7DIG.L Regulatory News (7DIG)

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE APPENDIX) AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, 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 7DIGITAL GROUP PLC OR ANY OTHER ENTITY IN ANY JURISDICTION. NEITHER THIS ANNOUNCEMENT NOR THE FACT OF ITS DISTRIBUTION SHALL FORM THE BASIS OF, OR BE RELIED ON IN CONNECTION WITH, ANY INVESTMENT DECISION IN RESPECT OF 7DIGITAL GROUP PLC.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (596/2014/EU). IN ADDITION, MARKET SOUNDINGS (AS DEFINED IN MAR) WERE TAKEN IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN OF THE MATTERS CONTAINED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, WITH THE RESULT THAT CERTAIN PERSONS BECAME AWARE OF SUCH INSIDE INFORMATION, AS PERMITTED BY MAR. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SUCH PERSONS SHALL THEREFORE CEASE TO BE IN POSSESSION OF INSIDE INFORMATION.

For immediate release

1 December 2017

7digital Group plc("7digital" or the "Company")

Proposed placing by way of an accelerated bookbuild to raise up to £6.5 million (the "Placing")

Proposed subscriptions to raise approximately £1.5 million (the "Subscription")

Proposed open offer to raise up to £0.5 million (the "Open Offer")

(the Placing, the Subscription and the Open Offer together, the "Capital Raising")

The Board of 7digital (AIM: 7DIG), a leading provider of end-to-end digital music solutions, today announces a proposed Placing by way of an accelerated bookbuild to raise up to £6.5 million, proposed direct Subscriptions to raise £1.5 million and a proposed Open Offer to raise up to £0.5 million in order to raise approximately £8.5 million (before expenses) in aggregate.

Summary of the Capital Raising

· The Company intends to raise up to £6.5 million (before expenses) through a Placing of up to 163,405,661 new Ordinary Shares arranged by Arden Partners plc at 4 pence per share with new and existing shareholders.

· Further details of the Placing are set out below and in the Appendix to this Announcement.

· 24-7 Entertainment, an existing Shareholder, and a new investor have conditionally agreed to subscribe pursuant to the Subscription for, in aggregate, 36,594,339 new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price to raise £1.5 million (before expenses). The Subscription is conditional upon £7.0 million being raised pursuant to the Placing and Subscription. The subscription by 24-7 Entertainment will also constitute a related party transaction under Rule 13 of the AIM Rules and the details will be announced separately in due course.

· It is the intention of certain Directors to subscribe for approximately £0.2 million in the Placing. This proposed participation by each of the participating Directors will be deemed a related party transaction under Rule 13 of the AIM Rules.

· The Company considers that it is important that all Shareholders be given an opportunity to participate in the Capital Raising and, accordingly, the Company is announcing an Open Offer to Qualifying Shareholders to raise up to £0.5 million (before expenses) at the Issue Price.

· The net proceeds from the Capital Raising will be used to capitalise on the growth opportunities of the Company's B2B streaming platform services, restructuring aspects of the Group's cost base following completion of the 24-7 acquisition earlier this year, with the balance to fund general working capital requirements and to strengthen the Company's balance sheet.

· Completion of the Capital Raising is conditional upon, inter alia, Shareholder approval of the Resolutions to enable the issue of the New Ordinary Shares, which will be sought at a General Meeting of the Company expected to be held at 11.00 a.m. on 18 December 2017.

· A Circular containing further details of the Capital Raising and including a notice convening the General Meeting and the Application Form (in respect of Qualifying Non-CREST Shareholders only) is expected to be despatched to Shareholders following completion of the Bookbuild Process (as defined below) and will thereafter be available on the Company's website,  http://about.7digital.com/investors.

Further details of the Placing

Arden is acting as nominated adviser, sole broker and sole bookrunner in connection with the Placing.

The Placing, by way of an accelerated bookbuild, will be launched immediately following the release of this Announcement and will be made available to eligible new and existing institutional investors (the "Bookbuilding Process"). The book will close at the sole discretion of Arden. The completion of the Bookbuilding Process and the resulting Directors' shareholdings will be announced as soon as practicable.

The Placing is subject to the terms and conditions set out in the appendix (the "Appendix") to this Announcement. The Placing is not underwritten. Neither the Subscription nor the Open Offer are being underwritten.

By choosing to participate in the Placing and by making an oral and/or written legally binding offer to acquire Placing Shares, investors will be deemed to have read and understood this Announcement in its entirety, including the Appendix, and to be making such offer on the terms and subject to the conditions contained herein and to be making the representations, warranties, undertakings and acknowledgements contained in the Appendix to this Announcement.

The New Ordinary Shares, when issued, will be fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the Existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after the date of issue.

Application will be made for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM.

Settlement for the New Ordinary Shares and Admission is expected to take place on 8.00 a.m. on 19 December 2017. The Capital Raising is conditional upon, among other things, the Resolutions being duly passed at the General Meeting. The Placing is conditional on admission to trading on AIM becoming effective in respect of the Placing Shares. The Subscription is conditional upon, inter alia, the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects and not being terminated and Admission becoming effective on or before 8.00 a.m. on 19 December 2017 (or such later time and/or date as the Company and Arden may agree, but in any event by no later than 8.00 a.m. on 2 January 2018). The Open Offer is conditional upon, inter alia, the Resolutions being duly passed at the General Meeting and Admission of the Open Offer Shares becoming effective on or before 8.00 a.m. on 19 December 2017 (or such later time and/or date as the Company and Arden may agree, but in any event by no later than 8.00 a.m. on 2 January 2018). The Open Offer is also conditional on the Placing and the Subscription becoming unconditional in all respects and not being terminated before Admission of the Placing Shares and the Subscription Shares.

The Appendix sets out further information relating to the Placing and the terms and conditions of the Placing.

This Announcement should be read in its entirety. In particular, you should read and understand the information provided in the "Important Notices" section of this Announcement.

Background to and reasons for the Capital Raising

The Company is a leading provider of B2B music streaming and associated services including an existing cloud-based platform hosting a catalogue of over 60 million tracks. Following the acquisition of 24-7 Entertainment from MediaMarktSaturn (the "Acquisition"), announced on 20 June 2017, MMS became one of the Company's largest customers and was expected to add approximately £8 million of revenue in the financial year ending 31 December 2018, including approximately £6 million of annual revenue. MMS is the largest electronics retailer in Europe and, as part of the Acquisition, contracts were agreed for the Company to develop several further digital music services to support MMS's strategic goals.

