THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, INCLUDING THE APPENDICES AND THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THEM, IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR
RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR FORWARDING, IN WHOLE OR IN
PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED
STATES, AUSTRALIA, HONG KONG,
CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH
AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION
OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES
NOT CONSTITUTE OR CONTAIN ANY INVITATION, SOLICITATION,
RECOMMENDATION, OFFER OR ADVICE TO ANY PERSON TO SUBSCRIBE FOR,
OTHERWISE ACQUIRE OR DISPOSE OF ANY SECURITIES IN CAMBRIDGE
COGNITION HOLDINGS PLC OR ANY OTHER ENTITY IN ANY SUCH
JURISDICTION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICES AT THE END OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES
OF REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF
THE EU (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("MAR"). IN ADDITION, MARKET
SOUNDINGS (AS DEFINED IN MAR) WERE TAKEN IN RESPECT OF THE PLACING
WITH THE RESULT THAT CERTAIN PERSONS BECAME AWARE OF INSIDE
INFORMATION (AS DEFINED IN MAR), AS PERMITTED BY MAR. THIS INSIDE
INFORMATION IS SET OUT IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. THEREFORE, THOSE
PERSONS THAT RECEIVED INSIDE INFORMATION IN A MARKET SOUNDING ARE
NO LONGER IN POSSESSION OF SUCH INSIDE INFORMATION RELATING TO THE
COMPANY AND ITS SECURITIES.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE READ IN ITS ENTIRETY. IN
PARTICULAR, YOU SHOULD READ AND UNDERSTAND THE INFORMATION PROVIDED
IN THE APPENDICES INCLUDING APPENDIX I WHICH CONTAINS THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF THE PLACING. THE DEFINITIONS USED IN THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT ARE SET OUT IN APPENDIX II OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT.
29 May 2024
Cambridge Cognition Holdings
plc
("Cambridge Cognition", the "Company" or the
"Group")
Proposed Placing,
Subscription and Open Offer
Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc
(AIM: COG), which develops and markets digital solutions to assess
brain health, announces its intention to
conduct a placing ("Placing") and subscription
("Subscription") of new
ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the capital of the Company
("Ordinary Shares") at an
issue price of 40 pence per share (the "Issue Price") to new and existing
institutional and other investors to raise gross proceeds of
approximately £2.5 million to be used principally for growth and
general working capital and to strengthen the Company's balance
sheet as it continues its profitable momentum.
In addition, and in order to provide
Qualifying Shareholders who have not taken part in the Placing or
Subscription, with an opportunity to participate in the proposed
Fundraising, the Company is providing Qualifying Shareholders the
opportunity to subscribe, at the Issue Price, for an aggregate of
up to 311,057 new Ordinary Shares ("Open Offer Shares"), to raise
additional gross proceeds of up to a maximum of approximately
£125,000 via an open offer ("Open
Offer").
The Placing will be conducted
through an accelerated bookbuild (the "Bookbuild") which will be launched
immediately following this Announcement. The Placing is subject to
the terms and conditions set out in Appendix I to this
Announcement. The Placing, Subscription and the Open Offer are not
underwritten.
Fundraising highlights
Placing and Subscription
· Proposed Placing to raise approximately £2.1 million (before
expenses) at the Issue Price.
· Conditional
Subscription to raise approximately £0.4 million (before expenses)
from an existing shareholder at the Issue Price.
· Certain
Directors and management of the Company intend to subscribe for
Placing Shares in the Placing for an aggregate amount of
approximately £66,000. Further details will be announced as
appropriate in due course.
·
It is envisaged that the Bookbuild will be closed
no later than 6:00 p.m. on 29 May 2024 but may be closed earlier,
or later, at the discretion of the Joint Brokers.
· Details of the number of Placing Shares conditionally placed
will be announced as soon as practicable after the closing of the
Bookbuild.
·
It is expected that the Placing will
be eligible for participation by VCTs and that the EIS/VCT Shares
will rank as a qualifying holding for the purposes of VCT tax
relief, however there can be no guarantee that investment in the
EIS/VCT Shares will be eligible for EIS tax relief.
· Any
investment in the EIS/VCT Shares is subject to a cap on an
individual investment of £500,000 per VCT.
Open Offer
· The
Company is proposing to raise up to a maximum of approximately
£125,000 (before expenses) by way of the Open Offer.
· The
Open Offer will be made to Qualifying Shareholders pursuant to the
terms and conditions to be set out in the Circular (as defined
below).
· Subject
to successful closing of the Bookbuild, the Open Offer will provide
for Qualifying Shareholders to subscribe for up to 311,057 Open
Offer Shares at the Issue Price on the basis of:
1 Open Offer share for every
113 Existing Ordinary Shares
held by Qualifying Shareholders on
the Record Date.
· Shareholders subscribing for their full entitlement under the
Open Offer may request additional Open Offer Shares through the
Excess Application Facility.
· It is
not expected that the Open Offer Shares will be eligible for
participation by VCTs or be eligible for EIS tax relief.
The Company intends to use the net
proceeds of the Fundraising (excluding the Open Offer), being
approximately £2.1 million, for growth and technical and business
development activities to explore healthcare opportunities and
working capital purposes, including expansion of the Company's
commercial team to support greater reach and management of key
relationships; continuation of development projects and provision
of balance sheet strength. Any excess funds raised pursuant to the
Open Offer will be applied towards working capital needs and
balance sheet strength.
The Issue Price represents
approximately a 10.1 per cent. discount to the mid-market closing
price of the Ordinary Shares on 28 May 2024, being the last
practicable date prior to the date of the Announcement.
Upon completion of the Placing,
Subscription and the Open Offer, the 6,561,057 New Shares
would represent approximately 15.7 per cent. of the Enlarged
Share Capital (assuming the Open Offer is subscribed for in
full).
Completion of the Placing,
Subscription and Open Offer will be conditional upon, inter alia,
the approval by Shareholders of the resolutions to be proposed at a
general meeting of the Company expected to be convened and held at
9:00 a.m. on 17 June 2024 and Admission
occurring.
The Company expects to publish a
circular (the "Circular") in connection with
the Placing, Subscription and Open Offer, following the successful
closure of the Bookbuild, which provides further information on the
Company, the Fundraising, the terms and conditions of the Open
Offer and Notice of General Meeting.
Application will be made to the
London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares, the Subscription
Shares and such number of Open Offer Shares as are subscribed for,
to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is anticipated that, subject
to, amongst other things, approval of the Resolutions at the
General Meeting, the EIS/VCT Admission and dealings in the EIS/VCT
Shares will commence at 8:00 a.m. on 18 June 2024 and the General
Admission and dealings in the General Placing Shares, the
Subscription Shares and such number of Open Offer Shares (as are
subscribed for) are expected to commence, at 8:00 a.m. on 19 June
2024. The New Shares, when issued, will be fully paid and will rank
pari passu in all respects with the Existing Ordinary
Shares.
Unless otherwise stated, capitalised terms not
otherwise defined in the text of this Announcement
have the meaning
ascribe to them in Appendix II
(which forms part
of this Announcement).
This Announcement should be read in its entirety. In
particular, you should read and understand the information provided
in the "Important Notices" section below and the appendices to this
Announcement (which form part of this Announcement) which includes
the terms and conditions of the Fundraising.
Enquiries:
Cambridge Cognition Holdings
plc
Matthew Stork, Chief Executive
Officer
Stephen Symonds, Chief Financial
Officer
|
Tel: 012 2381
0700
press@camcog.com
|
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (NOMAD
and Joint Broker)
Emma Earl
/ Freddy Crossley /
Mark Rogers
Rupert Dearden
|
Tel: 020 7886
2968
(Corporate
Finance)
(Corporate
Broking)
|
Dowgate Capital Limited (Joint
Broker)
David Poutney / Nicholas
Chambers
|
Tel: 020 3903
7715
|
Hudson Sandler (Financial PR and
IR)
Dan de Belder / Hattie
Dreyfus
|
Tel: 020 7796
4133
cog@hudsonsandler.com
|
|
|
Notes to Editors
About Cambridge Cognition
Cambridge Cognition is a technology
company developing digital health products to better understand,
detect and treat conditions affecting brain health. The Company's
software products assess cognitive health in patients worldwide to
improve clinical trial outcomes, identify and stratify patients
early and improve global efficiency in pharmaceutical and
healthcare industries.
For further information
visit: https://cambridgecognition.com/
1.
BACKGROUND TO AND
REASONS FOR THE FUNDRAISING
A.
OVERVIEW
Cambridge Cognition is a
neuroscience technology company developing digital health products
to better understand, detect and treat conditions affecting brain
health. The Company's software products assess cognitive health in
patients worldwide to improve clinical trial outcomes, identify and
stratify patients early and improve efficiency in pharmaceutical
and healthcare industries. The Company's key focus is on improving
the health of people around the world by delivering more effective
brain health assessments and methods of administering them at home
and in-clinic. The Company's diverse blue-chip customer base
includes a number of global pharmaceutical companies, clinical
research organisations and research and healthcare
customers.
Over the course of 2023, the Company
made considerable improvements in internal operations, introducing
new cloud-based systems for operational management, people
management, quality assurance and learning and training
record-keeping. The Group has also spent the last year integrating
and expanding its offering so that it is able to provide a combined
platform across its portfolio enabling customers to choose the
modules which fit their requirements.
The Group has also completed its
restructuring following the acquisitions of eClinicalHealth Limited
at the end of 2022 and Winterlight Labs Inc. at the beginning of
2023. In completing this restructuring, costs were reduced whilst
maintaining a high level of client delivery and a strong customer
focus.
In February 2024 the Company
strengthened its commercial leadership with the appointment of Alex
Livingstone-Learmonth as Chief Commercial Officer. Alex is an
experienced commercial leader with vast experience leading teams
selling digital solutions into clinical trials. The Board believe
Alex's appointment will strengthen the Group's commercialisation
and growth strategy.
The Directors expect the combination
of the Group's newly developed and acquired technologies in
combination with the core CANTAB®
technology and strengthened commercial leadership
will bring new and larger sales opportunities.
The Group has a healthy pipeline of
opportunities for 2024 and expects to recognise £9.0 million of
revenue in 2024 from the contracted order book, including revenue
recognised in the first quarter of 2024. However, despite the
positive outlook, the Group continues to experience longer lead
times for contracting and several contract delays impacting on
invoicing levels. The Group's performance is reliant on timing of
contracts. As such, the Directors believe the Fundraising is
important to provide a strong balance sheet to enable to Company to
execute on its growth plans.
B.
DIGITAL HEALTH PRODUCTS
The Company offers accurate and
sensitive touch-screen and voice-based digital assessments of
cognition and other brain health indicators. The Company's suite of
e-clinical technology solutions can be used at home or in-clinic,
giving pharmaceutical companies and research institutions
flexibility to reliably capture a broad range of important clinical
measures. The Company operates across three main business areas:
pharmaceutical clinical trials, academic research and
healthcare.
C.
MARKET
OPPORTUNITES
The Directors believe the Group is
well positioned to take advantage of current significant trends in
the pharmaceutical industry, primarily the increasing use of
decentralised trials, and the rising investment in neurology
research. There has been considerable M&A activity by large
pharmaceutical companies in the central nervous system drug
development sector recently and, together with an improving global
economic outlook, that is expected to prompt further investment in
CNS clinical trials. The Company is focused on capitalising on its
estimated $700 million market opportunity, growing the order book
and maximising the benefits of the recent acquisitions to drive
sustainable profitable growth across its three main business
areas.
Pharmaceutical Clinical
Trials
Within Pharmaceutical Clinical
Trials, the Group has three active target market opportunities:
digital cognitive outcomes assessments, automated quality assurance
and electronic clinical outcomes assessments ('eCOA'); and two passive market
opportunities: decentralised clinical trials and recruitment
solutions.
