, neither it nor the beneficial owner of
the Placing Shares will be, a resident of, nor have an address in,
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Republic of South Africa or any
province or territory of Canada;
31.
it may be asked to disclose in writing or orally
to Shore Capital or VSA Capital, as applicable:
(a)
if he or she is an individual, his or her nationality;
or
(b)
if he or she is a discretionary fund manager, the jurisdiction in
which the funds are managed or owned;
32.
it is and the prospective beneficial owner of the
Placing Shares is, and at the time the Placing Shares are
subscribed for will be (i) outside the United States and is
acquiring the Placing Shares in an "offshore transaction" as
defined in, and in accordance with, Regulation S under the US
Securities Act or (ii) a QIB and will duly execute a US investor
letter and deliver the same to Shore Capital, VSA Capital or their
affiliates;
33.
it has not been offered to purchase or subscribe
for Placing Shares by means of any "directed selling efforts" as
defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act or by means of
any "general solicitation" or "general advertising" within the
meaning of Regulation D under the US Securities Act;
34.
it understands that the Placing Shares have not
been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act and
may not be offered, sold or resold, pledged or delivered in or into
or from the United States except pursuant to (i) an effective
registration statement under the US Securities Act; or (ii)
pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the
US Securities Act and, in each case, in accordance with applicable
United States state securities laws and regulations;
35.
it (and any account for which it is purchasing) is
not acquiring the Placing Shares with a view to any offer, sale or
distribution thereof within the meaning of the US Securities
Act;
36.
it will not distribute, forward, transfer or
otherwise transmit this Announcement or any part of it, or any
other presentational or other materials concerning the Placing in
or into or from the United States (including electronic copies
thereof) to any person, and it has not distributed, forwarded,
transferred or otherwise transmitted any such materials to any
person;
37.
it understands that there may be certain
consequences under United States and other tax laws resulting from
an investment in the Placing and it has made such investigation and
has consulted its own independent advisers or otherwise has
satisfied itself concerning, without limitation, the effects of
United States federal, state and local income tax laws and foreign
tax laws generally;
38.
it understands that the Company has not undertaken
to determine whether it will be treated as a passive foreign
investment company ("PFIC")
for US federal income tax purposes for the current year, or whether
it is likely to be so treated for future years and neither the
Company, VSA Capital nor Shore Capital make any representation or
warranty with respect to the same. Accordingly, neither the Company
nor Shore Capital or VSA Capital can provide any advice to United
States investors as to whether the Company is or is not a PFIC for
the current tax year, or whether it will be in future tax years.
Accordingly, neither the Company nor Shore Capital and VSA Capital
undertakes to provide to United States investors or shareholders
any information necessary or desirable to facilitate their filing
of annual information returns, and United States investors and
shareholders should not assume that this information will be made
available to them;
39.
if in a member state of the EEA, unless otherwise
specifically agreed with Shore Capital and VSA Capital in writing,
it is a qualified investor as defined in article 2 (e) of the EU
Prospectus Regulation ("Qualified
Investors");
40.
it has not offered or sold and will not offer or
sell any Placing Shares to persons in the EEA except to Qualified
Investors or otherwise in circumstances which have not resulted in
and which will not result in an offer to the public in any member
state of the EEA within the meaning of the EU Prospectus
Regulation;
41.
if a financial intermediary, as that term is used
in Article 5(1) of the UK Prospectus Regulation, the Placing Shares
subscribed for or acquired by it in the Placing will not be
acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor will they
be acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in the
United Kingdom other than Qualified Investors (as defined in
Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation), or in circumstances
in which the prior consent of Shore Capital and VSA Capital has
been given to each proposed offer or resale;
42.
if in the United Kingdom, that it is a person (i)
having professional experience in matters relating to investments
who falls within the definition of "investment professionals" in
Article 19(5) of the Order or (ii) who falls within Article 49(2)
(a) to (d) ("High Net Worth
Companies, Unincorporated Associations, etc") of the Order,
or (iii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be
communicated;
43.
it has not offered or sold and will not offer or
sell any Placing Shares to persons in the United Kingdom, except to
persons whose ordinary activities involve them in acquiring,
holding, managing or disposing of investments (as principal or
agent) for the purposes of their business or otherwise in
circumstances which have not resulted and which will not result in
an offer to the public in the United Kingdom within the meaning of
section 85(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as
amended ("FSMA");
44.
it has only communicated or caused to be
communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated
any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity
(within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) relating to the Placing
Shares in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not
require approval of the communication by an authorised person and
it acknowledges and agrees that the Placing Documents have not and
will not have been approved by Shore Capital and VSA Capital in
their capacity as an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA
and it may not therefore be subject to the controls which would
apply if it was made or approved as a financial promotion by an
authorised person;
45.
it has complied and will comply with all
applicable laws with respect to anything done by it or on its
behalf in relation to the Placing Shares (including all applicable
provisions in FSMA and MAR) in respect of anything done in, from or
otherwise involving, the United Kingdom);
46.