Mass market music listening is currently dominated by casual consumers, predominately on radio. Streaming services are concentrated amongst a limited number of providers addressing a small part of overall music listening. However, developments in streaming are powering a return to growth in the music industry. Streaming services are expected to be worth $11 billion by 2020 at a CAGR of 37 per cent. from 2015 to 2020 (source: ODDO Securities, IFPI Oct 2016). As streaming services gain traction, the marketing models of music labels are changing and eroding the power of traditional radio and retail channels and facilitating mass market streaming. The growth of internet-connected devices is driving a move to digital streaming for the mass market as an increasing number of devices offer the ability to connect to digital catalogues, often for a subsidised cost or inclusive of other services. This includes for example voice activated artificial intelligence powered speakers from Amazon and others. As with Prime Music (part of the subscription Amazon Prime service), music streaming is being used as part of packages to assist with improving customer service and retention.

The move to streaming services and rise of connected devices (including cars and other home appliances) is expected to impact directly on a number of sectors including retail, hardware manufacturers, telecommunications operators and broadcast radio. The ability to provide customers with a proprietary streaming service can offer an opportunity to retain ongoing customer contacts, create new services and loyalties as well as avoiding contracting with a third party, who would otherwise control the customer contact point and potentially also be a market competitor.

The Company has adopted a Platform as a Service ("PaaS") business model to cater to the expected increase in demand from businesses which wish to provide proprietary music streaming services. The PaaS model includes an upfront set-up fee followed by a monthly recurring fee to cover the support of the platform, adding of new releases and reporting to the labels. The Company's fees are typically independent of actual usage by the consumer. The Directors believe that the Company is the only business to business supplier able to provide music label coverage which is competitive to the major consumer services.

The Directors believe the contracts with MMS to be replicable and that they demonstrate the potential of the PaaS model, and that, therefore, this is an appropriate time to improve the financial position of the Company in anticipation of new contracts supported largely by the existing fixed cost base.

Current trading and prospects

The Company is focused on securing new contracts from global customers on to its PaaS music streaming platform and the Directors remain of the belief that following the expansion of the Group with the Acquisition, the Company has a significantly strengthened market position and will bring materially enhanced revenue against a fixed cost base.

The Directors are confident in meeting management's full year expectations for the financial year ending 31 December 2017 and seeing the full benefits of consolidation realised in the financial year ending 31 December 2018.

Further details of the Company's trading during the six month period to 30 June 2017 are set out in the interim results which were announced on 26 September 2017.

Use of proceeds

The Directors intend that the net proceeds of the Capital Raising of £8.0 million (assuming that the Open Offer is fully subscribed) will be used to position the Company to capitalise on all the growth opportunities of the PaaS model. Of the total net proceeds, £1.0 million is expected to be invested in strengthening certain operational focused teams, including the sales function, with the addition of new hires to service demand and assist with the on-boarding of multiple new clients and ongoing strengthening of the technical team to continue the support and development of the platform as it scales.

In addition to the strengthening of certain operations teams, the Directors intend to restructure and realign the Group's cost base to reflect the strategic direction and needs of the business following the Acquisition earlier in the year. This is expected to cost approximately £1.0 million to complete and to yield an ongoing annual cost saving of approximately £1.8 million.

The balance of the proceeds not required for operational improvements or restructuring will be used to provide the Company with general working capital and to strengthen the balance sheet of the Company. This is intended to enhance the Company's position as it enters into contract discussions with large, global customers and to assist in meeting potential supply chain pre-conditions of such customers.

The Capital Raising

The Placing Agreement

Pursuant to the terms of the Placing Agreement, Arden, as agent for the Company, has conditionally agreed to use its reasonable endeavours to procure subscribers for the Placing Shares.

The Placing has not been underwritten by Arden. The Placing Agreement is conditional upon, inter alia, the Resolutions being duly passed at the General Meeting and Admission of the Placing Shares becoming effective on or before 8.00 a.m. on 19 December 2017 (or such later time and/or date as the Company and Arden may agree, but in any event by no later than 8.00 a.m. on 2 January 2018).

The Placing Agreement contains customary warranties from the Company in favour of Arden in relation to, inter alia, the accuracy of the information in this document and other matters relating to the Group and its business. In addition, the Company has agreed to indemnify Arden in relation to certain defined liabilities that it may incur in respect of the Placing. Arden has the right to terminate the Placing Agreement in certain circumstances prior to Admission, in particular, in the event of a material breach of the warranties given to Arden in the Placing Agreement, the failure of the Company to comply in any material respect with any of its obligations under the Placing Agreement, the occurrence of a force majeure event or a material adverse change affecting the condition, or the earnings or business affairs or prospects of the Company or the Group as a whole.

The Placing Agreement also provides for the Company to pay all costs, charges and expenses of, or incidental to, the Capital Raising including all legal and other professional fees and expenses.

The Placing Shares have not been made available to the public and have not been offered or sold in any jurisdiction where it would be unlawful to do so.

All Placing monies received by Arden under the terms of the Placing will not become the property of the Company until Admission of the Placing Shares.

Details of the Open Offer

The Company considers it important that Qualifying Shareholders have an opportunity (where it is practicable for them to do so) to participate in the Capital Raising and accordingly the Company is making the Open Offer to Qualifying Shareholders. The Company is proposing to raise a maximum of £0.5 million (before expenses) (assuming full take up of the Open Offer but being less than the €5 million maximum aggregate amount permitted for this Open Offer and the open offer conducted by the Company in March 2017 without requiring the publication by the Company of a prospectus under the Prospectus Rules of the FCA) through the issue of up to 12,500,000 Open Offer Shares.

The Open Offer Shares are available to Qualifying Shareholders pursuant to the Open Offer at the Issue Price per Open Offer Share, payable in full on acceptance. Any Open Offer Shares not subscribed for by Qualifying Shareholders will be available to Qualifying Shareholders under the Excess Application Facility.

Qualifying Shareholders may apply for Open Offer Shares under the Open Offer at the Issue Price on the following basis:

10 Open Offer Share for every 148 Existing Ordinary Shares

held by the Qualifying Shareholder on the Record Date

Entitlements of Qualifying Shareholders will be rounded down to the nearest whole number of Open Offer Shares. Fractional entitlements which would otherwise arise will not be issued to the Qualifying Shareholders but will be aggregated and made available under the Excess Application Facility. The Excess Application Facility enables Qualifying Shareholders to apply for Excess Shares in excess of their Open Offer Entitlement. Not all Shareholders will be Qualifying Shareholders. Shareholders who are located in, or are citizens of, or have a registered office in certain overseas jurisdictions will not qualify to participate in the Open Offer.

