17 Feb 2015 07:00
APC Technology Group PLC ("APC" or the "Group")
Contract win and £1.45 million placing
APC Technology Group plc (AIM: APC), the provider of technologies and services intended to help improve organisational sustainability and specialist distributor of electronic components, is pleased to announce the recommencement of orders with Wm Morrisons and the raising of additional working capital to support this and other contract roll outs.
Recommencement of Wm Morrisons contract
The Group is pleased to announce that the positive progress reported in the full year 2014 announcement released on 22 January 2015 has continued into February, with the first new orders received from Wm Morrisons for the next phase of their LED lighting roll out. Although the total value of this next phase of Wm Morrisons orders is yet to be fully established, the orders received thus far are significant and give the Board confidence that expectations in the market for growth in FY2015 will be met.
Working Capital Placement
As a result of the level of new orders being received generally and expectations for growth in Minimise Energy, Minimise Generation and elsewhere in the Group's subsidiary companies, the Board is pleased to announce that it has today raised, in aggregate, £1,450,000 before expenses via a conditional placement through the Company's broker, Northland Capital Partners Limited, of 6,590,910 new ordinary shares of 2 pence each in the capital of the Company (the "Ordinary Shares") at a price of 22 pence per new Ordinary Share (the "Placing Shares") to new and existing institutional investors (the "Placing").
The Placing further strengthens the working capital of the Group and is a follow on to the institutional working capital placement announced on 8 December 2014. The Board is pleased to note that these new funds have been raised at a 10 per cent premium to the 8 December 2014 placing price. The closing mid-market price of the Company's Ordinary shares on 16 February 2015 (being the latest practicable business day prior to the date of this announcement) was 22.75 pence per share (the "Closing Price"). The Placing has therefore been conducted at a 3 per cent discount to the Closing Price.
It is the current intention of two of the Company's Directors, Richard Hodgson and Andrew Shortis, to subscribe for, in aggregate, 227,272 Placing Shares tomorrow, which is proposed to take place on the same terms as the Placing (the "Director Subscription"), and therefore augment the total size of the Placing to £1.5 million. A further announcement will be made as appropriate.
The Placing is conditional on the admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission") and application has been made to the London Stock Exchange plc for Admission to become effective and dealings in the Placing Shares to commence at 8.00 a.m. on or around 19 February 2015.
Following completion of the Placing, but before the Director Subscription, the total issued ordinary share capital of the Group will comprise 90,360,403 ordinary shares of 2 pence each. The Placing Shares will be fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the Group's existing ordinary shares.
Mark Robinson, CEO of APC Technology Group PLC, commented:
"We are delighted to have received these first new orders from Wm Morrisons and we look forward to this next phase of work with them. The progress that the Group is making, especially across its Minimise subsidiaries, is very encouraging. We remain appreciative of our institutional shareholders in their support of the Group's growth and look forward to providing the market with further updates in due course."
Enquiries:
APC Technology Group plc 01634 290588
Mark Robinson, Chief Executive Officer www.apc-plc.co.uk
Richard Hodgson, Chief Financial Officer
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) 020 7409 3494
James Harris / Angela Hallett / Ritchie Balmer
Northland Capital Partners Limited (Broker) 020 7382 1100
John Howes / Alice Lane
Redleaf Polhill (Financial PR) 020 7382 4730
Rebecca Sanders-Hewett / David Ison apc@redleafpr.com