if it is a pension fund or investment company, its
subscription for Placing Shares is in full compliance with
applicable laws and regulations;
47.
it has complied with its obligations under the
Criminal Justice Act 1993 and Articles 8, 10 and 12 of MAR and in
connection with money laundering and terrorist financing under the
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended), the Terrorism Act 2000 (as
amended), the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Money Laundering,
Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the
Payer) Regulations 2017 (as amended) and any related or similar
rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced
by any government agency having jurisdiction in respect thereof and
the Money Laundering Sourcebook of the FCA (together the
"Regulations") and, if making payment on behalf of a third party,
that satisfactory evidence has been obtained and recorded by it to
verify the identity of the third party as required by the
Regulations;
48.
in order to ensure compliance with the
Regulations, Shore Capital and VSA Capital (for themselves and as
agents on behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars may,
in their absolute discretion, require verification of its identity.
Pending the provision to Shore Capital, VSA Capital or the
Company's registrars, as applicable, of evidence of identity,
definitive certificates in respect of the Placing Shares may be
retained at Shore Capital and VSA Capital's absolute discretion or,
where appropriate, delivery of the Placing Shares to it in
uncertificated form may be delayed at Shore Capital, VSA Capital or
the Company's registrars', as the case may be, absolute discretion.
If within a reasonable time after a request for verification of
identify Shore Capital or VSA Capital (for themselves and as agents
on behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars have not
received evidence satisfactory to them, either Shore Capital, VSA
Capital and/or the Company may, at its absolute discretion,
terminate its commitment in respect of the Placing, in which event
the monies payable on acceptance of allotment will, if already
paid, be returned without interest to the account of the drawee's
bank from which they were originally debited;
49.
the allocation, allotment, issue and delivery to
it, or the person specified by it for registration as holder, of
Placing Shares will not give rise to a stamp duty or stamp duty
reserve tax liability under (or at a rate determined under) any of
sections 67, 70, 93 or 96 of the Finance Act 1986 (depositary
receipts and clearance services) and that the Placing Shares are
not being acquired in connection with arrangements to issue
depositary receipts or to issue or transfer Placing Shares into a
clearance service;
50.
it (and any person acting on its behalf) has the
funds available to pay for the Placing Shares for which it has
agreed to subscribe and acknowledges and agrees that it will make
payment in respect of the Placing Shares allocated to it in
accordance with this Announcement on the due time and date set out
herein, failing which the relevant Placing Shares may be placed
with other subscribers or sold as Shore Capital or VSA Capital may
in its sole discretion determine and without liability to such
Placee, who will remain liable for any amount by which the net
proceeds of such sale falls short of the product of the relevant
Issue Price and the number of Placing Shares allocated to it and
will be required to bear any stamp duty, stamp duty reserve tax or
other taxes or duties (together with any interest, fines or
penalties) imposed in any jurisdiction which may arise upon the
sale of such Placee's Placing Shares;
51.
any money held in an account with Shore Capital or
VSA Capital on behalf of the Placee and/or any person acting on
behalf of the Placee and/or any person acting on behalf of the
Placee will not be treated as client money within the meaning of
the relevant rules and regulations of the FCA made under the FSMA.
Each Placee acknowledges that the money will not be subject to the
protections conferred by the client money rules; as a consequence
this money will not be segregated from Shore Capital or VSA
Capital, as appropriate, money in accordance with the client money
rules and will be held by it under a banking relationship and not
as trustee;
52.
its allocation (if any) of Placing Shares will
represent a maximum number of Placing Shares which it will be
entitled, and required, to subscribe for, and that Shore Capital,
VSA Capital or the Company may call upon it to subscribe for a
lower number of Placing Shares (if any), but in no event in
aggregate more than the aforementioned maximum;
53.
Shore Capital, VSA Capital nor any of their
affiliates, nor any person acting on behalf of them, is making any
recommendations to it, advising it regarding the suitability of any
transactions it may enter into in connection with the
Placing;
54.
if it has received any 'inside information' (for
the purposes of MAR and section 56 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993
or other applicable law) in relation to the Company and its
securities in advance of the Placing, it confirms that it has
received such information within the market soundings regime
provided for in article 11 of MAR and associated delegated
regulations and it has not:
(a)
used that inside information to acquire or dispose of securities of
the Company or financial instruments related thereto or cancel or
amend an order concerning the Company's securities or any such
financial instruments;
(b)
used that inside information to encourage, require, recommend or
induce another person to deal in the securities of the Company or
financial instruments related thereto or to cancel or amend an
order concerning the Company's securities or such financial
instruments; or
(c)
unlawfully disclosed such information to any person, prior to the
information being made publicly available;
55.
the rights and remedies of the Company, VSA
Capital and Shore Capital under the terms and conditions in this
Announcement are in addition to any rights and remedies which would
otherwise be available to each of them and the exercise or partial
exercise of one will not prevent the exercise of others;
and
56.
these terms and conditions of the Placing and any
agreements entered into by it pursuant to the terms and conditions
of the Placing, and all non-contractual or other obligations
arising out of or in connection with them, shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of England and it submits (on
behalf of itself and on behalf of any person on whose behalf it is
acting) to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts as
regards any claim, dispute or matter arising out of any such
contract (including any dispute regarding the existence, validity
or termination of such contract or relating to any non-contractual
or other obligation arising out of or in connection with such
contract), except that enforcement proceedings in respect of the
obligation to make payment for the Placing Shares (together with
any interest chargeable thereon) may be taken by either the Company
or Shore Capital or VSA Capital in any jurisdiction in which the
relevant Placee is incorporated or in which any of its securities
have a quotation on a recognised stock exchange.