Valid applications by Qualifying Shareholders will be satisfied in full up to their Open Offer Entitlements as shown on the Application Form. Applicants can apply for less or more than their entitlements under the Open Offer but the Company cannot guarantee that any application for Excess Shares under the Excess Application Facility will be satisfied as this will depend in part on the extent to which other Qualifying Shareholders apply for less than or more than their own Open Offer Entitlements. The Company may satisfy valid applications for Excess Shares of applicants in whole or in part but reserves the right not to satisfy any excess above any Open Offer Entitlement. The Board may scale back applications made in excess of Open Offer Entitlements on such basis as it reasonably considers to be appropriate.

Application has been made for the Open Offer Entitlements to be admitted to CREST. It is expected that such Open Offer Entitlements will be credited to CREST on 4 December 2017. The Open Offer Entitlements will be enabled for settlement in CREST until 11.00 a.m. on 15 December 2017. Applications through the CREST system may only be made by the Qualifying CREST Shareholder originally entitled or by a person entitled by virtue of bona fide market claims. The Open Offer Shares must be paid in full on application. The latest time and date for receipt of completed Application Forms or CREST applications and payment in respect of the Open Offer is 11.00 a.m. on 15 December 2017. The Open Offer is not being made to certain Overseas Shareholders.

Qualifying Shareholders should note that the Open Offer is not a rights issue and therefore the Open Offer Shares which are not applied for by Qualifying Shareholders will not be sold in the market for the benefit of the Qualifying Shareholders who do not apply under the Open Offer. The Application Form is not a document of title and cannot be traded or otherwise transferred.

Further details of the Open Offer and the terms and conditions on which it is being made, including the procedure for application and payment, will be set out in the Circular and on the accompanying Application Form.

The Open Offer is conditional upon, inter alia, the Admission of the Open Offer Shares. Accordingly, if the conditions to the Open Offer are not satisfied or waived (where capable of waiver), the Open Offer will not proceed and the Open Offer Shares will not be issued and all monies received by the Receiving Agent will be returned to the applicants (at the applicants' risk and without interest) as soon as possible, but within 14 days thereafter. Any Open Offer Entitlements admitted to CREST will thereafter be disabled.

The Open Offer Shares will be issued free of all liens, charges and encumbrances and will, when issued and fully paid, rank pari passu in all respects with the New Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after the date of their issue.

The Directors have agreed not to take up their respective Open Offer Entitlements.

The General Meeting

The Directors do not currently have Shareholder authority to carry out the Capital Raising or to allot all of the New Ordinary Shares. Accordingly, the Board will be seeking the approval of Shareholders at the General Meeting to allot and issue the New Ordinary Shares in connection with the Capital Raising and to disapply statutory pre-emption rights.

Set out in the Circular proposed to be despatched to Shareholders later today is a notice convening the General Meeting to be held on 18 December 2017 at the offices of Osborne Clarke LLP, One London Wall, London, EC2Y 5EB at 11.00 a.m., at which the Resolutions will be proposed for the purposes of implementing the Capital Raising.

Simon Cole, Chief Executive of 7digital, said:

"This new equity funding will provide 7digital with the funds to really capitalise on its growth opportunity. We are massively excited by the Platform as a Service ("PaaS") business model we have and expect increasing demand from businesses that would like to offer proprietary music streaming services. The Capital Raising will put the Company in a position to significantly strengthen its balance sheet. We also feel that it is really important to give existing shareholders the opportunity to participate in the Capital Raising and hence we are making the Open Offer to Qualifying Shareholders"

Each of the times and dates above refer to London time and are subject to change by the Company. Any such change will be notified to Shareholders by an announcement through a Regulatory Information Service. The Circular will contain further details of the expected timetable for the Capital Raising, the General Meeting and Admission.

Capitalised terms used but not defined in this Announcement shall have the meanings given to such terms in the section headed "Definitions" below save that any capitalised term defined in the Appendix shall have such meaning in the Appendix to the exclusion, in the Appendix only, of any definition of such term elsewhere in this Announcement.

Enquiries:

7digital is a leading provider of end-to-end digital music solutions. The core of its business is the provision of robust and scalable technical infrastructure and extensive global music rights used to create music streaming and radio services for a diverse range of customers - including consumer brands, mobile carriers, broadcasters, automotive systems, record labels and retailers. 7digital also offers radio production and music curation services, editorial strategy and content management expertise.

7digital fosters industry growth and innovation by simplifying access to music for clients such as Onkyo, Fnac, Musical.ly, Global Radio and E.Leclerc. From years of being the largest independent producer of programming for the BBC, launching Radioplayer in multiple territories, and powering services for partners like HMV, Electric Jukebox and Panasonic, 7digital is perfectly positioned to lead innovation at the intersection of digital music and next-generation radio services.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE APPENDIX) AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN (TOGETHER, THIS "ANNOUNCEMENT") 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 A MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA ("EEA"), QUALIFIED INVESTORS AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE 2(1)(e) OF DIRECTIVE 2003/71/EC AS AMENDED, INCLUDING BY THE 2010 PROSPECTUS DIRECTIVE AMENDING DIRECTIVE (DIRECTIVE 2010/73/EC) AND TO THE EXTENT IMPLEMENTED IN THE RELEVANT MEMBER STATE (THE "PROSPECTUS DIRECTIVE"); (2) IF IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, QUALIFIED INVESTORS AS DEFINED IN SECTION 86 OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 ("FSMA") WHO (A) FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (THE "ORDER") (INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS) OR (B) FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(a) TO (d) (HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES, UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, ETC.) OF THE ORDER; (3) PERSONS TO WHOM IT MAY OTHERWISE LAWFULLY BE COMMUNICATED (ALL SUCH PERSONS TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT PERSONS").

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION IN IT MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. PERSONS DISTRIBUTING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY SECURITIES IN 7DIGITAL GROUP PLC.

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 WITH ANY SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ANY STATE OR JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD OR TRANSFERRED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN 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 OF 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.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE APPENDIX) AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

The distribution of this Announcement 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, Arden or any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees that would permit an offer of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution of this Announcement 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 this Announcement comes are required by the Company and Arden to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

This Announcement or any part of it does 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 (the "United States" or the "US")), Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa 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.

All offers of the Placing Shares will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to produce a prospectus. In the United Kingdom, this Announcement is being directed solely at persons in circumstances in which section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) 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 this Announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States. The relevant clearances have not been, nor will they be, obtained from the securities commission of any province or territory of Canada, no prospectus has been lodged with, or registered by, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or the Japanese Ministry of Finance; the relevant clearances have not been, and will not be, obtained for the South Africa Reserve Bank or any other applicable body in the Republic of South Africa in relation to the Placing Shares and the Placing Shares have not been, nor will they be, registered under or offered in compliance with the securities laws of any state, province or territory of Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa. Accordingly, the Placing Shares may not (unless an exemption under the relevant securities laws is applicable) be offered, sold, resold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom.

Persons (including, without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or other legal obligations to forward a copy of this Announcement should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.

