6 February 2025
Vertu Motors
plc
("Vertu Motors" or the
"Group")
Share Buyback
Programme
The Board announces that it has
agreed a new £12m share buyback programme (including the remaining £1.8m from the
programme announced in October) (the
"Buyback Programme"). This reflects the Board's intention to
increase capital allocation to buybacks.
Under the Buyback Programme the
Company will, at appropriate times, seek to buy back its Ordinary
Shares using the Company's existing cash resources for an amount up
to £12 million (the "Maximum Amount"). The
Board believes that this is an appropriate use of capital and will
continue a programme of buybacks as a relevant element of returns
to shareholders, alongside dividend payments.
The Company has entered into an
agreement for its broker Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited ("Stifel")
to carry out purchases of its Ordinary Shares under the Buyback
Programme on its behalf. As and when requested to do so by the
Company, Stifel will seek to purchase Ordinary Shares with total
purchases over the programme up to the Maximum Amount.
The share repurchases will be
carried out on the London Stock Exchange and will be effected
within certain pre-set parameters and in accordance with the
Company's general authority to purchase its Ordinary Shares granted
by its shareholders. The Company has remaining authority to
purchase up to a maximum of 24,660,565 Ordinary Shares and the
Company intends to seek a renewal of the general authority to
purchase Ordinary Shares at the 2025 AGM for up to approximately
10% of the issued share capital. Share repurchases under the
Buyback Programme may be undertaken until the earlier of the
Maximum Amount being repurchased and 28 February 2026. All Ordinary
Shares repurchased under the Buyback Programme will be
cancelled.
The Company will make further
announcements in due course following the completion of any share
repurchases. There is no certainty that the Buyback
Programme will be implemented in full.
The Buyback Programme, the purpose
of which is to reduce the Ordinary Share capital of the Company,
will, insofar as is possible, be effected within the safe harbour
parameters of the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014/EU and the
Commission Delegated Regulation 2016/1052/EU, each as incorporated
into UK domestic law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018. However, the Buyback Programme may on any given day
represent a significant proportion of the daily trading volume in
the Ordinary Shares and could therefore exceed 25% of the daily
trading volume. In this case, the Group would not benefit from the
exemption contained in Article 5(1) of the UK version of the Market
Abuse Regulation.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with
the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR.
For
further information please contact:
|
Vertu Motors plc
|
|
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Robert Forrester, CEO
|
Tel: 0191 491 2121
|
|
Karen Anderson, CFO
Phil Clark, Investor
relations
|
Tel: 0191 491 2121
PClark@vertumotors.com
|
|
Stifel (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
|
|
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Matthew Blawat
Nick Harland
|
Tel: 0207 710 7688
|
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Camarco
|
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Billy Clegg
Tom Huddart
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Tel: 020 3757 4980
|
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Blackdown Partners (Joint Financial Advisor)
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Tel: 0754 9954255
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Peter Tracey
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Tom Fyson
|
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Evercore (Joint Financial Adviser)
|
Tel: 020 7653 6000
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Ed Banks
|
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Dimitrios Georgiou
|
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Notes to Editors
Vertu Motors is the fourth largest
automotive retailer in the UK with a network of 198 sales outlets
across the UK. Its dealerships operate predominantly under the
Bristol Street Motors and Vertu brand names.
Vertu Motors was established in
November 2006 with the strategy to consolidate the UK motor retail
sector. It is intended that the Group will continue to acquire
motor retail operations to grow a scaled dealership group. The
Group's acquisition strategy is supplemented by a focused organic
growth strategy to drive operational efficiencies through its
national dealership network. The Group currently operates 195
franchised sales outlets and 3 non-franchised sales operations from
153 locations across the UK.
Vertu's Mission Statement is to
"deliver an outstanding customer motoring experience through
honesty and trust".
Vertu Motors Group websites -
https://investors.vertumotors.com
/www.vertucareers.com
Vertu brand websites -
www.vertumotors.com
/ www.bristolstreet.co.uk
/ www.vertuhonda.com
/ www.vertutoyota.com
/ www.vertumotorcyles.com