· Digital Cognitive Outcomes
Assessments:
The Board estimate that
approximately 500 clinical trials worldwide each year use measures
of cognition. Traditional assessments require clinicians to ask
patients questions and score the answers, and can be more
subjective, costly and inconvenient. The Group's touchscreen and
voice-based cognitive assessments can be used alongside or even
instead of traditional methods. The US market for digital cognitive
assessments in clinical trials was estimated to be $67 million in
2021, growing at approximately 30 per cent. per annum.[1]
· Quality
Assurance:
In later phase clinical trials for
diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease, the patient
consults may subsequently be reviewed for quality assurance. The
Group's recent automated quality assurance solution ('AQUA') offering automates this
process.
· Electronic Clinical Outcomes
Assessment ('eCOA'):
The clinical trials market is
generally moving from pen and paper to electronic solutions. eCOA
systems are designed to capture patient, carer or
clinician-reported data on a patient's outcomes during a clinical
trial. Taking a proportion of the reported global market for all
therapeutic areas, the eCOA market for CNS disorders was estimated
to be $250 million in 2023 and predicted to grow at 16 per cent.
per annum from 2024 to 2029.[2]
· In-Clinic, Hybrid and
Virtual/Decentralised Clinical Trial Systems:
Pharmaceutical companies and
contract research organisations depend on various information
technology systems to effectively communicate with patients,
schedule events, gather and analyse clinical data and prepare
reports. A wide range of providers offer one or more of these
systems, with some designed for in-clinic or virtual use or both.
The Board estimates the global market for these solutions in CNS
virtual clinical trials to have been $200 million in 2023. A recent
report stated that market growth is forecast to be 15 per cent.
from 2024.[3]
· Patient
Recruitment:
There is a market opportunity for
Cambridge Cognition to provide the digital solutions to support
patient recruitment for a wide range of CNS clinical trials. The
CNS clinical trial patient recruitment market, excluding
advertising, was estimated at just over $130 million in 2023 with 8
per cent. annual growth.[4]
Academic
research
The supply of cognitive outcomes
assessments for use in research by academics via a
software-as-a-service ('SaaS') solution generates valuable evidence
of the utility of the Group's solutions as academics publish papers
and give presentations referencing the Group's data and software.
This peer generated evidence is useful in marketing and securing
new clinical trial contracts with the Group's pharmaceutical
customers.
Healthcare
Cambridge Cognition has an FDA and
EU approved medical device to aid in the triage and diagnosis of
patients with cognitive impairment for primary care
practitioners.
Demand is currently limited as there
is minimal reimbursement, although it could grow rapidly with more
interest in using digital cognitive biomarkers for healthcare, as
new drugs are developed to treat Alzheimer's disease. For that
reason, the Company is in discussions with potential partner
companies to extend distribution.
During 2023, the Company
strengthened its technology platforms and commercial offering and
is positioned to capitalise on the anticipated growth in the CNS
drug development market.
D.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
CANTAB® cognitive
assessments
Cambridge Cognition's core product,
CANTAB®,
the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated
Battery was originally developed at the University of Cambridge and
constitutes most of the Company's revenues. It comprises 15 main
tasks that cover all of the cognitive domains typically measured in
a clinical trial and includes a range of sensitive, precise and
objective measures of cognitive function and neuropsychological
tests that are used to measure psychological functions relating to
a particular brain structure or pathway. It is suitable for use in
CNS, including both neurology and psychiatry research.
CANTAB® includes a range of tests covering working
memory, learning and executive function; visual, verbal and
episodic memory, attention, information processing and reaction
time; social and emotion recognition, decision making and response
control. The number of publications on
CANTAB® trials is
now over 3,000.
CANTAB® assessments are
available on Apple iPads™, through a web browser and on mobile
phones. The project to enable and validate screen resizing for
CANTAB® tasks on mobile screens continued through 2023,
and concluded in early 2024, with the addition of two further
frequently used tasks in the mobile format. The Company has also
developed an R&D version of the
CANTAB® App that
can be used flexibly with individuals to test variants of
assessments.
Daily cognitive
assessments
The Company markets several short
mobile phone assessments that can be done daily, or multiple times
each day. The Company currently has three assessments and
progressed two further assessments in 2023 to be ready for
validation and sale.
Voice-based cognitive
assessments
In 2023, the Company expanded its
range of voice-based cognitive assessments with the acquisition of
Winterlight. The full portfolio now includes 11 verbal assessments
which are mostly automated versions with unique features of
well-known assessments used by psychologists or neurologists to
assess patients, such as asking someone to describe a picture or to
memorise pairs of words. Many are multilingual, which is essential
for international clinical trials. The Winterlight solution was
also used to develop AQUA.
AQUA, Automated quality
assurance
AQUA increases the scope of the
Company's product offering into the analysis of traditional
non-digital cognitive assessments. Product development was
completed post-acquisition and the product was launched in the
fourth quarter 2023. It uses the Winterlight transcription engine
and provides a report on the quality of clinical consults for
clinical trials, ensuring consistency of both testing approach and
scoring across all patients assessed. In 2022, the Company
commissioned independent market research that estimated the
potential market opportunity for the solution could reach £16
million per annum within five years of being launched. AQUA
contributed to a major contract win in October 2023 for a sizeable
later stage clinical trial valued at £1 million.
2.
CASH REQUIREMENT,
SOURCES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
The gross proceeds of the
Fundraising are expected to amount to approximately £2.6 million
(assuming full take-up of the Open Offer) comprising approximately
£2.5 million from the Placing and Subscription, and up to
approximately a further £125,000 pursuant to the Open
Offer.
Subject to the Resolutions being
passed at the General Meeting, the net proceeds of the Fundraising
(excluding the Open Offer) are expected to be used for growth and
technical and business development activities to explore healthcare
opportunities and working capital purposes, including expansion of
the Company's commercial team to support greater reach and
management of key relationships; continuation of development
projects and provision of balance sheet strength.
Approximate use of proceeds from the
Fundraising:
1) £1.6 million for
commercial investment and growth capital; and
2) £0.9 million for
working capital (including associated Fundraising fees).
Any net proceeds raised pursuant to
the Open Offer are expected to be applied towards working capital
needs and balance sheet strength.
Claret Loan Agreement
In September 2023, the Company
obtained a £3 million secured term loan from Claret European
Specialty Lending Company III, S.à r.l. The loan was fully drawn
down from inception, to provide working capital and enable
investment in product development and solution integration. The
loan has a fixed interest rate of 11.5 per cent. per annum and a
term of 36 months. The loan is repayable, with interest, in 30
monthly instalments following an initial six-month interest only
period. The loan is secured over assets of the
Company.
In October 2023, in relation to the
loan, the Company issued Claret with 722,565 warrants to subscribe
for new Ordinary Shares at an exercise price of 90.72
pence.
While the loan is in place, Claret
has the right of first refusal on future debt fundings of the
Company and has the right to participate in any future equity
fundraising up to an amount of £500,000 on the same terms as any
other participant. Claret is not participating in the Placing or
the Subscription.
3.
CURRENT TRADING
AND OUTLOOK
The preliminary results for the year
ended 31 December 2023 were released on 1 May 2024 and the
following key figures, subject to audit, were included in that
announcement:
· Revenue of £13.5 million (2022: £12.6 million)
· Adjusted operating tax loss for the year of £1.1 million
(2022: £0.1 million profit)
· Cash
balance of £3.2 million as at 31 December 2023 (31 December 2022:
£8.3 million)
· Contracted order book of £17.2 million as at 31 December 2023
(31 December 2022: £17.6 million)
With revenue increasing 7 per cent.
over the financial year to £13.5 million (unaudited) for the
year ended 31 December 2023 compared with £12.6 million in
2022, and following the comprehensive integration and
re-organisation mid-year, the Company made an adjusted operating
profit of £1.0 million in the second half of 2023,
improving the adjusted operating loss from £2.1
million in the first half to £1.1 million by the
year end. The adjusted operating profit in the second half of
the year was better than expected following growth in the
contracted book in the first half and from realising cost benefits
associated with the integration of Clinpal and Winterlight
amounting to over £1.5 million.
A large proportion of the Group's
contracts are for clinical trials, which usually commence three to
six months after the signing of the contract and can run for
several months or up to five years. As a result, the Company
recognised more than half of the revenue in 2023 from orders won in
previous years, with the remaining balance from in-year contract
wins. The Group's contracted order book stood at £17.2 million as
at 31 December 2023 providing good visibility over 2024 revenues
and beyond. The Company expects £9.0 million of revenue from the
existing order book will be recognised in 2024 subject to customer
schedules and start dates, with the balance to be recognised in
subsequent years.
Cambridge Cognition ended 2023 with
£3.2 million of cash (£0.7 million net of debt, net of financing
costs) and a healthy orders pipeline, although the Company has
continued to experience longer lead times for contracting which has
impacted on invoicing levels. With the current expectations on
conversion of opportunities in the pipeline, revenue is expected to
be in the range of £13.0 million to £15.0 million for 2024.
The Company continues to engage in discussions with strategic
partners that could deliver revenue above this level. In the event
the Resolutions do not pass at the General Meeting, excluding the
net proceeds from the Fundraising, and assuming revenue for the
year ended 31 December 2024 is approximately £14.0 million (being
the middle of the guidance) the Company is forecasting a net debt
position of approximately £1.0 million as at 31 December 2024,
however, this is highly dependent on timings for new sales
orders.
The Company continues to manage its
cost base relative to the revenue growth prospects and has
structured its operations to achieve profitability and provide a
stable base for future growth. The Company anticipates that
operating expenses and particularly research and development
expense will reduce in 2024 as the business focuses on the
commercial execution of its existing product portfolio leading to
profitability for the full year (on an adjusted operating profit
basis).
The Company aims to deliver
continued revenue growth into 2025 and beyond with a cost base that
will provide significant operational leverage and strong potential
for future earnings growth. However, due to timing of customer
invoices, longer lead times to contracting and potential
delays to commencing studies the Directors believe additional
funding for working capital and growth capital from the Fundraising
will provide a strong balance sheet to enable the Company to
execute on its growth plans.
In addition, the Company has
recently signed an agreement to participate in a major
collaborative trial, supported by grant funding. The net financial
benefit to the Company is not material, however the results from
the trial may provide validation data for its touchscreen and voice
assessments as for Alzheimer's Disease.
4.
DETAILS OF THE
FUNDRAISING
A.
Structure of the Fundraising
The Company proposes to raise
approximately £2.5 million (before expenses), from: (i) a
Placing with new and
existing institutional investors; and (ii) a Subscription to raise
approximately £0.4 million through a subscription for 937,500 new
Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price. Alongside the Placing and
Subscription, the company is proposing to make an offer to
Qualifying Shareholders at the Issue Price to by way of the Open
Offer.
The Directors gave careful
consideration to the structure of the Fundraising and concluded
that the Placing, together with the Subscription and the Open
Offer, was the most suitable option available to the Company and
its Shareholders at this time.
As part of the Placing, the Company
is seeking to raise funds by the issue of the EIS/VCT Shares to
investors seeking the benefit of EIS and VCT Relief. As such, the
Placing is being conducted in two tranches, with the
EIS/VCT Shares being admitted to trading on AIM
pursuant to the EIS/VCT Admission prior to the General
Placing Shares being admitted to trading on
AIM pursuant to the Second Admission.
B.
Details of the Placing
The Placing is being made available to certain
institutional and other professional investors to raise gross
proceeds of approximately £2.1 million.
The Joint Bookrunners, as agents for
the Company, have
severally (and not jointly or jointly and severally) agreed to use
their reasonable endeavours to procure Placees for the Placing
Shares at the Issue Price by way of an accelerated bookbuild
process on and subject to the terms of the Placing
and Open
Offer Agreement.
Placees who
apply to
subscribe for
the Placing
Shares will do so on the
basis of the terms and conditions of the Placing set out in Appendix I to the
Announcement. The Placing is not underwritten.