By participating in the Placing, each person who is invited to and who chooses to participate in the Placing (a "Placee") by making an oral and legally binding offer to acquire Placing Shares will be deemed to have read and understood this Announcement in its entirety, to be participating, making an offer and acquiring Placing Shares on the terms and conditions contained herein and to be providing the representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements and undertakings contained in the Appendix.

This Announcement may contain "forward-looking statements" with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "outlook" or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond the control of the Company, including amongst other things, United Kingdom domestic and global economic business conditions, market-related risks such as fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates, the policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, the effect of competition, inflation, deflation, the timing effect and other uncertainties of future acquisitions or combinations within relevant industries, the effect of tax and other legislation and other regulations in the jurisdictions in which the Company and its respective affiliates operate, the effect of volatility in the equity, capital and credit markets on the Company's profitability and ability to access capital and credit, a decline in the Company's credit ratings; the effect of operational risks; and the loss of key personnel. As a result, the actual future financial condition, performance and results of the Company may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made in this Announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publish any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement to reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Arden is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom and is acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the Placing and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this document) as a client in relation to the Placing and Admission and Arden 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 in relation to the Placing or any other matters referred to in this Announcement.

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 Arden or by any of its affiliates or agents as to, or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefor is expressly disclaimed.

No statement in this Announcement or in any previous announcement or in any previous presentation issued by the Company was or is intended to be a profit forecast or estimate, and no statement in this Announcement nor in any previous announcement or in any previous presentation issued by the Company 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 the London Stock Exchange.

Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated in, or forms part of, this Announcement.

This Announcement has been 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 Arden or by any of their respective affiliates or agents as to or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.

APPENDIX - TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PLACING

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PLACEES ONLY

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN 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 A MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA ("EEA"), QUALIFIED INVESTORS AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE 2(1)(e) OF DIRECTIVE 2003/71/EC AS AMENDED, INCLUDING BY THE 2010 PROSPECTUS DIRECTIVE AMENDING DIRECTIVE (DIRECTIVE 2010/73/EC) AND TO THE EXTENT IMPLEMENTED IN THE RELEVANT MEMBER STATE (THE "PROSPECTUS DIRECTIVE"); (2) IF IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, QUALIFIED INVESTORS AS DEFINED IN SECTION 86 OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 ("FSMA") WHO (A) FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (THE "ORDER") (INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS) OR (B) FALL WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2)(a) TO (d) (HIGH NET WORTH COMPANIES, UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, ETC.) OF THE ORDER; (3) PERSONS TO WHOM IT MAY OTHERWISE LAWFULLY BE COMMUNICATED (ALL SUCH PERSONS TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT PERSONS").

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION IN IT MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. PERSONS DISTRIBUTING THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY SECURITIES IN 7DIGITAL GROUP PLC.

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 WITH ANY SECURITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ANY STATE OR JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD OR TRANSFERRED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN 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 OF THE UNITED STATES IN "OFFSHORE TRANSACTIONS" WITHIN THE MEANING OF, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH, REGULATION S UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT ("REGULATION S") AND OTHERWISE IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE PLACING SHARES IS BEING MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OR ELSEWHERE.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

The distribution of this Announcement 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, Arden or any of their respective affiliates, agents, directors, officers or employees that would permit an offer of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution of this Announcement 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 this Announcement comes are required by the Company and Arden to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

This Announcement or any part of it does 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 (the "United States" or the "US")), Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa 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.

All offers of the Placing Shares will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to produce a prospectus. In the United Kingdom, this Announcement is being directed solely at persons in circumstances in which section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) 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 this Announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States. The relevant clearances have not been, nor will they be, obtained from the securities commission of any province or territory of Canada, no prospectus has been lodged with, or registered by, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or the Japanese Ministry of Finance; the relevant clearances have not been, and will not be, obtained for the South Africa Reserve Bank or any other applicable body in the Republic of South Africa in relation to the Placing Shares and the Placing Shares have not been, nor will they be, registered under or offered in compliance with the securities laws of any state, province or territory of Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa. Accordingly, the Placing Shares may not (unless an exemption under the relevant securities laws is applicable) be offered, sold, resold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Ireland or the Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom.

Persons (including, without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or other legal obligations to forward a copy of this Announcement should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.

By participating in the Placing, each person who is invited to and who chooses to participate in the Placing (a "Placee") by making an oral and legally binding offer to acquire Placing Shares will be deemed to have read and understood this Announcement in its entirety, to be participating, making an offer and acquiring Placing Shares on the terms and conditions contained herein and to be providing the representations, warranties, indemnities, acknowledgements and undertakings contained in the Appendix.

Arden is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom and is acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the Placing and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this document) as a client in relation to the Placing and Admission and Arden 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 in relation to the Placing or any other matters referred to in this Announcement.

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 Arden or by any of its affiliates or agents as to, or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefor is expressly disclaimed.

No statement in this Announcement or in any previous announcement or in any previous presentation issued by the Company was or is intended to be a profit forecast or estimate, and no statement in this Announcement nor in any previous announcement or in any previous presentation issued by the Company 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 Placing Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other than the London Stock Exchange.

Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated in, or forms part of, this Announcement.

This Announcement has been 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 Arden or by any of their respective affiliates or agents as to or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.

EACH PLACEE SHOULD CONSULT WITH ITS OWN ADVISERS AS TO LEGAL, REGULATORY, TAX, BUSINESS AND RELATED ASPECTS OF A SUBSCRIPTION FOR PLACING SHARES.

A Circular explaining the background to and reasons for the Placing and containing the Notice of General Meeting is expected to be posted to shareholders following the close of the Bookbuilding Process. A copy of the Circular and Notice of General Meeting will thereafter be made available on the Company's website, http://about.7digital.com/investors

Details of the Placing Agreement and the Placing Shares

The Company has today entered into the Placing Agreement with Arden. Pursuant to the Placing Agreement, Arden has, subject to the terms and conditions set out therein, agreed to use reasonable endeavours, as agent of the Company, to procure subscribers for the Placing Shares pursuant to the Bookbuilding Process described in this Announcement and as set out in the Placing Agreement.

The Placing is conditional on the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional and not being terminated in accordance with its terms.

The Placing is not being underwritten.

The Placing Shares will, when issued, be subject to the articles of association of the Company, be credited as fully paid and rank pari passu in all respects with each other and with the Existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid in respect of the Ordinary Shares after the date of issue of the Placing Shares.

The Placing Shares will be issued free of any encumbrance, lien or other security interest.

Application for admission to trading

Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions of the Placing Agreement (the "Conditions"), it is expected that Admission will take place and dealings in the Placing Shares will commence on AIM on or around 8.00 a.m. on 19 December 2017.

