Coats Regulatory News (COA)

26 February 2015

Guinness Peat Group plc ('GPG')

Resignation and appointment of Directors

As noted in GPG's 2014 full year preliminary results earlier today (26 February 2014), GPG wishes to announce the resignation of Rob Campbell, Scott Malcolm and Waldemar Szlezak from the Board of Directors, with such resignations to take effect as of 2 March 2015.

GPG also announces the appointment of Paul Forman, Richard Howes and Rajiv Sharma as Executive Directors; and David Gosnell and Alan Rosling as Independent Non-Executive Directors, all effective as of 2 March 2015.

Paul is the current Group Chief Executive of GPG's wholly owned subsidiary, Coats plc. Paul has served as a Non-Executive Director at Brammer plc from 2006 to 2010 and from 1 January 2015 has served as a Non-Executive Director at Tate & Lyle plc. Paul owns a total of 310,000 shares in GPG representing 0.02% of the Company's total voting rights as announced on 2 September 2014.

Richard is the current Chief Financial Officer of Coats plc and owns a total of 200,000 shares in GPG representing 0.01% of the Company's total voting rights as announced on 2 September 2014.

Rajiv is the current Global CEO, Industrial of Coats plc and holds no GPG shares.

Alan Rosling is co-founder and a Director of Kiran Energy, an Indian solar-power producing company, and chairs Griffin Growth Partners, a strategic advisory firm that advises clients on operating in Asia and especially India. He was formerly an Executive Director of Tata Sons. He has been a Non-Executive Director and Member of the Remuneration Committee of Coats plc since August 2011. Alan holds no GPG shares.

David Gosnell has been a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Coats plc since 19 February 2015. He was a Non-Executive Director of Brambles Ltd from June 2006 until March 2010 and rejoined Brambles Ltd in December 2011, since when he has been a Non-Executive Director and a Member of its Audit Committee and Nominations Committee. David retired as President of Global Supply and Procurement at Diageo plc in December 2014. David owns a total of 386,475 shares in GPG representing 0.03% of the Company's total voting rights.

In relation to the above appointments, no further information is required to be disclosed pursuant to Listing Rule 9.6.13.

Stuart Morgan

Company Secretary

26 February 2015

Enquiry details

UK media Richard Mountain +44 20 3727 1374

New Zealand and Australian media Geoff Senescall +64 9 309 5659

Investors Jaideep Thatai +44 20 8210 5086

About Coats

With a rich heritage dating back to the 1750s, Coats is the world's leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, at home in more than 70 countries, employing approximately 20,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2014 were US$1.7bn.

Our well-known brands and strong relationships with customers and consumers mean our products and services meet current and future needs. Our company-wide understanding of our business partners and consumers, coupled with the deep expertise of our people, builds trust and certainty.

Coats' pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company continues leading the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; extending the crafts offer into new markets and online; and applying innovative techniques to develop products in new areas such as tracer threads, aramids and fibre optics.

To find out more about Coats visit www.coats.com