CNIC.L Regulatory News (CNIC)

CentralNic Group plc

("CentralNic" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Update on gTLDs

 The biggest change to the internet since its inception

CentralNic Group plc (AIM:CNIC), the internet platform business which earns revenues from the subscription sales of domain names, is pleased to provide an update on the progress of the new generic Top-Level Domains ("gTLDs") which will be exclusively using the CentralNic technology and cash-collection platform.

Ben Crawford, CEO of CentralNic said: "In this, the biggest change to the internet since its inception, each new gTLD launching represents a completely new alternative to the traditional domain extensions such as .com and .co.uk - creating new, relevant and meaningful domain names that are compelling both for well established markets and for the vast number of potential internet users in developing countries. The CentralNic Board is excited to be taking such a strong list of new Top-Level Domains to market, from the most generic and universal of all gTLDs, .xyz, to gTLDs designed for significant and clearly-defined verticals such as .bar, .college and .wiki."

CentralNic is the exclusive platform powering 25 "uncontested" gTLDs confirmed so far, to begin launching from next week, as well as 27 gTLD applications that have passed the Initial Evaluation from industry governing body ICANN, and are now in the contention resolution process.

CentralNic has also succeeded in attracting additional domain extensions, including .co.com and TLDs to be acquired by Domain Venture Partners via its DVP II fund.

25 new Top-Level Domains poised for launch

CentralNic's first launch, .wiki, takes a term that is synonymous with online collaboration and high quality websites, and makes it available for the use of companies, developers, communities and hobbyists alike. The first .wiki domains will be available for registration to trademark holders on 3 March 2014, and to others from 8 May 2014.

This will be followed by .xyz - a mass-market Top Level Domain ("TLD") designed for global appeal, priced below the likes of .com and designed to be appropriate for any website in any language. The first .xyz domains will be available for registration to trademark holders on 20 March 2014, and to anybody who wants to join "generation XYZ" from 20 May 2014.

CentralNic's clients have an additional 23 new TLDs that are currently in the contracting process with ICANN. These fall into two categories:

1. TLDs from existing CentralNic clients, to be retailed through registrars. These domains are: .bar, .college, .contact, .fans, .feedback, .ink, .pid, and .rest - the global domain for restaurants.

2. Sixteen "DotBrand" TLDs for corporations obtaining their own business names as Top-Level Domains so as to create their own branded universe of websites. CentralNic's "DotBrand" clients include Global 1000 enterprises such as Saudi Telecom, Qatar Telecom, Etisalat and Kuwait Finance House, as well as media and entertainment leaders The Guardian (.theguardian) and the world's leading talent agency, William Morris Endeavor.

24 Domains in Contention

CentralNic's clients have applied for an additional 27 TLDs that have passed ICANN initial evaluation and are now in the contention resolution process. These include .app, .blog, .cafe, .chat, .forum, .golf, .law, .love, .mail, .news, and .school, amongst others.

Additional Domain Extensions being added to CentralNic's portfolio

CentralNic listed on AIM in September 2013 with a stated objective of increasing the number of domain extensions using its distribution platform. The Company has already started delivering on this objective, and has recently announced that it was awarded the exclusive Registry Services contract for the .co.com domain extension, which launched for trademark holders on February 24, as well as being selected as preferred partner by Domain Venture partners for Top-Level domains acquired by the DVP II fund.

-Ends-

For further information:

About CentralNic Group plc 

· CentralNic (LSE: CNIC) is a leading provider of registry services to the global market for domain names and is headquartered in London. The Company has developed a proprietary platform for powering and distributing domain names, and is the exclusive global distributor for domains using 58 different domain extensions. These include .la (for domains such as http://intel.la), .uk.com (for domains such as http://avon.uk.com), and .us.com (for domains such as http://activia.us.com).

· CentralNic's distribution network includes 1500 registrars - entities such as GoDaddy and Network Solutions in over 80 countries that retail domain names directly to the public and wholesale them through an additional network of over 100,000 resellers. End users register these domain names as an address for their websites, as a defensive measure to protect their brands online, as a method of capturing internet traffic and achieving desired rankings on search engines, and as an investment.

· CentralNic distributes domains on behalf of their clients - rights-holders or "registries" - on a revenue share basis. CentralNic-distributed domains use an annual registration fee model, paid in advance by the end users, providing a predictable annuity revenue stream for both CentralNic and its clients.

· Prior to the agreement, CentralNic was already selected as the Registry Service Provider and distributor for over 60 applications for new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) - a program devised by the domain industry regulator ICANN to supplement the existing TLDs such as .com and .co.uk with new domain extensions in the most significant change to the internet since its inception. It will be launching such domains as .college, .bar, .wiki, .xyz, .feedback, .contact, .rest and .ink. CentralNic will also be distributing additional TLDs from a further list of 27 that have passed initial evaluation and are currently in the process of contention resolution, including .app, .art, .blog, .law, .llc, .mail, .news, and school.

· CentralNic's clients acquiring and funding these new TLDs include a number of successful entrepreneurs as well as Global 1000 companies such as Saudi Telecom, Qatar Telecom, Etisalat and Kuwait Finance House, and media and entertainment industry leaders The Guardian and William Morris Endeavor, the world's largest talent agency.

· CentralNic is itself the rights holder for 24 domain extensions, including .us.com, .eu.com, .uk.com, .ru.com and .cn.com. It therefore retains 100% of the wholesale revenues for domains using those domain extensions.

· CentralNic is the owner of a portfolio of premium domain names including 18 two-letter .com domains including http://us.com and http://uk.com.

· In addition to its growth as a global distributor of domain names, the Directors believe that there is potential for CentralNic to also become a significant retailer of domain names direct to end users, and CentralNic has already obtained the necessary accreditations, built the technology, signed initial contracts and commenced trading as a domain name retailer.

All Group information and news can be found at http://www.centralnic.com