Bookbuilding Process

Commencing today, Arden will be conducting an accelerated bookbuilding process (to determine demand for participation in the Placing by Placees. This Announcement gives details of the terms and conditions of, and the mechanics of participation in, the Placing. However, Arden will be entitled to effect the Placing by such alternative method to the Bookbuilding Process as it may, after consultation with the Company, determine. No commissions will be paid by or to Placees in respect of any participation in the Placing or subscription for Placing Shares.

Participation in, and principal terms of, the Bookbuilding Process

Participation in the Placing is by invitation only and will only be available to persons who may lawfully be, and are, invited to participate by Arden. Arden and Arden Affiliates are entitled to participate as Placees in the Bookbuilding Process.

The Bookbuilding Process will establish the number of Placing Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing.

The book will open with immediate effect. The Bookbuilding Process is expected to close not later than 4.30 p.m. on 1 December 2017, but may be closed at such earlier or later time as Arden may, in its absolute discretion (after consultation with the Company), determine. A further announcement will be made following the close of the Bookbuilding Process detailing the number of Placing Shares to be subscribed for by the Placees at the Issue Price (the "Placing Results Announcement").

A bid in the Bookbuilding Process will be made on the terms and conditions in this Announcement and will be legally binding on the Placee on behalf of which it is made and, except with Arden's consent, will not be capable of variation or revocation after the close of the Bookbuilding Process.

A Placee who wishes to participate in the Bookbuilding Process should communicate its bid by telephone to its usual sales contact at Arden. Each bid should state the number of Placing Shares which the prospective Placee wishes to subscribe for at the Issue Price. If successful, Arden will re-contact and confirm orally to Placees following the close of the Bookbuilding Process the size of their respective allocations and a trade confirmation will be despatched as soon as possible thereafter. Arden's oral confirmation of the size of allocations and each Placee's oral commitments to accept the same will constitute an irrevocable legally binding agreement in favour of the Company and Arden pursuant to which each such Placee will be required to accept the number of Placing Shares allocated to the Placee at the Issue Price and otherwise on the terms and subject to the conditions set out herein and in accordance with the Company's articles of association. Each Placee's allocation and commitment will be evidenced by a trade confirmation issued to such Placee by Arden. The terms of this Appendix will be deemed incorporated in that trade confirmation.

Arden reserves the right to scale back the number of Placing Shares to be subscribed by any Placee in the event that the Placing is oversubscribed. Arden also reserves 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 Arden.

Each Placee's obligations will be owed to the Company and to Arden. Following the oral confirmation referred to above, each Placee will also have an immediate, separate, irrevocable and binding obligation, owed to the Company and Arden, as agent of the Company, to pay to Arden (or as Arden may direct) in cleared funds an amount equal to the product of the Issue Price and the number of Placing Shares allocated to such Placee.

To the fullest extent permissible by law, none of Arden, any holding company of Arden, any subsidiary of Arden, any subsidiary of any such holding company, any branch, affiliate or associated undertaking of any such company nor any of their respective directors, officers and employees (each an "Arden Affiliate") nor any person acting on their behalf shall have any liability to Placees (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise). In particular, none of Arden, any Arden Affiliate nor any person acting on their behalf shall have any liability (including, to the extent legally permissible, any fiduciary duties), in respect of its conduct of the Bookbuilding Process or of such alternative method of effecting the Placing as Arden may determine.

All obligations of Arden under the Placing will be subject to fulfillment of the conditions referred to in this Announcement including without limitation those referred to below under "Conditions of the Placing".

Conditions of the Placing

The Placing is conditional upon the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional and not having been terminated in accordance with its terms.

The obligations of Arden under the Placing Agreement are conditional, amongst other things, upon:

1. the warranties on the part of the Company contained in the Placing Agreement being true and accurate in all material respects and not misleading on and as of the date of the Placing Agreement and at Admission of the Placing Shares; 

2. the performance by the Company of its obligations under the Placing Agreement to the extent that they fall to be performed prior to Admission;

3. the obligations of Arden not having been terminated (as described below under "Right to terminate under the Placing Agreement"); and 

4. Admission of the Placing Shares occurring not later than 8.00 a.m. on 19 December 2017 or such later time and/or date as Arden may agree in writing with the Company (but in any event not later than 8.00 a.m. on 2 January 2018).

If (a) the Conditions of the Placing are not fulfilled (or to the extent permitted under the Placing Agreement waived by Arden), or (b) the Placing Agreement is terminated in the circumstances specified below, the Placing will lapse and each Placee's rights and obligations hereunder shall cease and determine at such time and no claim may be made by a Placee in respect thereof. None of Arden, the Company, any Arden Affiliate, nor any holding company of the Company, any subsidiary of the Company, any subsidiary of any such holding company, any branch, affiliate or associated undertaking of any such company nor any of their respective directors, officers and employees (each a "7digital Affiliate") 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 it may make as to whether or not to waive or to extend the time and/or date for the satisfaction of any condition in the Placing Agreement or in respect of the Placing generally.

By participating in the Placing, each Placee agrees that Arden's rights and obligations in respect of the Placing terminate, inter alia, in the circumstances described below under "Right to terminate under the Placing Agreement".

Right to terminate under the Placing Agreement

Arden has the right to terminate the Placing Agreement in certain circumstances prior to Admission, in particular, in the event of a material breach of the warranties given to Arden in the Placing Agreement, the failure of the Company to comply in any material respect with any of its obligations under the Placing Agreement, the occurrence of a force majeure event or a material adverse change affecting the condition, or the earnings or business affairs or prospects of the Company or the Group as a whole.

By participating in the Placing, each Placee agrees with Arden that the exercise by Arden of any right of termination or other discretion under the Placing Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of Arden and that Arden need not make any reference to the Placees in this regard and that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, neither the Company, Arden, any Arden Affiliate nor any 7digital Affiliate shall have any liability whatsoever to the Placees in connection with any such exercise or failure to so exercise.

No Prospectus

No offering document or prospectus has been or will be prepared in relation to the Placing and no such prospectus is required (in accordance with the Prospectus Directive) to be published or submitted to be approved by the FCA and Placees' commitments will be made solely on the basis of the information contained in this Announcement.

Each Placee, by accepting a participation in the Placing, agrees that the content of this Announcement is exclusively the responsibility of the Company and confirms to Arden and the Company that it has neither received nor relied on any information, representation, warranty or statement made by or on behalf of Arden (other than the amount of the relevant Placing participation in the oral confirmation given to Placees and the trade confirmation referred to below), any Arden Affiliate, any persons acting on its or their behalf or the Company or any 7digital Affiliate and none of Arden, any Arden Affiliate, any persons acting on their behalf, the Company, any 7digital Affiliate nor any persons acting on their behalf will be liable for the decision of any Placee to participate in the Placing based on any other information, representation, warranty or statement which the Placee may have obtained or received (regardless of whether or not such information, representation, warranty or statement was given or made by or on behalf of any such persons). By participating in the Placing, each Placee acknowledges to and agrees with Arden for itself and as agent for the Company that, except in relation to the information contained in this Announcement, it has relied on its own investigation of the business, financial or other position of the Company in deciding whether to participate in the Placing. Nothing in this paragraph shall exclude the liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation.

