Personal Group Regulatory News (PGH)

Personal Group Holdings PLC

(the "Company", "Personal Group", "PGH" or "Group")

Trading Update

Personal Group PLC, a leading provider of employee services in the UK, is pleased to provide the following update on trading for the six months ended 30 June 2018.

The Company had a good start to the year, with trading in line with management's expectations and ahead of last year's performance in all three business segments. The core insurance business continued to perform well, while PG Let's Connect, the Company's salary sacrifice business, also had an encouraging start to the year. The Company's SaaS business also performed as expected, with an increase in revenues compared to last year.

PG Let's Connect benefited from Royal Mail Group's decision to run its salary sacrifice offer to its employees on a continuous basis from March onwards this year. PG Let's Connect was also appointed to the Crown Commercial Services framework, one of the biggest public procurement frameworks in the UK, in February, which significantly expands the potential customer base.

The Company's SaaS business saw two significant client wins in the first half of the year: Randstad, with 4,300 employees, and St John Ambulance, with 6,000 employees.

The launch of the next product version of the Sage Employee Benefits proposition, extended to Sage's wider client base, continues to gear up and we look forward to progressing our partnership. Indeed, the Company's commitment to the product has strengthened this year. With immediate access to the significant but fragmented small and medium business market, Sage remains a natural channel partner for the Company.

As planned, the Company launched the next generation of the Hapi app during the period. The updated version has improved accessibility, now being available via the Apple app store, and includes much greater user functionality.

During the first half of the year, considerable progress was made in rationalising the Company's supply chain. A number of additional products are now provided directly by the Company, including reward and recognition, retail discounts and cinema tickets, which previously relied on services from third parties. This initiative is driving additional commercial benefit, with increased revenues and improved margins across some offers, while also reducing supply chain risk.

Mark Scanlon, Chief Executive of Personal Group, commented:

"Personal Group has performed in line with management's expectations during the first half of the year, which saw improvements across all parts of the business. This has provided us with a good foundation as we enter the second half of 2018, which has also started well. The Board remains confident in its outlook for the full year."

-ENDS-

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Notes to Editors:

Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM: PGH) is a technology enabled employee services business, working with employers to drive productivity though better employee engagement and a more motivated workforce. With over 30 years' experience, the Company provides employee benefits and services to over 2 million employees across the UK.

Personal Group's offer comprises 8,000 in-house and third party products and services, from c.60 supply lines. In-house services include employee insurance products (hospital plans, convalescence plans and death benefit plans) and the provision of technology via salary sacrifice (iPads, computers, laptops, smart phones and smart TVs). Third party services include retail discounts, employee assistance programmes, wellbeing programmes and salary sacrifice cars and bikes.

The offer is provided via the Company's proprietary technology platform, Hapi. The platform is intuitive, designed primarily for app deployment and is also accessible via the web on PC and tablet, driving better engagement, communication and value recognition. Hapi is flexible and can quickly integrate additional services, such as existing employee services and partner platforms. Hapi is a SaaS product.

Through technology and select acquisitions, the Company has grown its addressable market from 6m to 32m UK employees; including 15.6m SME employees targeted via its partnership with Sage, the UK's largest software company.

Personal Group's innovative approach to using technology to deliver its programmes, combined with its face-to-face method of communicating with employees, makes its offer compelling to blue chip clients across the UK as a way of attracting, retaining and motivating employees. 

Personal Group has a strong client base across a range of sectors including passenger transport, healthcare, logistics and food manufacturing. Clients include: Stagecoach, Four Seasons Health Care, Priory Group, Spire Healthcare, Bibby, 2 Sisters Food Group and Young's Seafood.

For further information, please see www.personalgroup.com