Completion of Placing

Source: RNS
RNS Number : 8856J
React Group PLC
28 October 2024
 

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, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICES AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION RELATING TO REACT GROUP PLC AND ITS SECURITIES FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (596/2014/EU) AS IT FORMS PART OF THE DOMESTIC LAW OF THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("EUWA") AND AS MODIFIED BY OR UNDER THE EUWA OR OTHER DOMESTIC LAW, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE MARKET ABUSE (AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI 2019/310) ("MAR").

 

28 October 2024

 

REACT Group plc

("REACT" or the "Company")

 

Completion of Placing

 

The Board of REACT (AIM: REAT), the leading specialist cleaning and soft facilities management services provider announces that, further to the announcement made earlier today in connection with the Acquisition & Proposed Placing (the "Launch Announcement"), the Placing has now completed.

 

The Company announces that it has successfully placed 1,358,025 Placing Shares at the Placing Price of 81 pence raising gross proceeds of approximately £1.1 million. Net proceeds from the Placing will be used for working capital purposes.

 

The Placing was heavily oversubscribed.

 

Investor Presentation

 

REACT Group plc is pleased to announce that Shaun Doak, Chief Executive Officer, Spencer Dredge, Chief Financial Officer and Mark Braund, Executive Chairman, will provide a live presentation relating to the Investor Presentation via Investor Meet Company on 30 October 2024, 12:30 GMT.

 

The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 29 October 2024, 09:00 GMT, or at any time during the live presentation.

 

Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet REACT Group plc via:

 

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/react-group-plc/register-investor

 

Investors who already follow REACT Group plc on the Investor Meet Company platform will automatically be invited.

 

Admission, Settlement and Dealings

 

It is expected that Admission of the 1,358,025 Placing Shares and the 617,283 Consideration Shares to AIM ("Admission") will occur and that dealings will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 29 October 2024. The Placing Shares and the Consideration Shares will rank pari passu with the Existing Ordinary Shares.

 

Together, the Placing Shares and Consideration Shares total 1,975,308 new Ordinary Shares, equivalent to 8.4 per cent. of the Company's enlarged issued share capital.

 

Related Party Transaction

 

Octopus Investments ("Octopus"), Dowgate Capital ("Dowgate") and Harwood Capital ("Harwood") are substantial shareholders in the Company (as defined in the AIM Rules) and have acquired 425,000, 205,500 and 450,000 Placing Shares at the Placing Price. The participation of Octopus, Dowgate and Harwood constitute related party transactions under rule 13 of the AIM Rules.

 

Accordingly, the Directors, consider, having consulted with Singer Capital Markets Advisory LLP, acting in its capacity as the Company's Nominated Adviser, that the terms of the participation of Octopus, Dowgate and Harwood in the Placing is fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's Shareholders are concerned.

 

Total Voting Rights

 

Following Admission, the Company will have 23,527,069 Ordinary Shares in issue and no ordinary Shares in treasury. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company will be 23,527,069.

 

This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they may determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or any change to their interest in, the Company under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

 

Unless otherwise stated, capitalised terms not otherwise defined in the text of this announcement have the same meanings ascribed to them as in the "Acquisition, Proposed Placing & Trading Update" announcement published by the Company on 28 October 2024.

 

For more information:

 

REACT Group

Tel: +44 (0) 1283 550 503

Shaun Doak, Chief Executive Officer

Spencer Dredge, Chief Financial Officer


Mark Braund, Chairman




Singer Capital Markets - Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker

Tel: +44 (0) 207 496 3000

Philip Davies / Alex Bond / Oliver Platts




Dowgate Capital - Joint Broker

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3903 7715

Stephen Norcross / Nicholas Chambers


 


IFC Advisory - Financial PR & IR

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3934 6630

Graham Herring / Zach Cohen


 

 

About Us:

 

REACT Group plc, the UK's leading specialist cleaning and soft facilities management services business, operates with three divisions: LaddersFree, one of the largest commercial window cleaning businesses in the UK; Fidelis Contract Services ("Fidelis"), a contract cleaning and soft facilities maintenance business; and REACT business, which primarily provides a solution to emergency and specialist cleaning situations, both through long-term framework agreements and on an ad-hoc basis.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICES

 

This Announcement, or any copy of it, and information contained within it, is restricted and is not for publication, release, transmission, distribution or forwarding, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Republic of South Africa or Japan or any other jurisdiction in which publication, release or distribution would be unlawful (or to any persons in any of those jurisdictions). This Announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or issue, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for shares in the capital of the Company in the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia), or Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Republic of South Africa or Japan or any other jurisdiction (or to any persons in any of those jurisdictions) or any other jurisdiction in which the same would be unlawful. No public offering of the Placing Shares is being made in any jurisdiction. This Announcement has not been approved by the London Stock Exchange, nor is it intended that it will be so approved. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of such jurisdictions.