Registration and settlement

Settlement of transactions in the Placing Shares following Admission will take place within the CREST system, using the delivery versus payment mechanism, subject to certain exceptions. Arden reserves the right to require settlement for and delivery of the Placing Shares to Placees by such other means as Arden may deem necessary, including, without limitation, if delivery or settlement is not possible or practicable within the CREST system within the timetable set out in this Announcement or would not be consistent with the regulatory requirements in the Placee's jurisdiction.

The expected timetable for settlement will be as follows: 

Each Placee allocated Placing Shares in the Placing will be sent a trade confirmation stating the number of Placing Shares allocated to it, the Issue Price, the aggregate amount owed by such Placee to Arden and settlement instructions. Placees should settle against the Arden CREST ID shown above. It is expected that such trade confirmation will be despatched on the expected trade date shown above. Each Placee agrees that it will do all things necessary to ensure that delivery and payment is completed in accordance with either the standing CREST or certificated settlement instructions which it has in place with Arden.

It is expected that settlement will take place on the Settlement Date shown above on a delivery versus payment basis in accordance with the instructions set out in the trade confirmation unless otherwise notified by Arden.

Interest is chargeable daily on payments not received from Placees on the due date in accordance with the arrangements set out above at the rate of two percentage points above the base rate of Barclays Bank Plc.

Each Placee is deemed to agree that if it does not comply with these obligations, Arden may sell any or all of the Placing Shares allocated to the Placee on such Placee's behalf and retain from the proceeds, for Arden's own account and profit, an amount equal to the aggregate amount owed by the Placee plus any interest due. The Placee will, however, remain liable for any shortfall below the aggregate amount owed by such Placee and it may be required to bear any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax (together with any interest or penalties) which may arise upon the sale of such Placing Shares on such Placee's behalf.

If Placing Shares are to be delivered to a custodian or settlement agent, the Placee should ensure that the trade confirmation is copied and delivered immediately to the relevant person within that organisation.

Insofar as Placing Shares are registered in the Placee's name or that of its nominee or in the name of any person for whom the Placee is contracting as agent or that of a nominee for such person, such Placing Shares will, subject as provided below, be so registered free from any liability to any levy, stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax. If there are any circumstances in which any other stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax is payable in respect of the issue of the Placing Shares, neither Arden nor the Company shall be responsible for the payment thereof. Placees will not be entitled to receive any fee or commission in connection with the Placing.

Representations, warranties and terms

By participating in the Placing, each Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf):

1. represents and warrants that it has read and understood this Announcement in its entirety (including this Appendix) and acknowledges that its participation in the Placing and the issue of the Placing Shares will be governed by the terms of this Announcement (including this Appendix);

2. acknowledges that no prospectus or offering document has been or will be prepared in connection with the Placing and it has not received and will not receive a prospectus or other offering document in connection with the Bookbuilding Process, the Placing or the Placing Shares;

3. agrees to indemnify on an after-tax basis and hold harmless each of the Company, Arden, Arden Affiliates and 7digital Affiliates and any person acting on their behalf from any and all costs, losses, 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 in this Announcement and further agrees that the provisions of this Announcement shall survive after completion of the Placing;

4. acknowledges that the Placing Shares will be admitted to trading on AIM and the Company is therefore required to publish certain business and financial information in accordance with AIM Rule 26 and other applicable laws and regulations (the "Exchange Information"), which includes certain business and financial and the Company's announcements and circulars published in the past 12 months, and that the Placee is able to obtain or access this Exchange Information without undue difficulty and is aware of the contents of the Exchange Information;

5. acknowledges that none of Arden, any Arden Affiliate or any person acting on their behalf has provided, and will not provide, it with any material or information regarding the Placing Shares or the Company; nor has it requested any of Arden, nor any Arden Affiliate nor any person acting on their behalf to provide it with any such material or information; 

6. acknowledges that (i) none of Arden or any Arden Affiliate or any person acting on behalf of any of them is making any recommendations to it, advising it regarding the suitability of any transactions it may enter into in connection with the Placing and that participation in the Placing is on the basis that it is not and will not be a client of Arden and that Arden does not have any duties or responsibilities to it for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the Placing nor in respect of any representations, warranties, undertakings or indemnities contained in the Placing Agreement nor for the exercise or performance of any of its rights and obligations thereunder including any rights to waive or vary any conditions or exercise any termination right, and (ii) neither it nor, as the case may be, its clients expect Arden to have any duties or responsibilities to it similar or comparable to the duties of "best execution" and "suitability" imposed by the Conduct of Business Sourcebook contained in the FCA's Handbook of Rules and Guidance, and that Arden is not acting for it or its clients, and that Arden will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing protections afforded to its clients;

7. acknowledges that the content of this Announcement is exclusively the responsibility of the Company and that none of Arden, nor any Arden Affiliate nor any person acting on their behalf will be responsible for or shall have any liability for any information, representation or statement relating to the Company contained in this Announcement or any information previously published by or on behalf of the Company and none of Arden, nor any Arden Affiliate nor any person acting on their behalf will be liable for any Placee's decision to participate in the Placing based on any information, representation or statement contained in this Announcement or otherwise. Each Placee further represents, warrants and agrees that the only information on which it is entitled to rely and on which such Placee has relied in committing to subscribe for the Placing Shares is contained in this Announcement, such information being all that it deems necessary to make an investment decision in respect of the Placing Shares, and that it has relied on its own investigation with respect to the Placing Shares and the Company in connection with its decision to subscribe for the Placing Shares and acknowledges that it is not relying on any other information whatsoever and in particular it is not relying on any investigation that Arden, any Arden Affiliate or any person acting on their behalf may have conducted with respect to the Placing Shares or the Company and none of such persons has made any representations to it, express or implied, with respect thereto;

8. acknowledges that it has knowledge and experience in financial, business and international investment matters as is required to evaluate the merits and risks of subscribing for 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 had sufficient time to consider and conduct its own investigation in connection with its subscription for the Placing Shares, including all tax, legal and other economic considerations and has relied upon its own examination of, and due diligence on, the Company, and the terms of the Placing, including the merits and risks involved; 

9. represents and warrants that it has neither received nor relied on any confidential price sensitive information concerning the Company in accepting its invitation to participate in the Placing;