The Bookbuild will open with
immediate effect following this announcement and is expected to
close before 6:00 p.m. on 29 May 2024. The timing for the
close of the Bookbuild, the number of Placing Shares to be issued
and allocation of the Placing Shares shall be at the discretion of
the Joint Bookrunners in consultation with the Company. The result
of the Placing will be announced as soon as practicable after the
close of the Bookbuild.
The Joint Bookrunners' obligations
under the Placing and Open Offer Agreement in respect of the
EIS/VCT Placing are conditional, inter alia, upon:
a) the passing without
amendment of all the Resolutions at the General Meeting;
b) the Placing and Open
Offer Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects (save for
any condition relating to the EIS/VCT Admission) and not having
been terminated in accordance with its terms prior to EIS/VCT
Admission; and
c) EIS/VCT Admission
occurring by no later than 8:00 a.m. on 18 June 2024 or such later
time and date (being not later than 8:00 a.m. on 31 July 2024) as
the Joint Bookrunners and the Company may agree.
If any of the conditions above are
not satisfied or waived (where capable of waiver), the EIS/VCT
Shares will not be issued.
The Joint Bookrunners' obligations
under the Placing and Open Offer Agreement in respect of the
General Placing are conditional, inter alia, upon:
a) EIS/VCT Admission
having occurred;
b) the Placing and Open
Offer Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects (save for
any condition relating to General Admission) and not having been
terminated in accordance with its terms prior to General Admission;
and
c) General Admission
occurring by no later than 8:00 a.m. on 19 June 2024 or such later
time and date (being not later than 8:00 a.m. on 31 July 2024) as
the Joint Bookrunners and the Company may agree.
If any of the conditions above are
not satisfied or waived (where capable of waiver), the General
Placing Shares will not be issued. The EIS/VCT Placing is not
conditional on the issue of the General Placing Shares,
Subscription Shares, Open Offer Shares or the General
Admission.
Shareholders should note that it is
possible that EIS/VCT Admission occurs but General Admission does
not occur. If the General Admission does not occur then the Company
will not receive the relevant net proceeds in respect of the
General Placing, the Subscription and the Open Offer and the
Company may not be able to finance the activities referred to in
this Announcement.
The Company believes that the
EIS/VCT Shares will rank as a qualifying holding for the purposes
of investment by VCTs. However, no assurance has been obtained from
HMRC that the Company is a qualifying company for the purposes of
the EIS or that a subscription for EIS/VCT Shares is a qualifying
holding for the purpose of investment by VCTs.
None of the Directors or the Company
give any warranty or undertaking that the Company is a qualifying
company for the purposes of the EIS, that any VCT investment in the
Company is a qualifying holding, or that VCT qualifying status will
not be withdrawn, nor do they warrant or undertake that the Company
will conduct its activities in a way that qualifies for or
preserves its status or the status of any investment in Ordinary
Shares. Investors considering taking advantage of any of the
reliefs available under the EIS or to VCTs should seek their own
professional advice in order that they may fully understand how the
rules apply in their individual circumstances and what they are
required to do in order to claim any reliefs (if available). As the
rules governing EIS and VCT reliefs are complex and interrelated
with other legislation, if any potential investors are in any doubt
as to their tax position, require more detailed information than
the general outline above, or are subject to tax in a jurisdiction
other than the UK, they should consult their professional
advisers.
The Company has not obtained any
assurance from HMRC that EIS/VCT Shares subscribed for will satisfy
the requirements in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 of Part 5 of the Income
Tax Act 2007 as regards the Company or the EIS/VCT Shares in order
to be eligible for relief for the purposes of the EIS nor has it
sought or received any professional advice in respect of such
requirements.
Neither the Directors nor the Group
give any warranty or undertaking that EIS tax relief is or will be
available in respect of any investment in EIS/VCT Shares or that
the Group will conduct its activities in a way that qualifies for
or preserves its status or the status of any investment in EIS/VCT
Shares. No investor may claim any relief relating to the EIS unless
the Group has issued a 'compliance certificate' for the purposes of
the EIS legislation, which the Company may only do having sought
the authority of an officer of HMRC and having formed the view
that, at the time of issuing the compliance statement, except so
far as they fall to be met by or in relation to the investor, the
requirements for EIS relief are for the time being met in relation
to those shares.
If the law regarding the reliefs
available to investors seeking EIS relief change, any qualifying
status previously obtained (if any) may be lost or
withdrawn.
Investors considering taking
advantage of any of the reliefs under the EIS should seek their own
professional advice in order that they may fully understand how the
rules apply in their individual circumstances and what they are
required to do in order to claim any reliefs (if
available).
C.
The
Subscription
An existing shareholder of the
Company has conditionally agreed to subscribe for 937,500
Subscription Shares at the Issue Price. The aggregate gross
proceeds of the Subscription will amount to approximately £0.4
million. The Subscription will not be
underwritten.
The Subscription will be
conditional, amongst other things, the passing without amendment of
all the Resolutions at the General Meeting and Admission occurring
in respect of the Subscription Shares by 8:00 am on the date of
General Admission (being 19 June 2024 or such later time and date
as the Company and the Joint Bookrunners may agree).
If the conditions for the
Subscription are not satisfied or waived (where capable of waiver),
the Subscription will lapse and the Subscription Shares will not be
allotted and issued and no monies will be received by the Company
from the Subscriber.
D.
Proceeds of the Placing and the Subscription and the Open
offer
The issue of the Placing Shares, the
Subscription Shares and the Open Offer Shares pursuant to the
Fundraising is expected to raise approximately £2.6 million (before
expenses) and £2.2 million after expenses (assuming full take-up of
the Open Offer).
E.
The
Open Offer
The Open Offer will be made for up
to 311,057 Open Offer Shares at the Issue Price on the basis
of:
1 Open Offer Shares for every
113 Existing Ordinary Shares held
by Qualifying Shareholders at the
Record Date, to raise up to approximately £125,000 before
expenses. The Open Offer will be made to
Qualifying Shareholders pursuant to the terms and conditions to be
set out in the Circular.
Shareholders subscribing for their
full entitlement under the Open Offer may request additional Open
Offer Shares through the Excess Application Facility. The Open
Offer is primarily aimed at those Qualifying Shareholders who were
not given the opportunity to participate in the Placing or
Subscription.
The allotment and issue of the Open
Offer Shares will be conditional on, amongst other things, the
approval by Shareholders of the Resolutions.
It is not expected that the Open
Offer Shares will be eligible for participation by VCTs or be
eligible for EIS tax relief.
F.
Application for Admission
Application will be made to the
London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares, the Subscription
Shares and such number of Open Offer Shares as are subscribed for
(including, for the avoidance of doubt, those successfully
subscribed for under the Excess Application Facility), to be
admitted to trading on AIM.
Subject to, amongst other things,
approval of the Resolutions at the General Meeting, the EIS/VCT
Admission is expected to take place, and dealings in the EIS/VCT
Shares, are expected to commence, at 8:00 a.m. on 18 June 2024 (or
such later time and/or date as may be agreed between the Company
and the Joint Bookrunners, being no later than 8:00 a.m. on 31 July
2024).
Subject to, amongst other things,
approval of the Resolutions at the General Meeting, the General
Admission is expected to take place, and dealings in the General
Placing Shares, the Subscription Shares and such number of Open
Offer Shares as are subscribed for (including, for the avoidance of
doubt, those successfully subscribed for under the Excess
Application Facility) are expected to commence, at 8:00 a.m. on 19
June 2024 (or such later time and/or date as may be agreed between
the Company and the Joint Bookrunners, being no later than 8:00
a.m. on 31 July 2024). No temporary documents of title will be
issued.
IMPORTANT
NOTICES
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN
IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM
ANY PART OF AN OFFER TO SELL OR ISSUE, OR A SOLICITATION OF AN
OFFER TO BUY, SUBSCRIBE FOR OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRE ANY SECURITIES IN
THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS), ANY
STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
(COLLECTIVELY, THE "UNITED STATES"), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, SOUTH
AFRICA, JAPAN, HONG KONG OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH
OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR TO ANY PERSON TO WHOM IT
IS UNLAWFUL TO MAKE SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION. NO PUBLIC OFFERING
OF THE PLACING SHARES IS BEING MADE IN ANY SUCH JURISDICTION. ANY
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RESTRICTIONS MAY CONSTITUTE A
VIOLATION OF THE SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH
JURISDICTIONS.
This Announcement is not for public
release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly
or indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, Canada, the
Republic of South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong or any other
jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution
would be unlawful.
The securities referred to herein
have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities
Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"), and may not be
offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an
applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the US
Securities Act and in compliance with any applicable securities
laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, or
under the securities laws of Australia, Canada, the Republic of
South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong or any state, province or territory
thereof or any other jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom,
except pursuant to an applicable exemption from the registration
requirements and in compliance with any applicable securities laws
of any state, province or other jurisdiction of Australia, Canada,
the Republic of South Africa, Japan or Hong Kong (as the case may
be).
No public offering of the Placing
Shares is being made in the United States, Australia, Canada, the
Republic of South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong or elsewhere.
No action has been taken by the
Company, Panmure Gordon, Dowgate or any of their respective
affiliates, or any of its or their respective directors, officers,
partners, employees, advisers, consultants and/or agents
(collectively, "Representatives") that would permit a
public offer of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution of
this Announcement or any other publicity material relating to such
Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is
required. Persons receiving this Announcement are required to
inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions contained
in this Announcement. Persons (including, without limitation,
nominees and trustees) who have a contractual or other legal
obligation to forward a copy of this Announcement should seek
appropriate advice before taking any action. Persons distributing
any part of this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is
lawful to do so.
No offering document or prospectus
will be made available in any jurisdiction in connection with the
matters contained or referred to in this Announcement or the
Placing and no such prospectus is required to be
published.
Certain statements in this
Announcement are forward-looking statements with respect to the
Company's expectations, intentions and projections regarding its
future performance, strategic initiatives, anticipated events or
trends and other matters that are not historical facts and which
are, by their nature, inherently predictive, speculative and
involve risks and uncertainty because they relate to events and
depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.
All statements that address expectations or projections about the
future, including statements about operating performance, strategic
initiatives, objectives, market position, industry trends, general
economic conditions, expected expenditures, expected cost savings
and financial results, are forward-looking statements. Any
statements contained in this Announcement that are not statements
of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be,
forward‐looking
statements. These forward-looking statements, which may use words
such as "aim", "anticipate", "believe", "could", "intend",
"estimate", "expect", "may", "plan", "project" or words or terms of
similar meaning or the negative thereof, are not guarantees of
future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks and
uncertainties. There are a number of factors including, but not
limited to, commercial, operational, economic and financial
factors, that could cause actual results, financial condition,
performance or achievements to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by these forward‐looking statements. Many of these
risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the
Company's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as changes
in taxation or fiscal policy, future market conditions, currency
fluctuations, the behaviour of other market participants, the
actions of governments or governmental regulators, or other risk
factors, such as changes in the political, social and regulatory
framework in which the Company operates or in economic or
technological trends or conditions, including inflation, recession
and consumer confidence, on a global, regional or national basis.
Given those risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this Announcement. Each of
the Company, Panmure Gordon and Dowgate expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise unless required to do so by applicable law or
regulation.
Panmure Gordon and Dowgate are
authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA and are
acting exclusively as joint bookrunner for the Company and no one
else in connection with the Placing, the contents of this
Announcement or any other matters described in this Announcement.
Panmure Gordon is also acting as Nominated Adviser to the Company
for the purposes of the AIM Rules. Panmure Gordon and Dowgate will
not regard any other person as its client in relation to the
Placing, the content of this Announcement or any other matters
described in this Announcement and will not be responsible to
anyone (including any Placees) other than the Company for providing
the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice to
any other person in relation to the Placing, the content of this
Announcement or any other matters referred to in this Announcement.
Panmure Gordon's responsibilities as Nominated Adviser to the
Company are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange and are not
owed to the Company or to any Director or to any other
person.
