Firstgroup Regulatory News (FGP)

27 June 2023

FirstGroup plc

Buyback Programme

On 8 June 2023 FirstGroup plc (‘FirstGroup’ or the ‘Group’) announced a proposed on-market buyback programme to purchase up to £115m of ordinary shares of 5p (‘the New Programme’) subject to approval of the normal buyback authority at the Company’s Annual General Meeting to be held on 21 July 2023.

The Group has entered into a non-discretionary arrangement with Liberum Capital Limited and RBC Europe Limited which will enable the purchase of ordinary shares for the New Programme to continue through close periods.

The New Programme will commence immediately following the later to occur of the Company’s 2023 AGM (being held on 21 July 2023) and completion of the current £75 million buyback programme announced on 16 December 2022. It is anticipated that the New Programme will end no later than 1 August 2024, subject to market conditions.

The sole purpose of the New Programme is to reduce the issued share capital of the Group and therefore the repurchased shares will initially be held in Treasury, before being cancelled at a later date. Treasury shares are not entitled to dividends and have no voting rights at general meetings.

Any purchase of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the New Programme will be announced no later than 7:30 a.m. on the business day following the calendar day on which the purchase occurs.

The New Programme will be conducted within certain pre-set parameters including those prescribed by the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014 (as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended)) and Chapter 12 of the Listing Rules.

A further announcement will be made in relation to the commencement of the New Programme, in due course.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements included or incorporated by reference within this announcement may constitute 'forward-looking statements' with respect to the business, strategy and plans of the Group and our current goals, assumptions and expectations relating to our future financial condition, performance and results. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. No statement in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast for any period. Shareholders are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Except as required by the UK Listing Rules and applicable law, the Group does not undertake any obligation to update or change any forward-looking statements to reflect events occurring after the date of this announcement.

Notes                                                                                                                                                    

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR 6 Annex 1R: 2.2 and 2.4