HOTC.L Regulatory News (HOTC)

29 September 2022

HOTEL CHOCOLAT GROUP PLC

("Hotel Chocolat", the "Company" or the "Group")

Publication of FY22 Results

Hotel Chocolat Group plc, a direct-to-consumer premium chocolate brand, previously communicated on 28 July 2022 that the Japan joint venture (Japan JV) in which it holds an equity interest of 20% had entered restructuring proceedings ("Minji Saisei") resulting in the potential for the full impairment by the Group of loans to the Japan JV of £23m and guarantees of £6m in respect of its third-party debt, which is now increasingly certain.

The directors of the Company are reviewing the judgments and estimations relating to the historic accounting for the loans to the JV in the FY21 annual report and accounts. The Group is also working to address this in the FY22 annual report and accounts with its new auditor, RSM UK Audit LLP (RSM), who were appointed on 2 March 2022. Given the potential for full impairment of the loans and the guarantees of the third-party debt as previously communicated, this is not expected to have any material impact on the Group's reported trading or underlying profit performance for FY22 or any impact on the future cashflows or prospects for the Group.

The Group is preparing to finalise the FY22 annual report and accounts with RSM and will update on the timing for their publication in due course.

Notes to Editors:

Hotel Chocolat is a premium British chocolate maker with a strong and distinctive D2C brand. The business was founded by Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, who are still executives within the business, and has traded under the Hotel Chocolat brand since 2003. The Group is unusual in being a grower (organic cacao farm in Saint Lucia), a manufacturer (Cambridgeshire) and owning its extensive direct to consumer channels (branded stores, websites). The Group was admitted to trading on AIM in 2016.