This Announcement is being issued by
and is the sole responsibility of the Company. No representation or
warranty, express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in
relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be
accepted by or on behalf of Panmure Gordon or Dowgate (apart from
the responsibilities or liabilities that may be imposed by FSMA or
the regulatory regime established thereunder) and/or by any of its
affiliates and/or any of its Representatives as to, or in relation
to, the accuracy, adequacy, fairness or completeness of this
Announcement or any other written or oral information made
available to or publicly available to any interested party or their
respective advisers or any other statement made or purported to be
made by or on behalf of Panmure Gordon, Dowgate and/or any of their
affiliates and/or by any of their Representatives in connection
with the Company, the Placing Shares or the Placing and any
responsibility and liability whether arising in tort, contract or
otherwise therefor is expressly disclaimed. No representation or
warranty, express or implied, is made by Panmure Gordon, Dowgate
and/or any of their affiliates and/or any of their Representatives
as to the accuracy, fairness, verification, completeness or
sufficiency 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 party or their
respective advisers, and any liability therefor is expressly
disclaimed.
Appendix I to this Announcement sets
out the terms and conditions of the Placing. By participating in
the Placing, each Placee will be deemed to have read and understood
this Announcement (including the Appendices) in its entirety, to be
participating in the Placing and making an offer to acquire and
acquiring Placing Shares on the terms and subject to the conditions
set out in Appendix I to this Announcement and to be providing the
representations, warranties, undertakings and acknowledgements
contained in Appendix I to this Announcement.
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.
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.
APPENDIX I
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE
PLACING
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INVITED
PLACEES ONLY REGARDING THE PLACING.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT
ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (THE "TERMS AND CONDITIONS") ARE FOR
INFORMATION ONLY AND 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: (1) IF IN THE UNITED KINGDOM,
"QUALIFIED INVESTORS", BEING PERSONS FALLING WITHIN THE MEANING OF
ARTICLE 2(E) OF THE UK PROSPECTUS REGULATION, WHO (A) FALL WITHIN
ARTICLE 19(5) (INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES
AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED
(THE "ORDER") OR (B) FALL
WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(A) TO (D) (HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES,
UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, ETC.) OF THE ORDER; (2) IF IN MEMBER
STATES OF THE EEA, "QUALIFIED INVESTORS", BEING PERSONS FALLING
WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(E) OF THE PROSPECTUS REGULATION; OR
(3) PERSONS TO WHOM THEY MAY OTHERWISE LAWFULLY BE COMMUNICATED;
AND, IN EACH CASE, WHO HAVE BEEN INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
PLACING BY PANMURE GORDON (UK) LIMITED ("PANMURE GORDON") AND/OR DOWGATE CAPITAL
LIMITED ("DOWGATE") (EACH A
"JOINT BOOKRUNNERS" AND
TOGETHER THE "JOINT
BOOKRUNNERS") (ALL SUCH PERSONS TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO
AS "RELEVANT
PERSONS").
THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND THE
INFORMATION HEREIN MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO
ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO
WHICH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATE IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT
PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS.
THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS DO NOT THEMSELVES CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR
SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY SECURITIES IN THE COMPANY. EACH PLACEE
SHOULD CONSULT WITH ITS OWN ADVISERS AS TO LEGAL, TAX, BUSINESS AND
RELATED ASPECTS OF AN INVESTMENT IN PLACING SHARES.
THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE
RESTRICTED AND ARE NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN
WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE
UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR
JAPAN OR HONG KONG OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE,
PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
THE PLACING IS NOT AN OFFER OF
SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. THE PLACING SHARES HAVE NOT BEEN
AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES
ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES ACT") OR UNDER THE
APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAWS OR WITH ANY SECURITIES REGULATORY
AUTHORITY OF ANY STATE OR JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND
MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED, DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN
EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND IN COMPLIANCE
WITH ANY APPLICABLE 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 OR ELSEWHERE.
The distribution of the Terms and
Conditions and/or the Placing and/or issue of the Placing Shares in
certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been
taken by the Company, the Joint Bookrunners or any of their
respective affiliates or Representatives that would permit
a public offer of the
Placing Shares or possession or distribution of the Terms and
Conditions or any other offering or publicity material relating to
such Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that
purpose is required. Persons into whose possession these Terms and
Conditions come are required by the Company and the Joint
Bookrunners to inform themselves about and to observe any such
restrictions.
The Terms and Conditions or any part
of them are for information purposes only and do not constitute or
form part of any offer to issue or sell, or the solicitation of an
offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the
United States (including its territories and possessions, any state
of the United States and the District of Columbia), Australia,
Canada, the Republic of South Africa or Japan or Hong Kong or any
other jurisdiction in which the same would be unlawful. No
public offering of the Placing Shares is being made in any such
jurisdiction.
In the United Kingdom, the Terms and
Conditions are being directed solely at persons in circumstances in
which section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply.
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 these Terms and Conditions, the
Announcement or the Circular. Any representation to the contrary is
a criminal offence in the United States. This Announcement has not been reviewed or authorised by any
regulatory authority in Hong Kong and will not be registered as a
prospectus under the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous
Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32 of the Laws of Hong Kong);
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, the Republic of South Africa, Japan
or Hong Kong. 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, the Republic of South Africa, Japan or Hong
Kong or any other jurisdiction in which such offer, sale, re-sale
or delivery would be unlawful.
UK
Product Governance Requirements
Solely for the purposes of the
product governance requirements Chapter 3 of the FCA Handbook
Product Intervention and Product Governance Sourcebook (the
"UK Product Governance
Requirements") and disclaiming all and any liability,
whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any
"manufacturer" (for the purposes of the UK Product Governance
Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Placing
Shares have been subject to a product approval process which has
determined that the Placing Shares are: (i) compatible with an end
target market of: (A) retail investors; (B) investors who meet the
criteria of professional clients; and (C) eligible counterparties
(each as defined in MiFID II (as defined below)); and (ii) eligible
for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted
by MiFID II (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, the Joint
Bookrunners 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 an
assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of
Chapter 9A or 10A respectively of the FCA Handbook Conduct of
Business Sourcebook, or 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.
EU
Product Governance Requirements
Solely for the purposes of the
product governance requirements contained within: (a) EU Directive
2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended
("MiFID II"); (b) Articles
9 and 10 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593
supplementing MiFID II; and (c) local implementing measures
(together, the "MiFID II Product
Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any
liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which
any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the MiFID II Product
Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto,
the Placing Shares have been subject to a product approval process
which has determined that the Placing Shares are: (i) compatible
with an end target market of: (A) retail investors; (B) investors
who meet the criteria of professional clients; and (C) eligible
counterparties (each as defined in MiFID II); and (ii) eligible for
distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by
MiFID II (the "EU Target Market
Assessment"). Notwithstanding the EU 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 EU 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 EU Target Market Assessment, the Joint
Bookrunners will only procure investors who meet the criteria of
professional clients and eligible counterparties. For the avoidance
of doubt, the EU Target Market Assessment does not constitute an
assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of
MiFID II, or 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.
Persons (including, without
limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or
other legal obligations to forward a copy of the Terms and
Conditions (or any part of them) should seek appropriate advice
before taking any action.
The Terms and Conditions should be
read in their entirety.
Introduction
These Terms and Conditions apply to
persons making an offer to acquire Placing Shares under the
Placing. Each Placee which confirms its agreement to a Joint
Bookrunner to subscribe for Placing Shares under the Placing hereby
agrees with the relevant Joint Bookrunner and the Company that it
will be bound by these Terms and Conditions and will be deemed to
have accepted them.
The Company and the Joint
Bookrunners may require any Placee to agree to such further terms
and/or conditions and/or give such additional warranties and/or
representations as they (in their absolute discretion) see fit
and/or may require any such Placee to execute a separate placing
letter.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee will be deemed to have read and understood these Terms
and Conditions in their entirety, to be providing the
representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements and
undertakings contained in these Terms and Conditions, and to be
irrevocably offering to participate and acquire Placing Shares on
these Terms and Conditions. Such offer shall be deemed to be
accepted, and a Placee shall become bound to acquire Placing
Shares, when the relevant Joint Bookrunner confirms to such Placee
its allocation of Placing Shares. Upon being notified of its
allocation of Placing Shares, a Placee shall be contractually
committed to acquire the number of Placing Shares allocated to it
at the Placing Price.
Each Placee irrevocably represents,
warrants, undertakes, agrees and acknowledges (amongst other
things) to the Company and the Joint Bookrunners that:
(i)
it is a Relevant Person and that it will acquire,
hold, manage or dispose of any Placing Shares that are allocated to
it for the purposes of its business;
(ii)
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 these Terms and Conditions;
(iii)
it understands (or if acting for the account of
another person, such person has confirmed that such person
understands) and agrees to comply with the resale and transfer
restrictions set out in these Terms and Conditions; and
(iv) 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 (ii) above) is outside the United
States acquiring the Placing Shares in offshore transactions as
defined in and in accordance with Regulation S under the 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:
(i) the FCA or; (ii) any competent authority of any Relevant Member
State, in relation to the Placing or the Placing Shares and
Placees' commitments will be made solely on the basis of the
information contained in this Announcement and any information
publicly announced through a Regulatory Information Service (as
defined in the AIM Rules for Companies (the "AIM Rules")) by or on behalf of the
Company on or prior to the date of these Terms and Conditions (the
"Publicly Available
Information") and subject to any further terms set forth in
writing in any contract note sent to an individual
Placee.
Each Placee, by participating in the
Placing, agrees that the content of this Announcement 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 the Joint Bookrunners or the
Company or any other person and none of the Joint Bookrunners, the
Company nor any of their respective affiliates or Representatives
has or shall have any liability for any Placee's decision to
participate in the Placing based on any other information,
representation, warranty or statement. 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 or these Terms and Conditions to
be legal, tax, business or other advice. Nothing in this paragraph
shall exclude the liability of any person for fraudulent
misrepresentation.
Details of the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement and the
Placing Shares
The Joint Bookrunners have entered
into the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement with the Company under which, on the
terms and subject to the conditions set out in the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement,
the Joint Bookrunners, as agents for and on behalf of the Company,
have agreed to use their reasonable endeavours to procure Placees
for the Placing Shares at the Placing Price. The Placing is not
being underwritten by the Joint Bookrunners.
The Placing Shares will, when
issued, be subject to the memorandum and articles of association of
the Company and credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the
existing issued Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all
dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid in respect
of such Ordinary Shares after the date of issue of the Placing
Shares.
Application for admission to trading
Application(s) will be made to the
London Stock Exchange for admission of the Placing Shares, the
Subscription Shares and the Open Offer Shares to trading on
AIM.
It is expected that the
EIS/VCT Admission will
take place on the EIS/VCT
Admission Date and that dealings in the EIS/VCT
Shares on AIM will commence at the same time.
It is expected that
General Admission will
take place on the General
Admission Date and that dealings in the
General Placing Shares,
Subscription Shares and Open Offer Shares on AIM will commence at
the same time.
Bookbuild
The Joint Bookrunners will today
commence an accelerated bookbuilding process to determine demand
for participation in the Placing by Placees (the "Bookbuild"). This Appendix 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.
The Joint Bookrunners and the
Company shall be entitled to effect the Placing by such alternative
method to the Bookbuild as they may, in their sole discretion,
determine.
Participation in and principal terms of the
Placing
1.
Panmure Gordon and Dowgate are acting as the
Company's joint bookrunners and joint brokers in relation to the
Placing, as agents for and on behalf of the Company.
2.
Participation in the Placing is by invitation only
and will only be available to persons who may lawfully be, and are,
invited by the Joint Bookrunners to participate. The Joint
Bookrunners and any of their affiliates are entitled to participate
in the Placing as principal.
3.
Following a successful completion of the
Bookbuild, the Company will confirm the closing of the Placing via
an announcement setting out the results of
the Placing.
4.