10. acknowledges that it is not entitled to rely on any information (including, without limitation, any information contained in any management presentation given in relation to the Placing) other than that contained in this Announcement (including this Appendix) and represents and warrants that it has not relied on any representations relating to the Placing, the Placing Shares or the Company other than the information contained in this Announcement;

11. acknowledges that it has not relied on any information relating to the Company contained in any research reports prepared by Arden or any Arden Affiliate or any person acting on their behalf and understands that (i) none of Arden, nor any Arden Affiliate nor any person acting on their behalf has or shall have any liability for any public information relating to the Company or otherwise or any representation; (ii) none of Arden, nor any Arden Affiliate, nor any person acting on their behalf has or shall have any liability for any additional information that has otherwise been made available to such Placee, whether at the date of publication, the date of this Announcement or otherwise; and that (iii) none of Arden, nor any Arden Affiliate, nor any person acting on their behalf makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of such information, whether at the date of publication, the date of this Announcement or otherwise; 

12. represents and warrants that (i) it is entitled to acquire the Placing Shares for which it is subscribing under the laws and regulations of all relevant jurisdictions which apply to it; (ii) it has fully observed such laws and regulations and obtained all such governmental and other guarantees and other consents and authorities which may be required or necessary in connection with its subscription for Placing Shares and its participation in the Placing and has complied with all other necessary formalities in connection therewith; (iii) it has all necessary capacity to commit to participation in the Placing and to perform its obligations in relation thereto and will honour such obligations; (iv) it has paid any issue, transfer or other taxes due in connection with its subscription for Placing Shares and its participation in the Placing in any territory; and (v) it has not taken any action which will or may result in the Company, Arden or any Arden Affiliate or 7digital Affiliate or any person acting on their behalf being in breach of the legal and/or regulatory requirements of any territory in connection with the Placing;

13. represents and warrants that it understands that the Placing Shares have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and are not being offered or sold within the United States, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act;

14. represents and warrants that its acquisition of the Placing Shares has been or will be made in an "offshore transaction" as defined in and pursuant to Regulation S;

15. represents and warrants that it will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any of the Placing Shares in the United States except in accordance with Regulation S or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act;

16. represents and warrants that, if it is a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, the Placing Shares purchased by it in the Placing will not be acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor will they be acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in a member state of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive other than "qualified investors" as defined in Article 2.1(e) of the Prospectus Directive, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of Arden has been given to such an offer or resale;

17. represents and warrants that it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell any Placing Shares to the public in any member state of the European Economic Area except in circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive which do not result in any requirement for the publication of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive;

18. represents and warrants that it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) relating to the Placing Shares in circumstances in which it is permitted to do so pursuant to section 21 of FSMA;

19. represents and warrants that it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the Placing Shares in, from or otherwise involving, the United Kingdom;

20. represents and warrants that it has complied with its obligations: (i) under the Criminal Justice Act 1993 and the Market Abuse Regulation (EU 596/2014); (ii) in connection with the laws of all relevant jurisdictions which apply to it and it has complied, and will fully comply, with all such laws (including where applicable, the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended) and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017) and that it is not a person: (a) with whom transactions are prohibited under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 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; (b) named on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets maintained by HM Treasury of the United Kingdom; or (c) subject to financial sanctions imposed pursuant to a regulation of the European Union or a regulation adopted by the United Nations ((i), (ii), (a) and (b), together, the "Regulations") and rules and guidance on anti-money laundering produced by the FCA and, if it is making payment on behalf of a third party, that satisfactory evidence has been obtained and recorded by it to verify the identity of the third party as required by the Regulations; and it is permitted to subscribe for Placing Shares in accordance with the laws of all relevant jurisdictions which apply to it and it has have complied, and will fully comply, with all such laws (including where applicable, the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended) and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017);

21. if in the United Kingdom, represents and warrants that: (a) it is a person having professional experience in matters relating to investments who falls within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the FPO, or (b) it is a person who falls within Article 49(2) (a) to (d) ("High Net Worth Companies, Unincorporated Associations etc") of the FPO, or (c) it is a qualified investor as defined in section 86(7) of FSMA, being a person falling within Article 2.1(e)(i), (ii) or (iii) of the Prospectus Directive, or (d) if not a person meeting the criteria set out in (a) or (b) of this paragraph 21 or the other criteria of qualified investors for the purposes of section 86(7) of FSMA, he or she is a director of the Company at the time of the Placing or (d) it is person to whom this announcement may otherwise lawfully be communicated;

22. represents and warrants that its participation in the Placing would not give rise to an offer being required to be made by it or any person with whom it is acting in concert pursuant to Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers;

23. undertakes that it (and any person acting on its behalf) will pay for the Placing Shares acquired by it in accordance with this Announcement and with any trade confirmation sent by Arden (or on its behalf) to it in respect of its allocation of Placing Shares and its participation in the Placing on the due time and date set out herein against delivery of such Placing Shares to it, failing which the relevant Placing Shares may be placed with other Placees or sold as Arden may, in its absolute discretion, determine 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 this Announcement) which may arise upon the sale of such Placee's Placing Shares on its behalf;

24. acknowledges that none of Arden, nor any Arden Affiliate nor any person acting on their behalf is making any recommendations to it or advising it regarding the suitability or merits of any transaction it may enter into in connection with the Placing, and acknowledges that none of Arden, nor any Arden Affiliate nor any person acting on their behalf has any duties or responsibilities to it for providing advice in relation to the Placing or in respect of any representations, warranties, undertakings or indemnities contained in the Placing Agreement or for the exercise or performance of any of Arden's rights and obligations thereunder, including any right to waive or vary any condition or exercise any termination right contained therein;

25. undertakes that (i) the person whom it specifies for registration as holder of the Placing Shares will be (a) the Placee or (b) the Placee's nominee, as the case may be, (ii) neither Arden nor the Company will be responsible for any liability to stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax resulting from a failure to observe this requirement and (iii) the Placee and any person acting on its behalf agrees to acquire the Placing Shares on the basis that the Placing Shares will be allotted to the CREST stock account of Arden which will hold them as settlement agent as nominee for the Placee until settlement in accordance with its standing settlement instructions with payment for the Placing Shares being made simultaneously upon receipt of the Placing Shares in the Placee's stock account on a delivery versus payment basis;

26. acknowledges that any agreements entered into by it pursuant to these terms and conditions, and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with such agreements, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and it submits (on behalf of itself and on behalf of any person on whose behalf it is acting) to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales as regards any claim, dispute or matter arising out of any such contract;

27. acknowledges that it irrevocably appoints any director of Arden as its agent for the purposes 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 agreed to be taken up by it under the Placing;

