Last checked at 23 May 2024 07:00
23 May 2024
Lords Group Trading plc
('Lords', the 'Group' or the 'Company')
Issue of Equity
Lords, a leading distributor of building materials in the UK, was pleased to announce the acquisition by Lords of A.W. Lumb on 1 March 2022 (the 'Acquisition') and A.W. Lumb has since become an integral part of the Group operating in the North of England.
The Company now announces that, at the request of the Managing Director of A.W. Lumb (the 'Vendor'), the Company has agreed that remaining deferred consideration due to the Vendor of an aggregate of £480,000 payable in equal annual tranches until February 2027 will now be settled via the issue of new ordinary shares in the Company on an unchanged deferral schedule ('Deferred Consideration').
As a result, the Company has now issued 255,319 new ordinary shares of 0.5 pence each in the Company ('New Ordinary Shares') at an effective issue price of 47.0 pence per New Ordinary Share in respect of the 2024 Deferred Consideration payment to the Vendor.
Accordingly, an application has been made for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange ('Admission'), and it is expected that Admission will occur at 8.00 a.m. on 30 May 2024. The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares in issue. Following Admission of the New Ordinary Shares, the Company's issued ordinary share capital will comprise 165,855,714 ordinary shares, none of which are held in treasury.
Therefore, following Admission of the New Ordinary Shares, the total number of ordinary shares with voting rights in the Company will be 165,855,714, which may be used by Shareholders 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 Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Deferred Consideration share issuances to the Vendor, each of 255,319 new ordinary shares in the Company, will occur in February 2025, February 2026 and February 2027. Remaining Acquisition deferred consideration payable to other Acquisition vendors of an aggregate of £1.44 million will remain payable in equal cash annual amounts through to February 2027.
Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Lords, commented:
"As confirmed at the time of publication of the Group's final results, Lords continues to successfully execute on its stated strategy and delivered top line growth and gained market share in FY23. The quality and commitment of the Group's employees are central to the continued growth of the Group. The Group was therefore pleased to respond to the request from a senior manager to receive previously cash acquisition consideration in equity, in doing so further aligning his interests with those of Lords shareholders."
- Ends -
FOR FURTHER ENQUIRIES:
Lords Group Trading plc | Via Buchanan |
Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 |
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7220 0500 |
Ben Jeynes / Dan Hodkinson (Corporate Finance) Julian Morse / Henry Nicol / Charlie Combe (Sales and ECM) |
Berenberg Joint Broker Matthew Armitt / Richard Bootle / Detlir Elezi
| Tel: +44 (0) 20 3207 7800 |
Buchanan Communications |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 |
Henry Harrison-Topham / Steph Whitmore / Abby Gilchrist
| LGT@buchanan.uk.com |
Notes to editors:
Lords is a specialist distributor of building, plumbing, heating and DIY goods. The Group principally sells to local tradesmen, small to medium sized plumbing and heating merchants, construction companies and retails directly to the general public.
The Group operates through the following two divisions:
· Merchanting: supplies building materials and DIY goods through its network of merchant businesses and online platform capabilities. It operates both in the 'light side' (building materials and timber) and 'heavy side' (civils and landscaping), through 31 locations in the UK.
· Plumbing and Heating: a specialist distributor in the UK of plumbing and heating products to a UK network of independent merchants, installers and the general public. The division offers its customers an attractive proposition through a multi-channel offering. The division operates over 17 locations enabling nationwide next day delivery service.
Lords was established over 35 years ago as a family business with its first retail unit in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. Since then, the Group has grown to a business operating from 48 sites.
Lords was admitted to trading on AIM in July 2021 with the ticker LORD.L. For additional information please visit www.lordsgrouptradingplc.co.uk.