To bid in the Bookbuild, prospective Placees
should communicate their bid orally by telephone or in writing to
their usual sales contact at Panmure Gordon or Dowgate. Each bid
should state the number of Placing Shares which the prospective
Placee wishes to subscribe for at the Placing Price. Bids may be
scaled down by the Joint Bookrunners on the basis referred to in
paragraph 8 below. The Joint Bookrunners reserve the right not to
accept bids or to accept bids in part rather than in whole. The
acceptance of the bids shall be at the Joint Bookrunners' absolute
discretion, subject to consultation with the Company.
5.
The Bookbuild is expected to close no later than
6:00 p.m. on 29 May 2024 but may be closed earlier or later at
the discretion of the Joint Bookrunners. The Joint Bookrunners may,
in agreement with the Company, accept bids that are received after
the Bookbuild has closed. The Company reserves the right (upon the
prior agreement of the Joint Bookrunners) to vary the number of
shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing, in its absolute
discretion.
6.
Each Placee's allocation will be confirmed to
Placees orally, or in writing (which can include email), by the
relevant Joint Bookrunner and a trade confirmation or contract note
will be dispatched as soon as possible thereafter. The relevant
Joint Bookrunner's oral or written confirmation will give rise to
an irrevocable, legally binding commitment by that Placee, in
favour of the relevant Joint Bookrunner and the Company, under
which it agrees to acquire by subscription the number of Placing
Shares allocated to it at the Placing Price and otherwise on these
Terms and Conditions. Except with the consent of the relevant Joint
Bookrunner, such commitment will not be capable of variation or
revocation.
7.
The Placing Price is payable to the relevant Joint
Bookrunner (as agent for the Company) by all Placees.
8. Each
Placee's allocation and whether such Placee participates in the
Placing will be determined by the relevant Joint Bookrunner in its
reasonable discretion following consultation with the Company and
will be confirmed by the relevant Joint
Bookrunner.
9. By
participating in the Placing, each Placee will have an immediate,
separate, irrevocable and binding obligation, owed to the relevant
Joint Bookrunner (as agent for the Company), to pay to it (or as it
may direct) in cleared funds an amount equal to the product of the
Placing Price and the number of Placing Shares such Placee has
agreed to acquire.
10.
The Joint Bookrunners reserve the right to scale
back the number of Placing Shares to be subscribed by any Placee in
the event that the Placing is oversubscribed. The Joint Bookrunners
also reserve the right not to accept offers to subscribe for
Placing Shares or to accept such offers in part rather than in
whole. The acceptance and, if applicable, scaling back of offers
shall be at the absolute discretion of the Joint
Bookrunners.
11.
Except as required by law or regulation, no press
release or other announcement will be made by the Joint Bookrunners
or the Company using the name of any Placee (or its agent), in its
capacity as Placee (or agent), other than with such Placee's prior
written consent.
12.
Irrespective of the time at
which a Placee's allocation(s) pursuant to the Placing is/are
confirmed, settlement for all EIS/VCT Shares to be acquired
pursuant to the EIS/VCT Placing will be required to be made at the same
time, and
settlement for all General
Placing Shares to be acquired pursuant to
the General Placing
will be required to be made at the same time, in each case on the
basis explained below under "Registration and
settlement".
13. All obligations under the Placing will be subject to
fulfilment 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
"Termination of the
Placing".
14.
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.
15.
To the fullest extent permissible by law and
applicable FCA rules, neither:
(a)
the Joint Bookrunners;
(b)
any of their affiliates or Representatives;
nor
(c)
to the extent not contained within (a) or (b), any
person connected with the Joint Bookrunners as defined in the FSMA
((b) and (c) being together "affiliates" and individually an
"affiliate" of a Joint
Bookrunner),
shall have any liability (including
to the extent permissible by law, any fiduciary duties) to Placees
or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or
otherwise. In particular, neither the Joint Bookrunners nor any of
their affiliates shall have any liability (including, to the extent
permissible by law, any fiduciary duties) in respect of the Joint
Bookrunners' conduct of the Placing or of such alternative method
of effecting the Placing as the Joint Bookrunners and the Company
may agree.
Registration and settlement
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee will be deemed to agree that it will do all things
necessary to ensure that delivery and payment is completed as
directed by the relevant Joint Bookrunner in accordance with either
the standing CREST or certificated settlement instructions which
they have in place with the relevant Joint Bookrunner.
Settlement of transactions in the
EIS/VCT Shares following the EIS/VCT
Admission will take place within the CREST system,
subject to certain exceptions. Settlement through CREST will be on
a delivery versus payment basis ("DVP") unless otherwise notified by the
relevant Joint Bookrunner and is expected to occur on the
EIS/VCT Admission
Date.
Settlement of transactions in
the General Placing
Shares following General
Admission will take place within the CREST system,
subject to certain exceptions. Settlement through CREST will be on
a DVP basis unless otherwise notified by the relevant Joint
Bookrunner and is expected to occur on the General Admission Date.
However, in the event of any
difficulties or delays in the admission of the Placing Shares to
CREST or the use of CREST in relation to the Placing, the Company
and the relevant Joint Bookrunner may agree that the Placing Shares
(or any of them) should be issued in certificated form. The Joint
Bookrunners reserve the right to require settlement for any of the
Placing Shares, and to deliver any of the Placing Shares to any
Placees, by such other means as they deem necessary if delivery or
settlement to any Placee is not practicable within the CREST system
or would not be consistent with regulatory requirements in the
jurisdiction in which a Placee is located.
Interest is chargeable daily on
payments not received from Placees on or before the due date in
accordance with the arrangements set out above, in respect of
either CREST or certificated deliveries, at the rate of three
percentage points above prevailing base rate of Barclays Bank plc
as determined by the Joint Bookrunners.
Each Placee is deemed to agree that
if it does not comply with these obligations, the relevant Joint
Bookrunner may sell any or all of their Placing Shares on their
behalf and retain from the proceeds, for the relevant Joint
Bookrunner's own 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 Placing Price and for any stamp duty or stamp duty
reserve tax (together with any interest or penalties) which may
arise upon the sale of its Placing Shares on its behalf.
If Placing Shares are to be
delivered to a custodian or settlement agent, Placees must ensure
that, upon receipt, any relevant contract note is copied and
delivered immediately to the relevant person within that
organisation. Insofar as Placing Shares are registered 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 United Kingdom stamp
duty or stamp duty reserve tax. Placees will not be entitled to
receive any fee or commission in connection with the
Placing.
Conditions of the Placing
The Placing is conditional upon the
Placing and Open Offer Agreement becoming unconditional and not having been
terminated in accordance with its terms.
The obligations of the Joint
Bookrunners under the Placing and Open
Offer Agreement are, and the Placing of the
EIS/VCT Shares is, conditional upon, inter alia:
(a) the Resolutions having been passed without amendment by the
required majority at the General Meeting;
(b) the warranties and
undertakings contained in the Placing and
Open Offer Agreement ("Warranties") being true, accurate and
not misleading when made on the date of the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement
and at all times during the period up to and including the
EIS/VCT Admission as if
repeated by reference to the facts and circumstances existing at
all such times;
(c) the Joint Bookrunners not
having exercised their right to terminate the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement;
and
(d) EIS/VCT Admission having occurred not
later than 8:00 a.m. on the EIS/VCT
Admission Date.
Once EIS/VCT Admission has occurred, no
party to the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement shall be able to terminate any part of
the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement which relates to EIS/VCT Admission and/or the placing,
allotment or issue of the EIS/VCT Shares.
The obligations of the Joint
Bookrunners under the Placing and Open
Offer Agreement are, and the Placing of
the General Placing
Shares is, conditional upon, inter alia:
(a) EIS/VCT Admission having become
effective on the EIS/VCT
Admission Date;
(b) the Warranties being true,
accurate and not misleading when made on the date of the
Placing and Open Offer Agreement and at all times during the period up to an
including the General Admission as if repeated by reference to the facts and
circumstances existing at such times;
(c) the Joint Bookrunners not
having exercised their right to terminate the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement;
and
(d) General Admission having occurred not
later than 8:00 a.m. on the General
Admission Date.
All conditions to the obligations of
the Joint Bookrunners included in the Placing and Open Offer Agreement are together
referred to in these Terms and Conditions as the "conditions".
If any of the conditions is not
fulfilled or, where permitted, waived in accordance with the
Placing and Open Offer Agreement within the stated time periods (or such later time
and/or date as the Company and the Joint Bookrunners may agree), or
the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement is terminated in accordance with its
terms, the Placing (or such part of it as may then remain to be
completed) will lapse and the Placee's rights and obligations shall
cease and terminate at such time and each Placee agrees that no
claim can be made by or on behalf of the Placee (or any person on
whose behalf the Placee is acting) in respect thereof, save that
once EIS/VCT Admission has occurred, no party to the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement
shall be able to terminate any part of the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement
which relates to EIS/VCT
Admission and/or the placing, allotment or issue
of the EIS/VCT Shares.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee agrees that its rights and obligations cease and
terminate only in the circumstances described above and under
"Termination of the
Placing" below and will not be capable of rescission or
termination by it.
The Joint Bookrunners may, in their
absolute discretion and upon such terms as they think fit, waive
fulfilment of all or any of the conditions in the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement
which are capable of waiver, in whole or in part, or extend the
time provided for fulfilment of one or more conditions, save that
certain conditions (including as regards the EIS/VCT Shares, the
condition relating to EIS/VCT
Admission referred to in paragraph (d) above, and
as regards the General Placing Shares, the condition relating to General Admission referred to in
paragraph (d) above) may not be waived. Any such extension or
waiver will not affect Placees' commitments as set out in these
Terms and Conditions.
The Joint Bookrunners may terminate
the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement in certain circumstances, details of
which are set out below.
Neither the Joint Bookrunners nor
any of their affiliates or Representatives nor the Company 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 any of them 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 (or any part thereof) nor for any decision any of
them may make as to the satisfaction of any condition or in respect
of the Placing generally (or any part thereof) and by participating
in the Placing each Placee agrees that any such decision is within
the absolute discretion of the Joint Bookrunners.
Placees should note that the EIS/VCT Placing is not
conditional on the issue of the General
Placing Shares
and General Admission, nor is the EIS/VCT
Placing conditional on the Subscription or Open Offer.
Placees should note that it is possible that
the
EIS/VCT Admission will occur but General
Admission will
not occur and that the General
Placing Shares,
the Subscription Shares and the Open Offer Shares will not be
issued. If the General
Admission does
not occur then the Company will not receive the relevant net
proceeds in respect of the issue of the General
Placing Shares,
the Subscription Shares and the Open Offer Shares and the Company
may not be able to finance the activities referred to in the
announcement of which this Appendix forms part.
Termination of the Placing
The Joint Bookrunners may, in their
absolute discretion, by notice to the Company, terminate the
Placing and Open Offer Agreement at any time up to General Admission if, inter alia:
(a)
any statement contained in the Announcement, the
investor presentation relating to the Fundraising or the Circular
(the "Placing Documents")
has become untrue, incorrect or misleading or any matter has arisen
which would, if the Placing were made at that time, constitute an
omission therefrom;
(b)
any of the Warranties given by the Company was not
at the date of the Placing and Open Offer Agreement true and
accurate in any respect or by reference to the circumstances
prevailing from time to time has ceased to be true and
accurate;
(c)
a matter has arisen which is likely to give rise
to a claim under any of the indemnities given by the Company in the
Placing and Open Offer Agreement;
(d)
the Company fails to comply with any of its
obligations under the Placing and Open
Offer 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
(e)
in the opinion of the Joint Bookrunners there has
been a material adverse change which is material in the context of
the Company.
If the Placing and Open Offer Agreement is terminated
in accordance with its terms, the rights and obligations of each
Placee in respect of the Placing as described in these Terms and
Conditions shall cease and terminate at such time and no claim can
be made by any Placee in respect thereof.
