Card Factory Regulatory News (CARD)

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, JAPAN OR AUSTRALIA OR ANY JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

This announcement is an advertisement for the purposes of the UK Prospectus Rules and not a prospectus and not an offer of securities for sale in any jurisdiction, including in or into the United States, Canada, Japan or Australia. Investors should not purchase or subscribe for any shares referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information in the prospectus (the "Prospectus") published by Card Factory plc in connection with the proposed admission of its ordinary shares to the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. A copy of the Prospectus will shortly be available for inspection from Card Factory plc's website at www.cardfactoryinvestors.com. This announcement is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to acquire, securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

For immediate release

15 May 2014

Card Factory plc

Publication of Prospectus

Card Factory plc (the "Company") has today published a prospectus (the "Prospectus") in connection with an initial public offering of Shares in the Company (the "IPO") announced earlier today. The Prospectus relates to the admission of the Company's ordinary shares to trading on the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Prospectus has been approved by the UK Listing Authority. Copies of the Prospectus will be available free of charge during normal business hours from the registered office of the Company at Century House, Brunel Road, 41 Industrial Estate, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF2 0XG and will shortly be made available for inspection on the website of the Company at www.cardfactoryinvestors.com.

The Prospectus has also been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM.

Enquiries:

DISCLAIMERS

The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness.

Neither this announcement, the publication in which it is contained nor any copy of it may be made or transmitted into the United States of America (including its territories or possessions, any state of the United States of America and the District of Columbia) (the "United States"). The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of the United States and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered or sold within the United States. There will be no public offering of such securities in the United States.

This announcement is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or any other jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. The distribution of this announcement may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

This announcement does not contain or constitute an offer of, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, the securities referred to herein to any person in any jurisdiction, including the United States, Australia, Canada or Japan or in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful.

This announcement is only addressed to and directed at persons in member states of the European Economic Area ("EEA") who are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(l)(e) of the Prospectus Directive (Directive 2003/71 /EC and amendments thereto, including Directive 2010/73/EU, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State of the EEA) and any implementing measure in each Relevant Member State of the EEA (the "Prospectus Directive") ("Qualified Investors").

Any purchase of Shares in the proposed initial public offering of Shares in the Company (the "IPO") should be made solely on the basis of the information contained in the final Prospectus. No reliance may or should be placed by any person for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained in this announcement or on its completeness, accuracy or fairness. The information in this announcement is subject to change.

Acquiring investments to which this announcement relates may expose an investor to a significant risk of losing all or part of the amount invested. Persons considering making such an investment should consult an authorised person specialising in advising on such investments. This announcement does not constitute a recommendation concerning the IPO. The value of Shares can decrease as well as increase. Potential investors should consult a professional adviser as to the suitability of the IPO for the person concerned. Past performance cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance.

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc, Morgan Stanley Securities Limited, UBS Limited, Nomura International plc and Investec Bank plc and their respective affiliates (together, the "Banks"), each of which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom, are acting exclusively for the Company and no-one else in connection with the IPO. They will not regard any other person as their respective clients in relation to the IPO and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients, nor for providing advice in relation to the IPO, the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein.

In connection with the IPO, each of the Banks and any of their respective affiliates, acting as investors for their own accounts, may subscribe for or purchase Shares and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell or otherwise deal for their own accounts in such Shares and other securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the IPO or otherwise. Accordingly, references in the Prospectus to the Shares being issued, offered, subscribed, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or subscription, acquisition, placing or dealing by any of the Banks and any of their affiliates acting as investors for their own accounts. In addition, certain of the Banks or their affiliates may enter into financing arrangements and swaps in connection with which they or their affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of Shares. None of the Banks intends to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.

None of the Banks or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for/or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to the Company, its subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

In connection with the IPO, Morgan Stanley Securities Limited as Stabilising Manager, or any of its agents, may (but will be under no obligation to), to the extent permitted by applicable law, over-allot Shares or effect other transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the Shares at a higher level than that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. The Stabilising Manager is not required to enter into such transactions and such transactions may be effected on any securities market, over-the-counter market, stock exchange or otherwise and may be undertaken at any time during the period commencing on the date of the commencement of conditional dealings of the Shares on the London Stock Exchange and ending no later than 30 calendar days thereafter. However, there will be no obligation on the Stabilising Manager or any of its agents to effect stabilising transactions and there is no assurance that stabilising transactions will be undertaken. Such stabilisation, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time without prior notice. In no event will measures be taken to stabilise the market price of the Shares above the price at which each Share is to be issued or sold under the IPO. Except as required by law or regulation, neither the Stabilising Manager nor any of its agents intends to disclose the extent of any over-allotments made and/or stabilisation transactions conducted in relation to the IPO.

In connection with the IPO, the Stabilising Manager may, for stabilisation purposes, over-allot Shares up to a maximum of 10% of the total number of Shares comprised in the IPO. For the purposes of allowing the Stabilising Manager to cover short positions resulting from any such over-allotments and/or from sales of Shares effected by it during the stabilising period, the Principal Shareholders of the Company, being funds managed by Charterhouse General Partners (IX) Limited, will grant to it the Over-allotment Option, pursuant to which the Stabilising Manager may purchase or procure purchasers for additional Shares up to a maximum of 10% of the total number of Shares comprised in the IPO (the "Over-allotment Shares") at the Offer Price. The Over-allotment Option will be exercisable in whole or in part, upon notice by the Stabilising Manager, at any time on or before the 30th calendar day after the commencement of conditional dealings of the Shares on the London Stock Exchange. Any Over-allotment Shares made available pursuant to the Over-allotment Option will rank pari passu in all respects with the Shares, including for all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid on the Shares, will be purchased on the same terms and conditions as the Shares being issued or sold in the IPO and will form a single class for all purposes with the other Shares.