Gusbourne Regulatory News (GUS)

Tuesday 8th October 2024

Gusbourne PLC

("Gusbourne or the Company")

Long-term deep discount bond extension

Gusbourne Plc, (AIM: GUS) the English sparkling wine producer today announces that it has completed an extension of its existing long-term secured deep discount bond through the issue of an additional £1m bond, providing additional funding for working capital purposes and future growth.

Background to the Extension

On 19 January 2024, the Company announced that it had agreed with Moongate Holdings Group Limited ("Moongate"), a company associated with Lord Ashcroft, for the issue of a new £20m long-term secured deep discount bond ("Original DDB") to support the Company's working capital and ongoing growth. The subscription price of the Original DDB was £20m, issued at an imputed discount rate of 7.75% per annum on quarterly rests. The nominal amount was £26.3m, payable on 12 August 2027 (the "Repayment Date").

With effect from 7th October 2024 (the "Amendment Date"), the Original DDB was amended through the additional subscription of £1m (the "DDB Extension"). This funding is required for interim working capital into Q2 2025 while the Company continues to review its long-term strategic options.

Key terms of the DDB Extension:

· A total fixed nominal amount of £28.0m, is repayable on the Repayment Date. This comprises:

o  A nominal amount of £1.26m in respect of the additional subscription of £1m representing an imputed discount rate equivalent to 8.34% per annum on quarterly rests. 

o  A nominal amount of £26.74m in respect of the original subscription of £20m, representing an imputed discount rate of 7.75% per annum on quarterly rests from the original subscription on 19 January 2024 to the Amendment Date; and an imputed discount rate of 8.34% per annum on quarterly rests from the Amendment date to the Repayment Date.

· The default discount rate is 2% higher than the imputed discount rate;

· Other key terms and conditions of the DDB are unchanged from the Original DDB.

Jim Ormonde, Chairman, said:

"The Board are pleased to announce this additional funding and are very appreciative of the continued support of the major shareholder to underpin the Company's growth strategy."

Related Party Transaction

Lord Ashcroft holds an interest in 66.76% of the Company's ordinary shares of 1 pence each and is a Substantial Shareholder in the Company as defined by the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules"). The DDB Extension constitutes a related party transaction pursuant to AIM Rule 13. The independent directors of the Company for the purposes of the DDB Extension, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, Panmure Liberum, consider that the terms of the DDB Extension are fair and reasonable insofar as shareholders are concerned.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as amended by regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain. The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Katharine Berry, Chief Financial Officer.

Note: This and other press releases are available at the Company's website: www.gusbourne.com/investors

Note to Editors

Gusbourne produces and distributes a range of high quality and award winning vintage English sparkling wines from grapes grown in its own vineyards in Kent and West Sussex.

The Gusbourne business was founded by Andrew Weeber in 2004 with the first vineyard plantings at Appledore in Kent. The first wines were released in 2010 to critical acclaim. Following additional vineyard plantings in 2013 and 2015 in both Kent and West Sussex, Gusbourne now has 93 hectares of mature vineyards. The Nest visitor centre was opened next to the winery in Appledore in 2017, providing tours, tastings and a direct outlet for our wines.

Right from the beginning, Gusbourne's intention has always been to produce the finest English sparkling wines. Starting with carefully chosen sites, we use best practice in establishing and maintaining the vineyards and conduct green harvests to ensure we achieve the highest quality grapes for each vintage. A quest for excellence is at the heart of everything we do. We blind taste hundreds of samples before finalising our blends and even after the wines are bottled, they spend extended time on their lees to add depth and flavour. Once disgorged, extra cork ageing further enhances complexity. Our winemaking process remains traditional, but one that is open to innovation where appropriate. It takes four years to bring a vineyard into full production and a further four years to transform those grapes into Gusbourne's premium sparkling wine.

Gusbourne's luxury brand enjoys premium price positioning and is distributed in the finest establishments both in the UK and abroad. Our wines can be found in leading luxury retailers, restaurants, hotels and stockists, always being aware that where we are says a lot about who we are.

For more information, visit www.gusbourneplc.com