Notwithstanding any other provision
of the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement, once EIS/VCT Admission has occurred no
party to the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement shall be able to terminate any part of
the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement which relates to EIS/VCT Admission and/or the placing,
allotment or issue of the EIS/VCT Shares.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee agrees with the Company and the Joint Bookrunners that
the exercise by the Company or the Joint Bookrunners of any right
of termination or any other right or other discretion under the
Placing and Open Offer Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of the
Company or the Joint Bookrunners or for agreement between the
Company and the Joint Bookrunners (as the case may be) and that
neither the Company nor the Joint Bookrunners need make any
reference to such Placee and that none of the Company, the Joint
Bookrunners nor any of their respective affiliates or
Representatives shall have any liability to such Placee (or to any
other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise)
whatsoever in connection with any such exercise.
By agreeing with a Joint Bookrunner
as agent of the Company to subscribe for Placing Shares under the
Placing, a Placee (and any person acting on a Placee's behalf) will
irrevocably acknowledge and confirm and warrant and undertake to,
and agree with, each of the Company and the relevant Joint
Bookrunner, in each case as a fundamental term of such Placee's
application for Placing Shares and of the Company's obligation to
allot and/or issue any Placing Shares to it or at its direction,
that its rights and obligations in respect of the Placing (or any
part of it) will terminate only in the circumstances described
above and under the "Conditions
of the Placing" section above and will not be capable of
rescission or termination by it in any other
circumstances.
Representations, warranties and further
terms
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf)
represents, warrants, acknowledges, undertakes, confirms and agrees
(for itself and for any such prospective Placee) that (save where
the relevant Joint Bookrunner expressly agrees in writing to the
contrary):
1.
it has read and understood
these Terms and Conditions in their entirety and that its
acquisition of the Placing Shares is subject to and based upon all
the terms, conditions, representations, warranties, indemnities,
acknowledgements, agreements and undertakings and other information
contained herein and that 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
Admission, the Placing, the Company, the Placing Shares or
otherwise, other than the information contained in this
Announcement and the Publicly Available Information;
2.
it has not received a prospectus or
other offering document in connection with the Placing and
acknowledges that no prospectus or other offering
document:
(a)
is required under any applicable law;
and
(b)
has been or will be prepared in connection with
the Placing,
and, in particular, that the
Subscription and Open Offer referred to in the Announcement and the
Circular relating thereto are separate from the Placing and do not
form part of any offer or agreement concerning the Placing and/or
any Placing Shares;
3.
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 AIM Rules
and the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation No. 596/2014) as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 (the "MAR"),
which includes a description of the nature of the
Company's business and the Company's most recent balance sheet and
profit and loss account and that it is able to obtain or access
such information without undue difficulty, and is able to obtain
access to such information or comparable information concerning any
other publicly traded company, without undue difficulty;
4.
it has made its own assessment of the Placing
Shares and the terms of the Placing and has relied on its own
investigation of the business, financial position and other aspects
of the Company in accepting a participation in the Placing and
neither the Joint Bookrunners nor the
Company nor any of their respective affiliates or Representatives
nor any person acting on behalf of any of them has provided, and
will not provide, it with any material regarding the Placing Shares
or the Company or any other person other than the information in
the Announcement and these Terms and Conditions or the Publicly
Available Information; nor has it requested the Joint Bookrunners,
the Company, any of their respective affiliates or Representatives
to provide it with any such information;
5. the Joint
Bookrunners do not have any duties or responsibilities to it, or
its clients, similar or comparable to the duties of "best
execution" and "suitability" imposed by the Conduct of Business
Sourcebook in the FCA's Handbook of Rules and Guidance and that
neither it nor, as the case may be, its clients expect the Joint
Bookrunners to have any duties or responsibilities to such persons
similar or comparable to the duties of "best execution" and
"suitability" imposed by the FCA's Conduct of Business Source
Book;
6.
neither the Joint Bookrunners nor any person
acting on behalf of them nor any of their respective affiliates or
Representatives has or shall have any liability for any Publicly
Available Information, or any representation relating to the
Company, provided that nothing in the Terms and Conditions excludes
the liability of any person for any fraudulent misrepresentation
made by that person;
7.
(a)
the only information which it is entitled to rely
on and on which it has relied in committing to acquire the Placing
Shares is contained in this Announcement and the Publicly Available
Information, such information being all that it deems necessary to
make an investment decision in respect of the Placing Shares and it
has made its own assessment of the Company, the Placing Shares and
the terms of the Placing based on this Announcement and the
Publicly Available Information;
(b) neither the Joint Bookrunners nor any of their affiliates or
Representatives have made any representation or warranty to it,
express or implied, with respect to the Company, the Placing or the
Placing Shares or the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the
Placing Documents or the Publicly Available Information;
(c)
it has conducted its own
investigation of the Company, the Placing and the Placing Shares,
satisfied itself that the information is still current and relied
on that investigation for the purposes of its decision to
participate in the Placing; and
(d)
it has not relied on any
investigation that the Joint Bookrunners or any person acting on
their behalf may have conducted with respect to the Company, the
Placing or the Placing Shares;
8.
the content of the Announcement and the other
Publicly Available Information as well as any information made
available (in written or oral form) in presentations or as part of
roadshow discussions with investors relating to the Company (the
"Information") has been
prepared by and is exclusively the responsibility of the Company
and that neither the Joint Bookrunners nor any persons acting on
their behalf is responsible for or has or shall have any liability
for any such Information, representation, warranty or statement
relating to the Company contained therein nor will they be liable
for any Placee's decision to participate in the Placing based on
any Information or any representation, warranty or statement
contained therein or otherwise. Nothing in these Terms and
Conditions shall exclude any liability of any person for fraudulent
misrepresentation;
9.
it has the funds available to pay for the Placing
Shares which it has agreed to acquire and acknowledges and agrees
that it will pay the total subscription amount in accordance with
these Terms and Conditions by the due time and date set out herein,
failing which the relevant Placing Shares may be placed with other
Placees or sold at such price as the relevant Joint Bookrunner
determines;
10.
it and/or each person on whose behalf it is
participating:
(a)
is entitled to acquire Placing Shares pursuant to
the Placing under the laws and regulations of all relevant
jurisdictions;
(b)
has fully observed such laws and
regulations;
(c)
has capacity and authority and is entitled to
enter into and perform its obligations as an acquirer of Placing
Shares and will honour such obligations; and
(d)
has obtained all necessary consents and
authorities (including, without limitation, in the case of a person
acting on behalf of a Placee, all necessary consents and
authorities to agree to the terms set out or referred to in these
Terms and Conditions) under those laws or otherwise and complied
with all necessary formalities to enable it to enter into the
transactions contemplated hereby and to perform its obligations in
relation thereto and, in particular, if it is a pension fund or
investment company it is aware of and acknowledges it is required
to comply with all applicable laws and regulations with respect to
its acquisition of Placing Shares;
11. in the case of any Placing Shares acquired by it as a
financial intermediary, as that term is used in Regulation 5(1) of
the Prospectus Regulation and Regulation 5(1) of the UK Prospectus
Regulation:
(a)
the Placing Shares acquired by
it in the Placing have not been acquired on behalf of, nor have
they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale in
circumstances where either the Prospectus Regulation or the UK
Prospectus Regulation applies to, persons in any Relevant Member
State or in the UK other than Qualified Investors (as defined under
the Prospectus Regulation or the UK Prospectus Regulation
respectively) in circumstances in which the prior consent of the
relevant Joint Bookrunner has not been given to the offer or
resale; or
(b) where
Placing Shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in any
member state of the EEA or in the UK other than EU or UK Qualified
Investors (as defined under the Prospectus Regulation or the UK
Prospectus Regulation respectively), the offer of those Placing
Shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Regulation or the
EU Prospectus Regulation as having been made to such
persons;
12.
it is not, and any person who
it is acting on behalf of is not, and at the time the Placing
Shares are acquired will not be, a resident of, or have an address
in, or be subject to the laws of, Australia, Canada, the Republic
of South Africa, Japan or Hong Kong, and it acknowledges and agrees
that the Placing Shares have not been and will not be registered or
otherwise qualified under the securities legislation of Australia,
Canada, the Republic of South Africa, Japan or Hong Kong and may
not be offered, sold, or acquired, directly or indirectly, within
those jurisdictions;
13. it
and the beneficial owner of the Placing Shares is, and at the time
the Placing Shares are acquired will be, outside the United States
and acquiring the Placing Shares in an "offshore transaction" as
defined in, and in accordance with, Regulation S under the
Securities Act;
14.
it understands that the Placing Shares have not
been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act and may
not be offered, sold or resold in or into or from the United States
except pursuant to an effective registration under the Securities
Act, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not
subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and
in accordance with applicable state securities laws; and no
representation is being made as to the availability of any
exemption under the Securities Act for the reoffer, resale, pledge
or transfer of the Placing Shares;
15.
it is not taking up the Placing Shares as a result
of any "general solicitation" or "general advertising" efforts (as
those terms are defined in the Securities Act) or any "directed
selling efforts" (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the
Securities Act);
16. it will not
distribute, forward, transfer or otherwise transmit these Terms and
Conditions and/or the Announcement or any part of them, 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;
17. none
of the Joint Bookrunners, their affiliates or Representatives is
making any recommendations to it or advising it regarding the
suitability of any transactions it may enter into in connection
with the Placing and that participation in the Placing is on the
basis that it is not and will not be a client of the Joint
Bookrunners and that the Joint Bookrunners have no duties or
responsibilities to it for providing the protections afforded to
their clients or for providing advice in relation to the Placing
nor in respect of any representations, warranties, undertakings or
indemnities contained in the Placing and
Open Offer 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;
18.
it will make payment to the relevant Joint
Bookrunner for the Placing Shares allocated to it in accordance
with these Terms and Conditions on or by the specified time (being
the EIS/VCT Admission Date in respect of any EIS/VCT Shares and the
General Admission Date as
regards any General Placing Shares), failing which the relevant Placing Shares may
be placed with others on such terms as the relevant Joint
Bookrunner determines in its absolute discretion without liability
to the Placee and it will remain liable for any shortfall below the
net proceeds of such sale and the placing proceeds of such Placing
Shares and may be required to bear any stamp duty or stamp duty
reserve tax (together with any interest or penalties due pursuant
to the terms set out or referred to in these Terms and Conditions)
which may arise upon the sale of such Placee's Placing Shares on
its behalf;
19.
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 the relevant
Joint Bookrunner 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;
20.
no action has been or will be taken by any of the
Company, the Joint Bookrunners or any person acting on behalf of
the Company or the Joint Bookrunners 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;
21.
the person who it specifies for registration as
holder of the Placing Shares will be:
(a)
the Placee; or
(b)
a nominee of the Placee, as the case may
be;
22. neither
of the relevant Joint Bookrunner or the Company will be responsible
for any liability to stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax payable
on the acquisition of the Placing Shares. Each Placee and any
person acting on behalf of such Placee agrees to acquire Placing
Shares pursuant to the Placing and agrees to indemnify the Company
and the relevant Joint Bookrunner in respect of the same on the
basis that the Placing Shares will be allotted to a CREST stock
account of the relevant Joint Bookrunner or transferred to a CREST
stock account of the relevant Joint Bookrunner who will hold them
as nominee on behalf of the Placee until settlement in accordance
with its standing settlement instructions with it;
23. 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 (depository receipts and clearance
services) and that it, or the person specified by it for
registration as holder of Placing Shares, is not participating in
the Placing as nominee or agent for any person or persons to whom
the allocation, allotment, issue or delivery of Placing Shares
would give rise to such a liability;
24.
it will (or will procure that its nominee will),
if applicable, make notification to the Company of the interest in
its ordinary shares in accordance with the Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules published by the FCA;
25.
as far as it is aware it is not acting in concert
(within the meaning given in The City Code on Takeovers and
Mergers) with any other person in relation to the Company, save as
previously disclosed to the relevant Joint Bookrunner;
26.
if it is within the United Kingdom, it and any
person acting on its behalf (if within the United Kingdom) falls
within Article 19(5) and/or 49(2) of the Order and undertakes that
it will acquire, hold, manage and (if applicable) dispose of any
Placing Shares that are allocated to it for the purposes of its
business only;
27.
