MORE.L Regulatory News (MORE)

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

18 September 2024

Hostmore plc

Business Update

Further to its announcement on 9 September 2024, Hostmore plc (the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"), is providing an update to the market.

Sale Process Update

The sale process for the Group's corporate stores remains ongoing, with completion continued to be expected by the end of September. The Group's trading subsidiary, Thursdays (UK) Limited ("Thursdays"), continues to operate normally and all existing stores remain open.

Appointment of Administrators and Listing Suspension

As announced previously, the store sale consideration is expected to be below the par value of the secured borrowings of Thursdays, and therefore it remains unlikely that the equity owner of Thursdays, being the Company (Hostmore plc), will recover any value for its ownership. The Group previously disclosed that the Company (Hostmore plc), being the listed non-trading holding company of Thursdays, would be delisted and wound up. The Board of the Company has now resolved to file for administration of the Company and, consequently, the listing of the Company's ordinary shares has been suspended.

The Board has resolved to appoint Daniel Smith and Julian Heathcote of Teneo Financial Advisory Limited as joint administrators of the Company.

The filing of administration by the Company will have no direct impact on the operations of the trading subsidiary, Thursdays.

The Board continues to expect that, in due course, the listing of the Company's ordinary shares will be cancelled and the Company will be wound up.

The Board believes these actions are in the best interests of creditors and other stakeholders of the Company.

Conclusion

The Board is immensely proud of all Hostmore colleagues, both in store and in the support centre, who worked tirelessly to execute a turnaround programme over the past 18 months and to deliver a successful result on the proposed acquisition of TGI Fridays, Inc. ("TGI Fridays"). The Board inherited a very challenging set of circumstances, but a focus on reducing costs, revising the Group's capital allocation policy and implementing both Board and senior management changes, meant that the Group was able to reduce annualised expenditures by £12 million, significantly reduce losses from unprofitable stores, and operate the Group's stores at a best in class efficiency level for the sector, all while improving guest scores to our highest levels on record.

Unfortunately, all of the Board's efforts to implement a lasting solution to support the long-term financial future of the business came against a highly challenging trading and macroeconomic backdrop, and efforts to create value for shareholders through the proposed acquisition of TGI Fridays, while well-advanced, encountered adverse events outside of the Board's control.

The person responsible for releasing the announcement is Matthew Bibby, CFO of Hostmore plc.

ENDS

Enquiries

Hostmore plc

Matthew Bibby, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +44 (0)330 460 5588

Email: enquiries@hostmoregroup.com

DGA Group

Jonathon Brill, James Styles

Tel: +44 (0)20 7664 5095

Email: Hostmore@dgagroup.com