 

The Placing Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority 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. Accordingly, the Placing Shares will be offered and sold only outside of the United States in "offshore transactions" (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act) pursuant to Regulation S and otherwise in accordance with applicable laws. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States. The Placing has not been approved, disapproved or recommended by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United States or any other U.S. regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Placing Shares.

 

No public offering of the Placing Shares is being made in the United States, United Kingdom or elsewhere. All offers of the Placing Shares will be made pursuant to an exemption from the requirement to produce a prospectus under the UK Prospectus Regulation.

 

This Announcement is not being distributed by, nor has it been approved for the purposes of section 21 of FSMA by, a person authorised under FSMA. This Announcement is being distributed and communicated to persons in the United Kingdom only in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply.

 

No prospectus has been or will be made available in connection with the matters contained in this Announcement and no such prospectus is required (in accordance with the UK Prospectus Regulation) to be published. Members of the public are not eligible to take part in the Placing. This Announcement (including the terms and conditions contained in Appendix I to this Announcement) is for information purposes only and (unless otherwise agreed by Singer Capital Markets Securities Limited ("Singer Capital Markets") or by Dowgate Capital Limited ("Dowgate Capital") is directed at and is only being distributed to persons in the United Kingdom, who are qualified investors, being persons falling within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation, and who (a) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within the definition of "investment professionals" in article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"); or (b) are persons falling within article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc") of the Order; or (c) persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated, (each such persons in (a), (b) and (c) together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This Announcement (including the terms and conditions set out in this Announcement) must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this Announcement (including the terms and conditions set out herein) relates is available only to, and will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons.

 

This Announcement has been issued by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company. No responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by, and no undertaking, representation or warranty or other assurance, express or implied, is or will be made or given by Singer Capital Markets or Singer Capital Markets Advisory LLP ("SCM Advisory"), or by Dowgate Capital or by any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates as to, or in relation to, the accuracy, fairness or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested person or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.

 

Singer Capital Markets, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA is acting solely for the Company and no-one else in connection with the Placing and the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this Announcement) as a client in relation to the Placing or the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement. Singer Capital Markets is not responsible to anyone, other than the Company, for providing the protections afforded to clients of Singer Capital Markets or for providing advice in connection with the contents of this Announcement, the Placing or the transactions and arrangements described herein.

 

SCM Advisory, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting as nominated adviser to the Company for the purposes of the AIM Rules and no-one else in connection with the Placing and the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement and will not be responsible to any other person (whether or not a recipient of this Announcement) as a client in relation to the Placing or the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement. SCM Advisory is not responsible to anyone, other than the Company, for providing the protections afforded to clients of SCM Advisory or for providing advice in connection with the contents of this Announcement, the Placing or the transactions and arrangements described herein. SCM Advisory's responsibilities as the Company's nominated adviser under the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange and are not owed to the Company or to any Director or to any other person.

 

Dowgate Capital, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA is acting solely for the Company and no-one else in connection with the Placing and the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this Announcement) as a client in relation to the Placing or the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement. Dowgate Capital is not responsible to anyone, other than the Company, for providing the protections afforded to clients of Dowgate Capital or for providing advice in connection with the contents of this Announcement, the Placing or the transactions and arrangements described herein.

 

None of the information in this Announcement has been independently verified or approved by Singer Capital Markets or SCM Advisory or Dowgate Capital or any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates. Save for any responsibilities or liabilities, if any, imposed on Singer Capital Markets and/or SCM Advisory and/or Dowgate Capital by FSMA or by the regulatory regime established under it, no responsibility or liability whatsoever whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, is accepted by Singer Capital Markets or SCM Advisory or Dowgate Capital any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates whatsoever for the contents of the information contained in this Announcement (including, but not limited to, any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the information or any opinions) or for any other statement made or purported to be made by or on behalf of Singer Capital Markets or SCM Advisory and/or Dowgate Capital or any of their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates in connection with the Company, the Placing Shares or the Placing or for any loss, cost or damage suffered or incurred howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this Announcement or its contents or otherwise in connection with this Announcement or from any acts or omissions of the Company in relation to the Placing. Singer Capital Markets, SCM Advisory, Dowgate Capital and their respective partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants and affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any responsibility and liability whatsoever, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise in respect of any statements or other information contained in this Announcement and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Singer Capital Markets or SCM Advisory and/or Dowgate Capital or any of its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates as to the accuracy, completeness or sufficiency of the information contained in this Announcement.

