ARE.L Regulatory News (ARE)

16 March 2020

Arena Events Group plc

("the Company" or "the Group")

Trading and COVID-19 update

Arena Events Group (AIM: ARE), the global temporary event solutions provider is updating the market on its trading performance for the fifteen-month period ending 31 March 2020 and provides an update on the impact of the COVID-19 virus.

The Group announced its second interim results for the period ended 31 December 2019 on 11 February 2020, with guidance that the "seasonally quiet calendar Q1 period in 2020 would be broadly in line with that of the prior year with cost savings offsetting any market weakness". Trading in the two months to the end of February was in line with management expectations, supported by the largest confirmed pipeline of future events and projects in the Company's history.

Since late February, the COVID-19 virus outbreak has spread more extensively across the world, impacting all regions in which the Company operates. Initially, customer events were postponed to a date later in the calendar year with the impact of cancellations more limited to smaller events and the tableware part of the business. Almost all of the larger events serviced by Arena in February and March have been delivered successfully, such as The Cheltenham Festival, Vice Music Festival in Saudi Arabia and the NFL Super Bowl LIV. Therefore, the impact on the results for the 15 months to the end of March will not be significant and we expect to report results broadly in line with expectations.

As we approach the start of the new financial year, the global situation has changed significantly over the past few days, with a wider pattern of larger event cancellations amid uncertainty over the likely duration of the disruption. Whilst only a small number of Arena's larger events have been cancelled or postponed to date, there is now a strong likelihood that a number of events in our first financial quarter will be cancelled or postponed. Given the type of large event infrastructure that Arena typically delivers, the preparation and build start dates are typically two to three months ahead of the event itself and indeed we are already on site at a number of venues for events scheduled for April and May.

With this backdrop and a period of uncertain demand, the Group has decided to prioritise its resources and efforts on delivering projects which have already commenced construction, such as the PGA Championships, those with a longer delivery timeline such as Expo 2020 Dubai and project sales, for example, at the London Stadium and Edinburgh Rugby Club, where customers have committed funds to the Group for future events, on their normal payment terms.

In parallel with the above approach, and with a view to conserving cash resources, the Group has now implemented a significant cost reduction programme including temporary lay-offs, reduced working weeks and global partial or full salary reductions, including unpaid leave which will remain in force for an initial 6 week period.

The Group is fortunate to have a number of significant long-term relationships and we are working with these customers (and indeed all customers) to manage our way through these challenging conditions.

While the Group has started to see an increased level of enquiries for equipment to help corporates enact disaster recovery plans, and structures to help local and national authorities handle the need for temporary support facilities, it is currently unclear as to the extent these will offset a prolonged period of event deferral and cancellation.

Given the high level of uncertainty around future events in the current environment we are unable to give any guidance for the 12 month trading period to the end of March 2021. We will provide further market updates as appropriate.

Finally, the Company is in preliminary discussions with a potential investor to bolster its cash resources by the issue of ordinary shares at a premium to the current share price, in order to support the business during this significant time of uncertainty. There can be no certainty that this will proceed, nor to the terms of this proposed fundraising and a further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.

 This announcement contains inside information.

Enquiries:

Arena Events Group plc

Greg Lawless, CEO via Alma PR

Steve Trowbridge, CFO

Cenkos Securities (Nomad and Broker) 0207 397 8900

Max Hartley (Corporate Finance)

Julian Morse (Sales)

Alma PR (Financial PR) 07780 901979

John Coles, Josh Royston, Helena Bogle

About Arena Events Group

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 the UK, 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.