The foregoing representations,
warranties, confirmations, acknowledgements, agreements and
undertakings are given for the benefit of the Company as well Shore
Capital and VSA Capital and are irrevocable. Shore Capital, VSA
Capital the Company and their respective affiliates and others will
rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations,
warranties, confirmations, acknowledgements, agreements
and undertakings. Each prospective Placee,
and any person acting on behalf of such Placee, irrevocably
authorises the Company, VSA Capital and Shore Capital to produce
this Announcement, pursuant to, in connection with, or as may be
required by any applicable law or regulation, administrative or
legal proceeding or official inquiry with respect to the matters
set forth herein.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) agrees
to indemnify on an after tax basis and hold the Company, Shore
Capital, VSA Capital and their respective affiliates, agents,
directors, officers and employees harmless from any and all costs,
claims, liabilities and expenses (including legal fees and
expenses) arising out of or in connection with any breach of the representations, warranties,
acknowledgements, agreements and undertakings given by the Placee
(and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) in this
Announcement or incurred by Shore Capital or VSA Capital, the
Company or any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors,
officers or employees arising from the performance of the Placees'
obligations as set out in this
Announcement, and further agrees that the provisions of this
Announcement shall survive after completion of the
Placing.
Taxation
The agreement to allot and issue
Placing Shares to Placees (and/or to persons for whom such Placee
is contracting as agent) free of stamp duty and stamp duty reserve
tax relates only to their allotment and issue to Placees, or such
persons as they nominate as their agents, direct from the Company
for the Placing Shares in question. Such agreement also assumes
that the Placing Shares are not being acquired in connection with
arrangements to issue depositary receipts or to issue or transfer
the Placing Shares into a clearance service. If there are any such
arrangements, or the settlement relates to any other dealing in the
Placing Shares, stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax or other
similar taxes or duties may be payable, for which neither the
Company nor Shore Capital nor VSA Capital will be responsible and
the Placees shall indemnify the Company, Shore Capital and VSA
Capital on an after- tax basis for any stamp duty or stamp duty
reserve tax or other similar taxes or duties (together with
interest, fines and penalties) in any jurisdiction paid by the
Company or Shore Capital or VSA Capital in respect of any such
arrangements or dealings. If this is the case, each Placee should
seek its own advice and notify Shore Capital or VSA Capital
accordingly. Placees are advised to consult with their own advisers
regarding the tax aspects of the subscription for Placing
Shares.
The Company, Shore Capital and VSA
Capital are not liable to bear any taxes that arise on a sale of
Placing Shares subsequent to their acquisition by Placees,
including any taxes arising otherwise than under the laws of any
country in the EEA. Each prospective Placee should, therefore, take
its own advice as to whether any such tax liability arises and
notify Shore Capital or VSA Capital and the Company accordingly.
Furthermore, each prospective Placee agrees to indemnify on an
after-tax basis and hold Shore Capital, VSA
Capital and/or the Company and their respective affiliates
harmless from any and all interest, fines or penalties in relation
to stamp duty, stamp duty reserve tax and
all other similar duties or taxes in any
jurisdiction to the extent that such interest, fines or penalties
arise from the unreasonable default or delay of that Placee or its
agent.
In addition, Placees should note
that they will be liable for any stamp duty and all other stamp,
issue, securities, transfer, registration, documentary or other
duties or taxes (including any interest, fines or penalties
relating thereto) payable, whether inside or outside the UK, by
them or any other person on the
subscription, acquisition, transfer or sale by them of any Placing
Shares or the agreement by them to subscribe for, acquire, transfer or sell any Placing
Shares.
No statement in the Placing
Documents is intended to be a profit forecast or estimate, and no
statement in the Placing Documents should be interpreted to mean
that earnings per share of the Company for the current or future
financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical
published earnings per share of the Company. Past performance is no
guide to future performance and persons needing advice should
consult an independent financial adviser.
The price of shares and any income
expected from them may go down as well as up and investors may not
get back the full amount invested upon disposal of the shares.
Past performance is no guide to future
performance, and persons needing advice should consult an
independent financial adviser.
The Placing Shares to be issued
pursuant to the Placing will not be admitted to trading on any
stock exchange other than AIM, a market operated by the London
Stock Exchange.
Neither the content of the Company's
website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's
website is incorporated in, or forms part of, the Placing
Documents.