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 FSMA;
28. it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and it
will only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or
inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of
section 21 of the FSMA) relating to Placing Shares in circumstances
in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not require approval of the
communication by an authorised person and it acknowledges and
agrees that neither these Terms and Conditions nor the Announcement
has been approved by the Joint Bookrunners in their capacity as
authorised persons 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 financial promotion by an authorised
person;
29. it
has complied and it will comply with all applicable laws in any
jurisdiction with respect to anything done by it or on its behalf
in relation to the Placing Shares (including all relevant
provisions of the FSMA in respect of anything done in, from or
otherwise involving the United Kingdom);
30.
the Placing Shares 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, any
person save in circumstances in which the express prior written
consent of the relevant Joint Bookrunner has been given to the
offer or resale;
31. if it has received any inside information (for the purposes of
the MAR and/or section 56 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 or other
applicable law) about the Company in advance of the Placing, it has
not:
(a)
dealt (or attempted to deal) in the securities of
the Company;
(b)
encouraged, recommended or induced another person
to deal in the securities of the Company; or
(c)
unlawfully disclosed such information to any
person, prior to the information being made publicly
available;
32.
neither of the Joint Bookrunners, the Company nor
any of their respective affiliates or Representatives is making any
recommendations to it, advising it regarding the suitability of any
transactions it may enter into in connection with the Placing nor
providing advice in relation to the Placing nor in respect of any
representations, warranties, acknowledgements, agreements,
undertakings, or indemnities contained in the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement
nor the exercise or performance of any of the Joint Bookrunners'
rights and obligations thereunder including any rights to waive or
vary any conditions or exercise any termination right;
33.
the Joint Bookrunners and their affiliates, acting
as an investor for its or their own account(s), may bid or
subscribe for and/or purchase Placing Shares and, in that capacity,
may retain, purchase, offer to sell or otherwise deal for its or
their own account(s) in the Placing Shares, any other securities of
the Company or other related investments in connection with the
Placing or otherwise. Accordingly, references in the
Announcement and/or these Terms and Conditions to the Placing
Shares being offered, subscribed, acquired or otherwise dealt with
should be read as including any offer to, or subscription,
acquisition or dealing by, the Joint Bookrunners and/or any of
their affiliates acting as an investor for its or their own
account(s). Neither of the Joint Bookrunners nor the Company intend
to disclose the extent of any such investment or transaction
otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory
obligation to do so;
34.
it:
(a) has
complied, and will comply, with its obligations in connection with
money laundering and terrorist financing under the Proceeds of
Crime Act 2002, 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;
(b)
is not a person:
(i)
with whom transactions are prohibited under the US
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or any economic sanction
programmes administered by, or regulations promulgated by, the
Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the
Treasury;
(ii) named
on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets maintained
by HM Treasury of the United Kingdom; or
(iii)
subject to financial sanctions imposed pursuant to
a regulation of the European Union or a regulation adopted by the
United Nations or other applicable law,
(all such statutes, rules and
regulations referred to in this paragraph 34 together, the
"Regulations") and if
making payment on behalf of a third party, satisfactory evidence
has been obtained and recorded by it to verify the identity of the
third party as required by the Regulations and it has obtained all
governmental and other consents (if any) which may be required for
the purpose of, or as a consequence of, such purchase, and it will
provide promptly to the relevant Joint Bookrunner such evidence, if
any, as to the identity or location or legal status of any person
which they may request from it in connection with the Placing (for
the purpose of complying with the Regulations or ascertaining the
nationality of any person or the jurisdiction(s) to which any
person is subject or otherwise) in the form and manner requested by
the relevant Joint Bookrunner on the basis that any failure by it
to do so may result in the number of Placing Shares that are to be
acquired by it or at its direction pursuant to the Placing being
reduced to such number, or to nil, as the relevant Joint Bookrunner
may decide at its discretion;
35. it acknowledges
that:
(a) the information
that a prospective placee provides in documents in relation to the
Placing or subsequently by whatever means which relates to the
prospective placee (if they are an individual) or a third party
individual ("Personal
Data") will be held and processed by the Company (and any
third party to whom it may delegate certain administrative
functions in relation to the Company) in compliance with the
relevant data protection legislation and regulatory requirements of
the United Kingdom. Such information will be held and processed by
the Company (or any third party, functionary or agent appointed by
the Company) for the following purposes:
(i) verifying
the identity of the prospective placee to comply with statutory and
regulatory requirements in relation to anti-money laundering
procedures;
(ii) contacting
the prospective placee with information about products and
services, or its affiliates, which may be of interest to the
prospective placee;
(iii) carrying
out the business of the Company and the administering of interests
in the Company;
(iv) meeting with
the legal, regulatory, reporting and/or financial obligations of
the Company in England and Wales (and elsewhere as required);
and
(v) disclosing
Personal Data to other functionaries of, or advisers to, the
Company to operate and/or administer the Company's
business;
(b) where
appropriate it may be necessary for the Company (or any third
party, functionary or agent appointed by the Company)
to:
(i)
disclose Personal Data to third party service providers,
agents or functionaries appointed by the Company to provide
services to prospective placees; and
(ii)
transfer Personal Data outside the United Kingdom into
countries or territories which do not offer the same level of
protection for the rights and freedoms of prospective placees as
the United Kingdom.
If the Company (or any third party,
functionary or agent appointed by a member of the Company)
discloses Personal Data to such a third party, agent and/or
functionary and/or makes such a transfer of Personal Data, it will
use reasonable endeavours to ensure that any third party, agent or
functionary to whom the relevant Personal Data are disclosed or
transferred is contractually bound to provide an adequate level of
protection in respect of such Personal Data; and
in providing such Personal Data,
prospective placees will be deemed to have agreed to the processing
of such Personal Data in the manner described above. Prospective
placees are responsible for informing any third party individual to
whom the Personal Data relates of the disclosure and use of such
data in accordance with these provisions;
36.
in order to ensure compliance with the
Regulations, the relevant Joint Bookrunner (for itself and as agent
on behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars may, in their
absolute discretion, require verification of its identity. Pending
the provision to the relevant Joint Bookrunner or the Company's
registrars, as applicable, of evidence of identity, definitive
certificates in respect of the Placing Shares may be retained at
the relevant Joint Bookrunner's absolute discretion or, where
appropriate, delivery of the Placing Shares to it in uncertificated
form may be delayed at the relevant Joint Bookrunner's or the
Company's registrars', as the case may be, absolute discretion. If
within a reasonable time after a request for verification of
identity the relevant Joint Bookrunner (for itself and as agent on
behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars have not
received evidence satisfactory to them, either the relevant Joint
Bookrunner 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;
37.
its commitment to acquire Placing Shares on the
Terms and Conditions will continue notwithstanding any amendment
that may in future be made to the terms and conditions of the
Placing and that Placees will have no right to be consulted or
require that their consent be obtained with respect to the
Company's or the relevant Joint Bookrunner's conduct of the
Placing;
38.
it has knowledge and experience in financial,
business and international investment matters as is required to
evaluate the merits and risks of acquiring the Placing Shares. It
further acknowledges that it is experienced in investing in
securities of this nature and is aware that it may be required to
bear, and is able to bear, the economic risk of, and is able to
sustain, a complete loss in connection with the Placing. It has
relied upon its own examination and due diligence of the Company
and its affiliates taken as a whole, and the terms of the Placing,
including the merits and risks involved;
39.
it irrevocably appoints any duly authorised
officer of the relevant Joint Bookrunner 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 which it
agrees to acquire upon these Terms and Conditions;
40. the Company, the relevant Joint Bookrunner and others
(including each of their respective affiliates and
Representatives) will rely
upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations,
warranties, acknowledgements and agreements, which are given to the
relevant Joint Bookrunner on its own behalf and on behalf of the
Company and are irrevocable;
41.
it is acting as principal only in respect of the
Placing or, if it is acquiring the Placing Shares as a fiduciary or
agent for one or more investor accounts, it is duly authorised to
do so and it has full power and authority to make, and does make,
the foregoing representations, warranties, acknowledgements,
agreements and undertakings on behalf of each such
accounts;
42. it agrees that the
exercise by the Joint Bookrunners of any right of termination or
any right of waiver exercisable by a Joint Bookrunner contained in
the Placing and Open Offer Agreement or the exercise of any
discretion thereunder is within the absolute discretion of a Joint
Bookrunner and the Joint Bookrunners will not have any liability to
it whatsoever in connection with any decision to exercise or not
exercise any such rights;
43. Placees will
have no rights against the Joint Bookrunners, the Company or any of
their respective affiliates or Representatives under the Placing
and Open Offer Agreement pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third
Parties) Act 1999 (as amended) or otherwise;
44.
time is of the essence as regards its obligations
under these Terms and Conditions;
45.
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 the relevant Joint
Bookrunner;
46.
the Placing Shares will be issued subject to these
Terms and Conditions; and
47.
these Terms and Conditions and all documents into
which these Terms and Conditions are incorporated by reference or
of which they otherwise validly form a part and/or any agreements
entered into pursuant to these Terms and Conditions and all
agreements to acquire Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing will
be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and it
submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in
relation to any claim, dispute (contractual or otherwise) or matter
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 interest chargeable
thereon) may be taken by the Company or the relevant Joint
Bookrunner 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.
By participating in the Placing,
each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) agrees
to indemnify and hold the Company, the Joint Bookrunners and each
of their respective affiliates or
Representatives 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 these Terms and Conditions or incurred by the
Joint Bookrunners, the Company or any of their respective
affiliates or Representatives
arising from the performance of the Placee's
obligations as set out in these Terms and Conditions, and further
agrees that the provisions of these Terms and Conditions shall
survive after the completion of the Placing.
The agreement to allot and issue
Placing Shares to Placees (or the persons for whom Placees are
contracting as agent) free of stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax
in the United Kingdom relates only to their allotment and issue to
Placees, or such persons as they nominate as their agents, directly
by the Company. Such agreement assumes that the Placing Shares are
not being acquired in connection with arrangements to issue
depositary receipts or to transfer the Placing Shares into a
clearance service. If there are any such arrangements, or the
settlement related to any other dealings in the Placing Shares,
stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax may be payable. In that event,
the Placee agrees that it shall be responsible for such stamp duty
or stamp duty reserve tax and neither the Company nor the Joint
Bookrunners shall be responsible for such stamp duty or stamp duty
reserve tax. If this is the case, each Placee should seek its own
advice and they should notify the relevant Joint Bookrunner
accordingly. In addition, Placees should note that they will be
liable for any capital duty, 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 outside the United Kingdom by them or any other person on
the acquisition by them of any Placing Shares or the agreement by
them to acquire any Placing Shares and each Placee, or the Placee's
nominee, in respect of whom (or in respect of the person for whom
it is participating in the Placing as an agent or nominee) the
allocation, allotment, issue or delivery of Placing Shares has
given rise to such non-United Kingdom stamp, registration,
documentary, transfer or similar taxes or duties undertakes to pay
such taxes and duties, including any interest and penalties (if
applicable), forthwith and to indemnify on an after-tax basis and
to hold harmless the Company and the relevant Joint Bookrunner in
the event that either of the Company and/or the relevant Joint
Bookrunner have incurred any such liability to such taxes or
duties.
The representations, warranties,
acknowledgements and undertakings contained in these Terms and
Conditions are given to the Joint Bookrunners for themselves and on
behalf of the Company and are irrevocable.
The Joint Bookrunners are authorised
and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom and are acting
exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the
Placing, and the Joint Bookrunners will not be responsible to
anyone (including any Placees) other than the Company for providing
the protections afforded to their clients or for providing advice
in relation to the Placing or any other matters referred to in
these Terms and Conditions.