28. represents and warrants that it is not a resident of any Restricted Jurisdiction and acknowledges that the Placing Shares have not been and will not be registered nor will a prospectus be cleared in respect of the Placing Shares under the securities legislation of any Restricted Jurisdiction and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered, sold, taken up, renounced, delivered or transferred, directly or indirectly, within any Restricted Jurisdiction;

29. represents and warrants that any person who confirms to Arden on behalf of a Placee an agreement to subscribe for Placing Shares and/or who authorises Arden to notify the Placee's name to the Company's registrar, has authority to do so on behalf of the Placee;

30. acknowledges that the agreement to settle each Placee's acquisition of Placing Shares (and/or the acquisition of a person for whom it is contracting as agent) free of stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax depends on the settlement relating only to an acquisition by it and/or such person direct from the Company of the Placing Shares in question. Such agreement assumes that the Placing Shares are not being acquired in connection with arrangements to issue depositary receipts or to issue or transfer the Placing Shares into a clearance service. If there were any such arrangements, or the settlement related to other dealing in the Placing Shares, stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax may be payable, for which neither the Company nor Arden will be responsible. If this is the case, the Placee should take its own advice and notify Arden accordingly;

31. acknowledges that when a Placee or any person acting on behalf of the Placee is dealing with Arden, any money held in an account with Arden 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. The 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 in accordance with the client money rules and will be used by Arden in the course of its business; and the Placee will rank only as a general creditor of Arden (as the case may be);

32. acknowledges and agrees that in order to ensure compliance with the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended) and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, Arden (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 Arden or the Company's registrars, as applicable, of evidence of identity, definitive certificates in respect of the Placing Shares may be retained at Arden's absolute discretion or, where appropriate, delivery of the Placing Shares to it in uncertificated form may be delayed at Arden'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 Arden (for itself and as agent on behalf of the Company) or the Company's registrars have not received evidence satisfactory to them, Arden 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;

33. acknowledges and understands that the Company, Arden, and others will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties, agreements, undertakings and acknowledgements;

34. acknowledges that the basis of allocation will be determined by Arden at its absolute discretion and that the right is reserved to reject in whole or in part and/or scale back any participation in the Placing;

35. irrevocably authorises the Company and Arden to produce this Announcement pursuant to, in connection with, or as maybe required by any applicable law or regulation, administrative or legal proceeding or official inquiry with respect to the matters set forth herein;

36. acknowledges and agrees that its commitment to subscribe for Placing Shares on the terms and conditions set out herein will continue notwithstanding any amendment that may in future be made to the terms 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 Arden's conduct of the Placing;

37. acknowledges and agrees that time is of the essence as regards its obligations under this Appendix; 

38. acknowledges and agrees that 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 Arden;

39. acknowledges and agrees that it will be bound by the terms of the articles of association of the Company; and

40. acknowledges and agrees that these terms and conditions in this Appendix and all documents into which this Appendix is incorporated by reference or otherwise validly forms a part and/or any agreements entered into pursuant to these terms and conditions and all agreements to acquire 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 or matter arising out of any such contract, except that enforcement proceedings in respect of the obligation to make payment for the Placing Shares (together with any interest chargeable thereon) may be taken by the Company or Arden in any jurisdiction in which the relevant Placee is incorporated or in which any of its securities have a quotation on a recognised stock exchange.

The acknowledgements, agreements, undertakings, representations and warranties referred to above are given to each of the Company and Arden (for their own benefit and, where relevant, the benefit of any Arden Affiliate or 7digital Affiliate and any person acting on their behalf) and are irrevocable.

No claim shall be made against the Company, Arden, any Arden Affiliate, any 7digital Affiliate, or any other person acting on behalf of any of such persons by a Placee to recover any damage, cost, loss, charge or expense which it may suffer or incur by reason of or arising from or in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder or otherwise howsoever in connection with the Placing or Admission.

No UK stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax should be payable to the extent that the Placing Shares are issued or transferred (as the case may be) into CREST to, or to the nominee of, a Placee who holds those shares beneficially (and not as agent or nominee for any other person) within the CREST system and registered in the name of such Placee or such Placee's nominee.

Any arrangements to issue or transfer the Placing Shares into a depositary receipts system or a clearance service or to hold the Placing Shares as agent or nominee of a person to whom a depositary receipt may be issued or who will hold the Placing Shares in a clearance service, or any arrangements subsequently to transfer the Placing Shares, may give rise to stamp duty and/or stamp duty reserve tax, for which neither the Company nor Arden will be responsible and the Placee to whom (or on behalf 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 stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax undertakes to pay such stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax forthwith and to indemnify on an after-tax basis and to hold harmless the Company and Arden in the event that any of the Company or any 7digital Affiliate or Arden or any Arden Affiliate has incurred any such liability to stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax.

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 UK 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.

References to time in this Announcement are to London time, unless otherwise stated. All times and dates in this Announcement may be subject to amendment. Arden shall notify the Placees and any person acting on behalf of the Placees of any such changes.

This Announcement has been issued by the Company and is the sole responsibility of the Company.

Each Placee, and any person acting on behalf of the Placee, acknowledges that Arden does not owe any fiduciary or other duties to any Placee in respect of any representations, warranties, undertakings, acknowledgements, agreements or indemnities in the Placing Agreement.

Each Placee and any person acting on behalf of the Placee acknowledges and agrees that Arden or any Arden Affiliate may, at their absolute discretion, agree to become a Placee in respect of some or all of the Placing Shares.

The rights and remedies of Arden and the Company under these terms and conditions are in addition to any rights and remedies which would otherwise be available to each of them and the exercise or partial exercise or partial exercise of one will not prevent the exercise of others.

Each Placee may be asked to disclose in writing or orally to Arden and, if so, undertakes to provide:

1. if he is an individual, his nationality; 

2. if he is a discretionary fund manager, the jurisdiction in which the funds are managed or owned; and

3. such other "know your client" information as Arden may reasonably request.

This Announcement may contain "forward-looking statements" with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "outlook" or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond the control of the Company, including amongst other things, United Kingdom domestic and global economic business conditions, market-related risks such as fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates, the policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, the effect of competition, inflation, deflation, the timing effect and other uncertainties of future acquisitions or combinations within relevant industries, the effect of tax and other legislation and other regulations in the jurisdictions in which the Company and its respective affiliates operate, the effect of volatility in the equity, capital and credit markets on the Company's profitability and ability to access capital and credit, a decline in the Company's credit ratings; the effect of operational risks; and the loss of key personnel. As a result, the actual future financial condition, performance and results of the Company may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made in this Announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publish any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement to reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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.

DEFINITIONS

In this Announcement, the following words and expressions shall, unless the context provides otherwise, have the following meanings: