2 Aug 2018 07:00
Thursday 2 August 2018
Concepta PLC
("Concepta" or the "Company")
Oversubscribed placing raises £2,000,000
Exceptionally strong support from existing and new shareholders
Concepta PLC (AIM: CPT), the pioneering UK healthcare company and developer of the proprietary myLotus product platform targeted at the personalised mobile health market with a primary focus on women's fertility and specifically unexplained infertility, is pleased to announce that it has conditionally raised £2,000,000, before expenses, through an oversubscribed placing and subscription of 50,000,000 new Ordinary Shares of 2.5p par value (the "Placing Shares") at a price of £0.04p per Placing Share (the "Placing").
The Placing Shares, which represent 26.6% percent of the enlarged issued share capital, were placed by the Company's Placing Agent, Novum Securities Limited.
Use of proceeds
The primary use of the net proceeds will be to accelerate the expansion of the myLotus fertility product in China targeting an estimated market of 2.3 million women per year across Hebei, Shanghai, Beijing, Shandong, Henan and Liaoning through its initial distributor agreements. The Company plans to further expand its reach to other target hospitals via new Chinese distribution partners.
Additionally, the funds will be used to advance the Company's launch of myLotus in the European marketplace where it has progressed its application for CE Marking with approval expected in H2 2018. Funds will be deployed to market myLotus to be sold through online channels direct to consumers, initially in the UK and Germany.
The remaining funds will be used for general working capital purposes, put towards the manufacture of myLotus meters and test strips for commercial launch across China and Europe.
Related Party Transactions
Mercia Technologies plc ("Mercia"), a Substantial Shareholder in the Company has agreed that they will participate in the Placing, by subscribing £365,000 for 9,125,000 Placing Shares as set out below.
Matthew Walls, Chairman of Concepta has subscribed £21,000 for 525,000 Placing Shares as set out below. Adam Reynolds, Non-Executive Director of Concepta has subscribed £10,500 for 262,500 Placing Shares as set out below. Mercia, Mr Walls and Mr Reynolds are subscribing on the same terms as all other placees in the Placing.
Name | Amount subscribed | Number of Placing Shares | No of Ordinary Shares held post Admission | % of OrdinaryShare Capitalheld postAdmission |
Mercia Technologies plc | £365,000 | 9,125,000 | 34,336,428 | 18.24% |
Matthew Walls | £21,000 | 525,000 | 525,000 | 0.28% |
Adam Reynolds | £10,500 | 262,500 | 1,418,055 | 0.75% |
The participation in the Placing by Mercia, Matthew Walls and Adam Reynolds constitutes a related party transaction under the AIM Rules for Companies.
Peter Dines, who is Chief Operating Officer at Mercia , Matthew Walls who is Chairman of Concepta and Adam Reynolds who is Non-Executive Director of Concepta, are not considered independent in relation to the consideration of these related party transactions under AIM Rule 13. Therefore Neil Mesher, Barbara Spurrier and Erik Henau, who are considered to be independent directors of the Company for this purpose, have considered the participation of Mercia, Matthew Walls and Adam Reynolds, in the Placing. Having consulted with SPARK Advisory Partners, the Company's nominated adviser, the independent directors consider that the terms of Mercia, Matthew Walls and Adam Reynolds' participation in the Subscription is fair and reasonable insofar as Shareholders are concerned.
Application for Admission
Application has been made for the Placing Shares, which will rank pari passu with the Company's existing Ordinary Shares, to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is anticipated that Admission will become effective at 8.00 am on 8 August 2018.
Total voting rights
Following Admission, the Company's enlarged issued share capital will comprise 188,196,675 Ordinary Shares. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. Therefore, the total number of Ordinary Shares with voting rights will be 188,196,675. This figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Matthew Walls, Chairman of Concepta PLC said: "Whilst the past year has been a challenge, the underlying market and business opportunities remain strong. Despite the delay in engaging our myLotus product in China, reflected in the current share price, the prospective milestones of regulatory approval, completed clinical studies and growing sales are significant and will anchor the group for accelerated future growth.
I am delighted to have received firm support from our investors who recognise the potential of the myLotus product and am committed to lifting shareholder value by accelerating our commercial opportunities and driving Concepta into a highly attractive and profitable company. I look forward to advising on progress at the September interim results update."
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.
Enquiries:
The Company
Matthew Walls
Chairman
Tel +44 (0) 1234 866601
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)
Neil Baldwin / Mark Brady
Tel: +44 (0)20 368 3550
Novum Securities (Placing Agent)
Colin Rowbury
+44 (0) 20 7399 9400
Yellow Jersey (Financial PR)
Georgia Colkin / Joe Burgess / Katie Bairsto
Tel: +44 (0) 776 932 5254
Concepta Plc:
Concepta PLC is an AIM-quoted pioneering UK healthcare company that has developed a proprietary product, myLotus, targeted at the personalised mobile health market with a primary focus on unexplained infertility† in women.
myLotus is currently the only consumer product which allows both quantitative and qualitative home test measurement of a woman's personal luteinizing hormone (LH) during ovulation and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone level during pregnancy, facilitating higher conception rates and early diagnosis of fertility issues. The proposition of myLotus is to help women conceive naturally by identifying their window of fertility and optimal time for conception.
Concepta has made significant progress recently, establishing relationships with a number of distributors in China where myLotus has been given cFDA approval. Concepta is initially targeting the traditional route to market in China through Chinese hospitals and plans to add the direct-to-consumer route in the near future.
The Company is also well on its way to achieving CE-marking and commencing its direct-to-consumer launch in the UK and Europe in H2 2018. The Company has identified a significant global market opportunity, with revenue potential of the Chinese and EU unexplained infertility market estimated to be worth c.£600m per annum.
†Unexplained infertility refers to women that have been unable to conceive after 6 months of trying. This highly motivated target group of consumers won't typically be offered medical intervention until 12 months of unsuccessfully trying, with IVF not offered until two years. Research indicates couples start to take positive action ahead of this time and there is little medical support to help them do so.