Each Placee and any person acting on
behalf of the Placee acknowledges that the Joint Bookrunners do not
owe any fiduciary or other duties to any Placee in respect of any
representations, warranties, undertakings, acknowledgements,
agreements or indemnities in the Placing and Open Offer Agreement.
The provisions of these Terms and
Conditions may be varied, waived or modified as regards specific
Placees or on a general basis by the Joint Bookrunners provided
always that such variation, waiver or modification is not
materially prejudicial to the interests of the Company.
In the case of a joint agreement to
acquire Placing Shares, references to a "Placee" in these Terms and
Conditions are to each of such Placees and such joint Placees'
liability is joint and several.
Each Placee and any person acting on
behalf of the Placee acknowledges and agrees that the Joint
Bookrunners may (at their absolute discretion) satisfy their
obligations to procure Placees by themselves agreeing to become a
Placee in respect of some or all of the Placing Shares or by
nominating any connected or associated person to do so.
When a Placee or any person acting
on behalf of the Placee is dealing with a Joint Bookrunner, any
money held in an account with the relevant Joint Bookrunner 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 the relevant Joint
Bookrunner's money in accordance with the client money rules and
will be held by it under a banking relationship and not as
trustee.
In these Terms and Conditions any
words following the terms "including", "include", "in particular", "for example" or any similar expression
shall be construed as illustrative and shall not limit the sense of
the words, description, definition, phrase or term preceding those
terms.
References to time in the Terms and
Conditions are to London time, unless otherwise stated.
All times and dates and certain
other information in these Terms and Conditions and in the
Announcement may be subject to amendment and/or updating. Placees
will be notified of any material changes.
No statement in the Announcement or
these Terms and Conditions is intended to be a profit forecast or
estimate, and no statement in the Announcement or these Terms and
Conditions 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.
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.
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, these Terms and
Conditions.
APPENDIX II
DEFINITIONS
The following definitions
apply throughout this Announcement, unless
the context requires otherwise:
"Admission"
|
the EIS/VCT Admission and the General
Admission
|
"AIM"
|
the market of that name operated by
the London Stock Exchange
|
"AIM Rules"
|
the AIM Rules for Companies and/or
the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers (as the context may
require)
|
"AIM Rules for
Companies"
|
the rules of
AIM as set out in the publication entitled "AIM Rules for Companies"
published by the London Stock Exchange from time
to time
|
"Application Form"
|
the personalised application form
accompanying the Circular (where appropriate) pursuant to which
Qualifying Non-CREST Shareholders (other than Overseas
Shareholders) may apply to subscribe for Open Offer Shares under
the Open Offer
|
"AQUA"
|
automated quality assurance
solution
|
"Basic Entitlement"
|
the pro rata entitlement for
Qualifying Shareholders to subscribe for Open Offer Shares,
pursuant to the Open Offer to be described in the
Circular
|
"Board" or "Directors"
|
the board of directors of the
Company
|
"Business Day"
|
any day (excluding Saturdays and
Sundays and public holidays in England and Wales) on which banks
are open in London for normal banking business and the London Stock
Exchange is open for trading
|
"CANTAB®"
|
the Cambridge Neuropsychological
Test Automated Battery
|
"certificated" or
"in certificated
form"
|
an Ordinary Share or other security
recorded on a company's share register as being held in
certificated form (that is not in CREST)
|
"Circular"
|
the circular of the Company
incorporating (amongst other things)
the Notice of General Meeting
|
"Claret"
|
Claret European Specialty Lending
Company III, S.à r.l
|
"Clinpal"
|
eClinicalHealth Limited
|
"CNS"
|
the central nervous
system
|
"Company" or "Cambridge
Cognition"
|
Cambridge Cognition Holdings
plc, a public
limited company incorporated in England and Wales under registered
number 08211361
|
"CREST"
|
the relevant system (as defined in the CREST Regulations) which enables title to units of
relevant securities (as defined in the CREST Regulations) to be evidenced and transferred without a written instrument and in respect
of which Euroclear is the Operator
(as defined in the CREST Regulations)
|
"CREST Regulations"
|
the Uncertificated Securities
Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3755)
(as amended from time to
time)
|
"Dowgate"
|
Dowgate Capital
Limited, registered in England and Wales
with company number 02474423
and having its registered
office at 15 Fetter
Lane, London, England, EC4A 1BW, the Company's joint
bookrunner and joint broker
|
"eCOA"
|
electronic clinical outcomes
assessments
|
"EIS"
|
Enterprise Investment Scheme under the
provisions of Part 5 of the UK Income Tax Act 2007 (as
amended)
|
"EIS/VCT Admission"
|
the admission of the EIS/VCT Shares to trading
on AIM becoming effective by means of the issue by the London Stock
Exchange of a dealing notice under Rule 6 of the AIM
Rules
|
"EIS/VCT Admission Date"
|
anticipated to be on 18 June 2024
|
"EIS/VCT Placing"
|
the conditional placing by the Joint
Bookrunners (on behalf of the Company) of the
EIS/VCT Shares pursuant to the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement
|
"EIS/VCT
Shares"
|
the new Ordinary Shares to be
issued for cash to
Placees that are VCTs and to Placees
seeking EIS relief under the
EIS/VCT Placing whose allotment and issue is
conditional (amongst other things) on
the passing of the Resolutions
|
"Enlarged Share Capital"
|
the entire issued share capital of
the Company immediately following General Admission, assuming no
other Ordinary Shares are issued between the date of this
Announcement and General Admission (other than
EIS/VCT Shares under the
EIS/VCT Placing) and assuming all of
the Open Offer Shares are issued
|
"EU"
|
the European Union
|
"Euroclear"
|
Euroclear UK & International
Limited, the operator of CREST
|
"Excess Application Facility"
|
the arrangement pursuant to which
Qualifying Shareholders may apply for additional Open Offer Shares
in excess of the Basic Entitlement in accordance with the terms and
conditions of the Open Offer
|
"Existing Ordinary Shares"
|
the Ordinary Shares in issue prior
to the Fundraising, all of which are admitted to trading on
AIM
|
"FCA"
|
the United
Kingdom Financial Conduct
Authority
|
"FSMA"
|
the Financial Services and Markets
Act 2000 of the United Kingdom, as amended
|
"Fundraising"
|
together, the Placing, the
Subscription and the Open Offer
|
"General Admission"
|
the admission of (i) the General Placing Shares, (ii) the Open Offer
Shares and (iii) the Subscription Shares, to trading on AIM becoming effective by means of the issue by the London Stock Exchange of a
dealing notice under Rule 6 of the AIM
Rules
|
"General Admission
Date"
|
anticipated to be on 19 June
2024
|
"General Meeting" or "Meeting"
|
the general meeting of the
Shareholders of the
Company to be held at the offices of the
Company, Tunbridge Court Tunbridge Lane, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB25
9TU at 9:00
a.m. on 17 June
2024, convened by the Notice of General
Meeting which will be set out at the end of the Circular
|
"General Placing"
|
the conditional placing by the Joint
Bookrunners (on behalf of the Company) of the
General Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing and Open
Offer Agreement
|
"General Placing
Shares"
|
the new Ordinary Shares to be
issued for cash to
Placees under the General Placing whose allotment and issue is
conditional (amongst other things) on the passing of the Resolutions
|
"Group"
|
the Company, its subsidiaries and
subsidiary undertakings from time to time
|
"Issue Price"
|
40 pence per New Share
|
"Joint Brokers" or "Joint Bookrunners"
|
Panmure and Dowgate
|
"London Stock Exchange"
|
London Stock Exchange plc
|
"New Shares"
|
up to 6,561,057 new Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to
the Fundraising
|
"Notice of General Meeting"
|
the notice of General Meeting which will
be set out at the end of the
Circular
|
"Official List"
|
the official list of the
FCA
|
"Open Offer"
|
the conditional invitation to
Qualifying Shareholders to apply to subscribe for Open Offer Shares
at the Issue Price
on the terms and subject to the conditions to be set out in the
Circular and, in the case of Qualifying non-CREST Shareholders
only, the Application Form
|
"Open Offer Shares"
|
up to 311,057 new Ordinary Shares to be offered to Qualifying Shareholders
pursuant to the Open Offer whose allotment and issue is conditional
(amongst other things) on the passing of the Resolutions
|
"Ordinary Shares"
|
ordinary shares of
1 pence each in the
capital of the Company
|
"Overseas Shareholders"
|
Shareholders with registered
addresses in a Restricted Jurisdiction or any other jurisdiction
where the extension or availability of the Open Offer would breach
any applicable law
|
"Panmure"
|
Panmure Gordon (UK)
Limited, a limited liability company
incorporated and registered in England with company number 04915201 whose registered office is 40
Gracechurch Street, London, United
Kingdom, EC3V 0BT,
the Company's nominated adviser, joint bookrunner and joint
broker
|
"Placees"
|
eligible institutional
investors procured by the Joint
Bookrunners and subscribing
for Placing Shares
in the Placing
|
"Placing"
|
the EIS/VCT Placing and the General
Placing to raise
approximately £2.1 million in gross proceeds
|
"Placing and Open Offer
Agreement"
|
the conditional placing
and open offer agreement
dated 29 May 2024 relating to the Placing and Open Offer made among the Company and the Joint Bookrunners
|
"Placing Shares"
|
the EIS/VCT Shares
and the General Placing Shares
to be issued for cash to Placees under the
Placing whose allotment
and issue is conditional (amongst other things) on the passing of
the Resolutions
|
"Prospectus Regulation"
|
Prospectus Regulation (EU)
2017/1129
|
"Qualifying CREST Shareholders"
|
Qualifying Shareholders holding
Ordinary Shares in uncertificated form
|
"Qualifying non-CREST Shareholders"
|
Qualifying Shareholders holding
Ordinary Shares in certificated form
|
"Qualifying Shareholders"
|
Shareholders at the
Record Date other than
Overseas Shareholders
|
"Record Date"
|
6:00 p.m. on 29 May 2024
|
"Registrar", "Receiving Agents" or "Link"
|
Link Group, Central Square, 29
Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL
|
"Regulatory Information Service" or "RIS"
|
a regulatory information service
operated by the London Stock Exchange, as defined in the AIM Rules
for Companies
|
"Relevant Member State"
|
a member state of the European
Economic Area
|
"Resolutions"
|
the resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting as set out in the Notice of General Meeting
|
"Restricted Jurisdiction"
|
each and any of the United States,
Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan or the Republic of South Africa
|
"Securities Act"
|
The US Securities Act of 1933, as
amended
|
"Shareholders" and each individually a "Shareholder"
|
the holders
of Ordinary Shares
|
"Subscriber"
|
an existing Shareholder
who is participating in
the Subscription
|
"Subscription"
|
the conditional subscription by the
Subscriber for
Subscription Shares at the Issue
Price to raise
approximately £0.4 million before
expenses
|
"Subscription Shares"
|
the 937,500 new Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the
Subscription whose allotment and issue is
conditional (amongst other things) on the passing of the
Resolutions
|
"Terms and Conditions"
|
the terms and conditions of the
Placing as set out in Appendix I to this Announcement
|
"UK" or "United Kingdom"
|
the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
|
"UK Prospectus Regulation"
|
Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of
UK domestic law by virtue
of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
|
"uncertificated" or
"in
uncertificated form"
|
the description of
a share or other security which is on the relevant register of the share or security
concerned as being held in uncertificated form in CREST
and title to which may be transferred by means of CREST
|
"US" or "United
States"
|
the United States of America, its
territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the
District of Columbia
|
"VCT"
|
a venture capital trust under part 6
of the Income Tax Act 2007
|
"VCT Relief"
|
the relief claimed by any holder of
the VCT Shares under Part 6 of the ITA 2007 including, for the
avoidance of doubt, those other tax reliefs set out in section 260
of the ITA 2007
|
"Winterlight"
|
Winterlight Labs Inc
|
All references in this Announcement
to "£", "pence" or "p" are to the lawful currency of the
United Kingdom and all references to "US$" or "$" are to the lawful currency of the
United States.
All references to time in this
Announcement are to London, UK time.