UNG.L Regulatory News (UNG)

9 January 2019  

AIM: UNG.L

Universe Group plc

("Universe", the "Group" or the "Company")

NEW PAYMENT SERVICE LAUNCH WITH EURO GARAGES

Universe Group plc (AIM: UNG.L), a leading developer and supplier of point of sale, payment and loyalty systems, is pleased to announce it has commenced a roll-out with major new customer Euro Garages Ltd ("EG Group") to provide Gempay 3 payment terminals and payment processing services to 370 petrol forecourts in the UK.

EG Group is a leading petrol forecourt retail convenience operator who has established partnerships with global brands such as ESSO, BP, Shell, Carrefour, Louis Delhaize, SPAR, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Greggs and Subway. The business has an established pedigree of delivering a world class fuel, convenience and food-to-go offer, operating over 4,700 retail sites in Europe and the USA.

The Gempay 3 is a market leading payment terminal and supports a full range of debit, credit and fuel cards including contactless, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and loyalty programmes including Nectar, Clubcard and Star Rewards. The latest PCI-PTS 4 (Payment Card Industry - PIN Transaction Security) compliance allows an extended operating life to ensure excellent return on investment for retailers.

In addition to the 540 payment terminals, Universe will provide EG Group with card processing services through its payment platform. This roll out is now over 80% deployed and is due for completion by April of this year. Payment transaction volumes are increasing rapidly and currently exceed 3 million per month.

Jeremy Lewis, Chief Executive of Universe Group plc, commented:

"EG Group has a well-deserved, world-wide reputation for innovation and high levels of customer service. It is an international force in forecourt and convenience retailing and we are delighted to have won our first major contract with them. The Gempay 3 payment solution has been designed to meet the very demanding requirements of the forecourt and convenience sectors and the continuing roll out shows how well it is being received by major retailers." 

Guy Bickerstaffe, EG Group Director of Development, expressed:

"We are always looking for robust, best of breed systems to support our expanding business. The Gempay 3 payment terminals and under-lying payment platform are exactly what we need to ensure, fast, efficient and secure payment processing for our customers. We are looking forward to partnering with Universe into the future."

This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 ("MAR").

For further information:

Universe Group plc T: +44 2380 689 510

Andrew Blazye, Non-Executive Chairman

Jeremy Lewis, Chief Executive

finnCap T: +44 20 7220 0500

Stuart Andrews / Henrik Persson (Corporate Finance)

Richard Chambers (ECM)

IFC Advisory T: +44 20 3934 6630

Tim Metcalfe

Heather Armstrong

About Universe Group plc:

Universe provides some of the world's leading retailers with point of sale, payment and loyalty solutions.  The Group's solutions are based on its own proprietary software and are offered out of the cloud on a software as a service model with its data centres processing over 6 billion transactions every year. For further information, please see www.universe-group.co.uk

About EG Group:

Founded in 2001 by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa, United Kingdom based EG Group is a leading petrol forecourt retail convenience operator who has established partnerships with global brands such as ESSO, BP, Shell, Carrefour, Louis Delhaize, SPAR, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Greggs and Subway. The business has an established pedigree of delivering a world class fuel, convenience and food-to-go offer.

EG Group employs over 20,000 staff working in over 4,700 sites across various European markets including the United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy and the USA. EG Group has made a significant commitment to delivering a modern consumer retail offer which exceeds expectations and creates a true 'one-stop' retail destination to satisfy multiple consumer missions.

The business is regularly recognized for innovation and investment in convenience retail assets, the employees and the systems. Zuber Issa and Mohsin Issa, Founders and co-CEOs of Euro Garages, were jointly named the 2016 NACS Insight European Convenience Industry Leader of the Year. For further information, please see www.eurogarages.com .