Last checked at 20 Apr 2023 09:33
20 April 2023
Franchise Brands plc
("Franchise Brands", the "Company" or the "Group")
Result of General Meeting, Completion of Fundraise and Acquisition
and
Total Voting Rights
Franchise Brands plc, an international multi-brand franchise business, announces that the Resolutions put to Shareholders at the General Meeting held earlier today in connection with the Fundraise and Acquisition of Hydraulic Authority 1 Limited, the owner of Pirtek Europe Limited, were duly passed. Accordingly, the Fundraise and Acquisition announced on 3 April 2023 are expected to complete upon Admission tomorrow, 21 April 2023.
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman of the Company, commented:
"We are pleased to conditionally complete the transformational acquisition of Pirtek Europe. The acquisition will expand the Group's operations into ten countries and will significantly advance the Board's ambition of creating a market-leading international B2B multi-brand franchisor that generates its income equally from the UK, North America and continental Europe."
"I am delighted to welcome Pirtek Europe's strong management team, led by CEO Alex McNutt, who have made a significant commitment in the equity fundraising to finance the acquisition. We look forward to working with them and all the Pirtek Europe teams to further support franchisees to grow the combined businesses."
"We are now focused on integration and in particular, the opportunity to further leverage central services efficiently, principally in the areas of finance, marketing and technology".
The proxy votes received from shareholders on each resolution are set out below:
Resolution | Description | Votes For | % of Votes Cast | Votes Against | % of Votes Cast | Total votes cast (excluding votes withheld | Votes Withheld |
ORDINARY RESOLUTIONS |
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RES:001 | Authority to allot shares in respect of the Fundraising and Acquisition | 104,002,900 | 99.34% | 687,428 | 0.66% | 104,690,328 | 6,752 |
SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS |
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RES:002 | Disapplication of pre-emption rights in respect of the Fundraising and Acquisition | 103,974,379 | 99.32% | 715,949 | 0.68% | 104,690,328 | 6,752 |
Total Voting Rights
On Admission, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 193,784,080 Ordinary Shares with one voting right each. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in treasury. Therefore, the total number of Ordinary Shares and voting rights in the Company will be 193,784,080 from Admission. 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 to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Capitalised terms used in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the announcement issued by the Company on 3 April 2023, unless the context provides otherwise.
Enquiries:
Franchise Brands plc | + 44 (0) 162 550 7910 |
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman |
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Andrew Mallows, Interim Chief Financial Officer |
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Julia Choudhury, Corporate Development Director |
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Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) | +44 (0) 20 3328 5656 |
Jeremy Porter / George Payne (Corporate Finance) Amrit Nahal / Joscelin Pinnington (Sales & Corporate Broking) |
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Dowgate Capital Limited (Joint Broker) | +44 (0) 20 3903 7715 |
James Serjeant / Russell Cook / Nicholas Chambers (Corporate Finance) |
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Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) | +44 (0)20 7710 7688 |
Matthew Blawat / Francis North | |
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MHP Group (Financial PR) | +44 (0) 20 3128 8100 |
Katie Hunt / Catherine Chapman | +44 (0) 7884 494112 |
| franchisebrands@mhpgroup.com |
About Franchise Brands plc
Franchise Brands is an international, multi-brand franchisor focused on building market-leading businesses primarily via a franchise model. The Group including Pirtek Europe has a combined network of 650 franchisees across seven franchise brands in ten countries covering the UK, North America and Europe.
Franchise Brands' focus is on B2B van-based reactive and planned services. The Company owns several market-leading brands with a long trading history, including Metro Rod, Metro Plumb, Filta and now Pirtek in Europe, all of which benefit from the Group's central support services, in particular technology, marketing, management experience and other group resources. At the centre of Franchise Brands' business building strategy is helping its franchisees grow their businesses: "if they grow, we grow".
Franchise Brands, including Pirtek Europe, employs some 690 people across the Group.
For further information, visit www.franchisebrands.co.uk