 

The distribution of this Announcement and the offering of the Placing Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company, Singer Capital Markets, SCM Advisory and/or Dowgate Capital or any of their respective affiliates or any person acting on its or their behalf that would permit an offering of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to the Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by the Company, Singer Capital Markets, SCM Advisory and Dowgate Capital to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions.

 

Persons distributing this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. Persons (including without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or other legal obligations to forward a copy of this Announcement (or any part thereof) should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.

 

In connection with the Placing, Singer Capital Markets and any of its respective affiliates, acting as investors for their own account, may take up a portion of the shares in the Placing as a principal position and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell for their own accounts or otherwise deal for their own account in such shares and other securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the Placing or otherwise. Accordingly, references to Placing Shares being offered, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or acquisition, placing or dealing by, Singer Capital Markets and any of its affiliates acting in such capacity. In addition, Singer Capital Markets and any of its affiliates may enter into financing arrangements (including swaps) with investors in connection with which Singer Capital Markets any of its affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of shares. Singer Capital Markets does not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.

 

This Announcement contains and the Company may make verbal statements containing "forward-looking statements" with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "would", "likely", "outlook" or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond the control of the Company. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. As a result, the actual future financial condition, performance and results of the Company may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in any forward-looking statements. No representation or warranty is made as to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on, such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made in this Announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's judgment at the date of this Announcement and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results and the Company cautions that its actual results of operations and financial condition, and the development of the industry in which it operates, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement or made verbally by the Company and/or information incorporated by reference into this Announcement. The information contained in this Announcement is subject to change without notice and except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company, its directors, Singer Capital Markets, their respective affiliates and any person acting on its or their behalf each expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publish any updates, supplements or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement to reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, except where required to do so under applicable law or regulation or by the FCA or the London Stock Exchange.

 

Any investment decision to subscribe for Placing Shares in the Placing must be made solely on the basis of this Announcement and Publicly Available Information, which has not been independently verified by Singer Capital Markets or SCM Advisory or Dowgate Capital. This Announcement does not constitute a prospectus or offering memorandum or an offer in respect of any securities and is not intended to provide the sole basis for any decision in respect of the Company or other evaluation of any securities of the Company or any other entity and should not be considered as a recommendation that any investor should subscribe for, purchase, otherwise acquire, sell or otherwise dispose of any such securities. Recipients of this Announcement who are considering acquiring Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing are reminded that they should conduct their own investigation, evaluation and analysis of the business and data described in this Announcement. The price and value of securities can go down as well as up and past performance is not a guide to future performance, and investors may not get back the full amount invested upon the disposal of such securities. The contents of this Announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each investor or prospective investor should consult with his or her or its own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial, business or tax advice.

 

References in this Announcement to other materials, such as a website address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources of information on the Company which may be of interest. Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into or forms part of this Announcement.

 

The Placing Shares to be issued or sold pursuant to the Placing will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other than AIM.

 

This Announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with applicable law and regulation in the United Kingdom and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this Announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom.

 

Information to Distributors

 

The distribution of this Announcement and the offering of the Placing Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company, Singer Capital Markets, SCM Advisory and/or Dowgate Capital or any of its affiliates that would permit an offering of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to the Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by the Company, Singer Capital Markets, SCM Advisory and Dowgate Capital to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions.

 

UK Product Governance Requirements

 

Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements contained within Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the "UK Product Governance Rules"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the UK Product Governance Rules) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Placing Shares have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that such Placing Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in paragraphs 3.5 and 3.6 of COBS; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all permitted distribution channels (the "UK Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the UK Target Market Assessment, distributors should note that: the price of the Placing Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Placing Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the Placing Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The UK Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Placing. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the UK Target Market Assessment, Singer Capital Markets, SCM Advisory and Dowgate Capital will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, the UK Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of COBS 9A and COBS 10A, respectively; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Placing Shares. Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Placing Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels.

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