13 May 2019 14:46
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT (INCLUDING THE APPENDIX) AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
13 May 2019
Escape Hunt plc
("Escape Hunt" or the "Company")
Result of Placing
and
Posting of Circular
Escape Hunt (AIM: ESC), a global leader in the high growth escape rooms sector, is pleased to announce the successful completion of the Placing announced earlier today.
A total of 6,666,667 Placing Shares have been placed at the Placing Price of 60 pence per share, subject to, inter alia, shareholder approval being obtained at a general meeting of the Company to be convened for 31 May 2019, raising £4.0 million (before expenses). The Placing Price represents a discount of 1.6 per cent. to the closing share price on 10 May 2019.
Application will be made for the admission of the 6,666,667 Placing Shares to trading on AIM and dealings in these shares is expected to occur at 8.00 a.m. on 4 June 2019.
Directors' Participation
All the Directors of the Company (and a PDMR, Andrew Jacobs) participated in the Placing by subscribing for Placing Shares at the Placing Price and their resulting shareholdings immediately following Admission will be as follows:
Director/PDMR | Current shareholding of Ordinary Shares | % of issued share capital | No. of Placing Shares | Shareholding immediately following Admission | % of Enlarged Share Capital |
Richard Rose | 37,000 | 0.18 | 16,666 | 53,666 | 0.20 |
Richard Harpham | 7,400 | 0.04 | 16,666 | 24,066 | 0.09 |
Alistair Rae | 14,800 | 0.07 | 16,500 | 31,300 | 0.12 |
Adrian Jones | 1,777,777 | 8.78 | 16,666 | 1,794,443 | 6.66 |
Karen Bach | 7,400 | 0.04 | 1,666 | 9,066 | 0.03 |
Andrew Jacobs | 0 | 0 | 16,666 | 16,666 | 0.06 |
Related Party Transactions
The following substantial shareholders, as defined in the AIM Rules for Companies, in that they currently have an interest in more than 10 per cent. of the Company's current issued share capital, have agreed to subscribe for Placing Shares (as set out below). Each participation will constitute a related party transaction for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies:
Shareholder | No. of Placing Shares |
Canaccord Genuity Group Inc | 2,767,481 |
JO Hambro Capital Management | 759,170 |
Gresham House Strategic plc | 773,334 |
The Directors consider, having consulted with the Company's Nominated Adviser, Stockdale Securities, that the participation by each of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc, JO Hambro Capital Management and Gresham House Strategic Plc is fair and reasonable insofar as the shareholders of the Company are concerned.
Posting of Circular
The Company will shortly be publishing a Circular, containing a notice of general meeting, which will be sent to shareholders, together with a proxy form. The Circular will also be available on the Company's website at www.escapehunt.com.
Richard Harpham, Chief Executive of Escape Hunt, commented:
"The Board is delighted with the ongoing support shown by existing investors and wishes to welcome new shareholders at this exciting time in the Company's development."
All capitalised terms in this announcement are as defined in the Company's announcement of earlier today.
-ends-
For further enquiries please contact:
Escape Hunt plc |
|
Richard Harpham (Chief Executive Officer) | +44 (0) 7584 173958 |
Alistair Rae (Chief Financial Officer) | +44 (0) 7736 883934 |
Mustapha Omar (Commercial Director) | +44 (0) 7767 697596 |
|
|
Stockdale Securities Ltd - Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker |
|
Daniel Harris, David Coaten (Corporate Finance) | +44 (0) 20 7601 6100 |
Fiona Conroy (Corporate Broking) |
|
|
|
Peel Hunt LLP - Joint Broker |
|
George Sellar, Guy Pengelley (Corporate Finance) | +44 (0) 20 7418 8900 |
Rory James-Duff, Sohail Akbar (ECM) |
|
Yellow Jersey PR Ltd - Financial Public Relations |
|
Tim Thompson | +44 (0) 20 3004 9512 |
Harriet Jackson |
|
Henry Wilkinson |
|
About Escape Hunt plc
The Escape Hunt Group is a global leader in providing live escape-the-room experiences with a network of owner-operated sites in the UK and a global network of franchised outlets in six continents. The Company was re-admitted to AIM in May 2017 and has a strategy of creating high quality premium games and experiences, which incorporates branded IP content.