26 Jun 2018 18:11
26 June 2018
LEI: 213800JLR6YIRMSCUS98
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Air Partner plc ('Air Partner', 'the Company' or 'Group)
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LTIP Award vest and option exercise and PDMR Notification
Air Partner, the global aviation services group, announces that share awards previously granted under the Air Partner plc Long Term Share Incentive Plan 2012, in the form of nil cost options over ordinary shares of 1 pence each, vested on 22 June 2018. The vesting related to awards granted on 3 June 2015 ("the 2015 Award") and covered the performance period from 1 February 2015 to 31 January 2018.
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The 2015 Award was subject to a performance condition, which included both an Earnings per Share ("EPS") criteria, and Total Shareholder Return ("TSR") element, the full details of which can be found on page 56 of the Group's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 January 2018 (https://www.airpartner.com/en/investors/financial-reports/) ("Annual Report and Accounts").
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The Board has approved the vesting of the 2015 Award as set out below. The Board confirms that recorded EPS growth is calculated correctly from the figures reported and explained in the 2018 Annual Report and Accounts; the restatement of prior year figures is fully addressed in the Financial Review on Page 28.
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Performance criterion | Achieved | % of award to vest |
EPS growth | Growth greater than RPI + 20% per annum or above. | 100% |
TSR | 75th or above percentile against the FTSE Small Cap Total Return Index (excluding investment Trusts). | 100% |
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Following such vesting, the Company has been notified on 22 June 2018 that Mark Briffa exercised options and acquired shares, and that as part of this transaction, some shares were surrendered to pay the PAYE/NIC liabilities related with the option exercises as set out below. The other remaining beneficiary of the 2015 Award, the Group's former CFO, is not entitled to exercise the LTIP award for the period referenced above due to his resignation from the Company on 13 April 2018 (as detailed at Page 53 of the Annual Report and Accounts).
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2015 Award | Shares vested in award | Shares surrendered for cash to satisfy PAYE/NIC liabilities | Shares retained |
Mark Briffa | 435,485 | 204,678 | 230,807 |
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Following this transaction, Mark Briffa's beneficial holding of Air Partner shares increased by 75.11% to 538,102 shares, equivalent to 1.03% of the issued share capital of the Company. Since his appointment as CEO Mark Briffa has not sold any shares in the Group other than to fund PAYE/NIC liabilities and he has no current intention to do so. This acquisition of shares is in line with his long held intent to increase his economic ownership of the Group and closely align interests with our customers and shareholders.
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The notification below is made in accordance with the requirements of the EU Market Abuse Regulation:
1Â | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities ("PDMR") or persons closely associated with them ("PCA") | |||||
a) | Name  | Mark Briffa | ||||
b) | Position/status  | Chief Executive Officer | ||||
c) | Initial notification/ Amendment  | Initial notification | ||||
2 | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
a) | Name  | Air Partner plc | ||||
b) | LEI Â | 213800JLR6YIRMSCUS98 | ||||
3 | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument  Identification code  | Ordinary shares of 1 pence each in Air Partner plc   GB00BD73628 | ||||
b) | Nature of the transaction  | Shares surrendered to EBT to cover tax liabilities arising from exercise of options under Long Term Share Incentive Plan award. | ||||
c) | Price(s) and volume(s) Â | Â
 | ||||
d) | Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price  | Not applicable - single transaction | ||||
e) | Date of the transaction  | 22 June 2018 | ||||
f) | Place of the transaction  | Outside a trading venue | ||||
3 | Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument  Identification code  | Ordinary shares of 1 pence each in Air Partner plc   GB00BD73628 | ||||
b) | Nature of the transaction  | Exercise of nil-cost options, shares being transferred to Mark Briffa. | ||||
c) | Price(s) and volume(s) Â | Â
 | ||||
d) | Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price  | Not applicable - single transaction | ||||
e) | Date of the transaction  | 22 June 2018  | ||||
f) | Place of the transaction  | Outside a trading venue | ||||
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Ends
Enquiries | Â |
Air Partner | 01293 844788 |
Mark Briffa, CEO | Â |
Kate Patrick, Investor Relations | Â |
 |  |
TB Cardew (Financial PR advisor) | 020 7930 0777 |
Tom Allison | 07789 998 020 |
Alycia MacAskill | 07876 222 703 |
 |  |
About Air Partner:
Founded in 1961, Air Partner is a global aviation services group that provides worldwide solutions to industry, commerce, governments and private individuals. The Group has two divisions‎: Charter division, comprising air charter broking and remarketing; and the Consulting & Training division, comprising the aviation safety consultancies, Baines Simmons, Clockwork Research and SafeSkys, as well as Air Partner's Emergency Planning Division. For reporting purposes, the Group is structured into four divisions: Commercial Jets, Private Jets, Freight (Charter) and Consulting & Training (Baines Simmons, Clockwork Research, SafeSkys and Air Partner's Emergency Planning Division). The Commercial Jet division charters large airliners to move groups of any size. Air Partner Remarketing, which is within the Commercial Jet division, provides comprehensive remarketing programmes for all types of commercial and corporate aircraft to a wide range of international clients. Private Jets offers the Company's unique pre-paid JetCard scheme and on-demand charter. Freight charters aircraft of every size to fly almost any cargo anywhere, at any time. Baines Simmons is a world leader in aviation safety consulting specialising in aviation regulation, compliance and safety management. Clockwork Research is a leading fatigue risk management consultancy. SafeSkys is a leading Environmental and Air Traffic Control services provider to UK and International airports. Air Partner is headquartered alongside Gatwick airport in the UK. Air Partner operates 24/7 year-round and has 20 offices globally. Air Partner is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIR) and is ISO 9001:2015 compliant for commercial airline and private jet solutions worldwide. www.airpartner.com
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