ARE.L Regulatory News (ARE)

 21 June 2018

Arena Events Group plc

Arena Acquires Events Solution Limited

Arena Events Group plc (AIM: ARE, 'Arena' or 'the Group'), is pleased to announce it has further expanded its UK product portfolio with the acquisition of specialist barrier and fencing company Events Solution Limited (the "Company").

The acquisition, with total consideration of £2.5 million, will see the Worksop-based company integrated into Arena's current UK business. Events Solution's core product range includes pedestrian barriers, Heras fencing, front of stage and Metropolitan Police barriers, as well as gantries and staging. The Company has a wide range of customers including British Cycling, Live Nation, music festivals and local councils, with no single customer greater than 10% of annual sales. The Company generated revenue of £1.5 million in the year ended 31 March 2018 and generated pre-tax profit of £0.4 million.

The consideration will be split with £2.2 million paid on closing (£1.75 million in cash and £0.45 million by way of an issue of new equity at a price of 62 pence per share) and deferred consideration of £0.3 million paid over the next 12 months.

This latest acquisition is in line with Arena's growth strategy of providing a comprehensive suite of services to event organisers and will significantly strengthen the Group's offering to existing clients as well as help attract new clients. Events Solution will continue to operate out of its existing Worksop base and will also expand to offer products from Arena's existing Cambridgeshire hub as of next year.

Application has been made for the 726,000 new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. The new Ordinary Shares will rank pari-passu with existing Ordinary Shares and it is expected that Admission will occur at 8.00 a.m. on or around 22 June 2018.

Following Admission, Arena's issued ordinary share capital will comprise 117,879,481 Ordinary Shares, of which none are held in treasury. Therefore, the total number of Ordinary Shares with voting rights in Arena following Admission will be 117,879,481.

Greg Lawless, Chief Executive Officer of Arena, commented:

"Building on our recent UK acquisitions of specialist furniture hire company, GLD, and temporary refrigeration supplier Ice House Rentals, the addition of Events Solution adds yet another in-house capability to Arena. This diversification extends our offering to existing clients as well as attracting new clients to Arena's other services."

James Wood, MD of Events Solution, commented:

"Since being established in 2010, Events Solution has established an array of clients ranging from film premieres in Leicester Square to mass participation events to national music tours and festivals. Joining Arena will give us the resources and extended network to continue growing our client portfolio in line with our ambitions. Myself and the team are very excited about a strong future as part of Arena."

This announcement contains inside information.

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Notes to Editors:

Arena Events Group plc (www.arenagroup.com) is a provider of temporary physical structures, seating, ice rinks, furniture and interiors. The Group has operations across Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia, and current clients include Wimbledon Tennis, The Open, PGA European Tour and Ryder Cup.

The Group services major sporting, outdoor and leisure events, providing a managed solution from concept and design through to the construction and integration of the final structure and interior. Contracts range in size and complexity from a simple equipment rental for a local outdoor event, to an integrated solution of multiple structures and interiors for a major international sporting event.