THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE,
PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, JAPAN,
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, THE REPUBLIC
OF IRELAND OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD
CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT
JURISDICTION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICES AT THE END OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND SHALL
NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR ISSUE OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN
OFFER TO BUY, SUBSCRIBE FOR OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRE ANY NEW ORDINARY
SHARES OF REVOLUTION BARS GROUP PLC IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA,
JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, THE
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH
RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE
UNLAWFUL.
THIS IS NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A FIRM INTENTION TO MAKE AN
OFFER UNDER RULE 2.7 OF THE CITY CODE ON TAKEOVERS AND MERGERS (THE
"CODE") AND THERE CAN BE NO CERTAINTY THAT AN OFFER WILL BE MADE,
NOR AS TO THE TERMS ON WHICH ANY OFFER MIGHT BE
MADE.
Defined terms used in this announcement have the meanings
given to them in the announcement titled Fundraise, Restructuring
Plan & FSP (RNS Number: 1033K) released around 6:05 p.m.
yesterday, unless the context provides otherwise.
For
immediate release
Revolution Bars Group
Plc
(the
"Company" or the "Group")
Results of the Firm Placing
and Placing
Update to
Timings
Revolution Bars Group plc, a leading
operator of premium bars and gastro pubs, trading mainly under the
Revolution, Revolucion de Cuba and Peach Pubs brands, is pleased to
announce the results of its Bookbuild launched
yesterday.
Subject to, inter alia, the necessary resolutions
being passed at the General Meeting, which is to be held on 2 May
2024, and the other conditions noted below:
· in
aggregate, 1,050,000,000 New Ordinary Shares are to be issued
pursuant to the Firm Placing and Subscription at the Issue Price,
raising gross proceeds of £10.5 million; and
· a
minimum of 50,000,000 New Ordinary Shares are to be issued pursuant
to the Placing and Open Offer at the Issue Price, raising minimum
gross proceeds of £0.5 million. This will increase to a maximum of 201,292,455 New
Ordinary Shares, or approximately £2.0 million, depending on
Shareholder uptake under the Open Offer.
In accordance with the terms of the
Placing Agreement between the Company and Cavendish, the
Fundraising is conditional upon, amongst other things, (i) the
sanction by the Court of the Restructuring Plan and there being no
stay of the relevant order or an outstanding application for
permission to appeal the order 21 days following the order being
made or any application for permission to appeal and/or to stay the
order being either disposed of, refused, or withdrawn, in each case
on or before the Long Stop Date or such later date as may be
provided for in the documents which govern the Fundraising, (ii)
the Subscription Agreements not having been terminated in
accordance with their terms (as described below), (iii) the passing
of the Fundraising Resolutions to be set out in the Notice of
General Meeting (without material amendment) and (iv) the Placing
Agreement not having been terminated in accordance with its terms
prior to Admission occurring on or around 3 September 2024 (but no
later than the Long Stop Date).
Following Admission the issued share
capital of the Company will be up to 1,496,340,975 Ordinary Shares
(assuming no other new Ordinary Shares are issued between now and
Admission). The New Ordinary Shares will therefore represent up to
84.63 per cent. of the Enlarged Share Capital of the Company
immediately following Admission.
The New Ordinary Shares will rank
pari passu in all other
respects with the Existing Ordinary Shares.
Firm Placing and Subscription
Cavendish, as agents of the Company,
have conditionally placed with investors, or Subscribers have
signed Subscription Agreements for, in aggregate, 1,050,000,000
Firm Placing Shares and Subscription Shares at the Issue Price. The
Firm Placing Shares and Subscription Shares are not subject to
clawback and are not part of the Placing and Open Offer. The Firm
Placing and Subscription are subject to the same conditions as the
Placing and Open Offer. The Firm Placing Shares and Subscription
Shares will represent approximately 70.17 per cent. of the Enlarged
Share Capital of the Company immediately following Admission,
assuming full take up under the Placing and Open Offer.
Placing and Open Offer
Cavendish, as agents of the Company,
have conditionally placed the 50,000,000 Open Offer Shares with
investors at the Issue Price. The Placing of the Open Offer Shares
will be subject to clawback to satisfy valid applications by
Qualifying Shareholders under the Open Offer. Subject to the waiver
or satisfaction of the conditions and the Placing and Open Offer
Agreement not having been terminated in accordance with its terms,
any Open Offer Shares not subscribed for under the Open Offer will
be issued to Placees procured by Cavendish. Assuming full take up
under the Open Offer, the Open Offer Shares will represent
approximately 13.45 per cent. of the Enlarged Share Capital of the
Company immediately following Admission.
Further details of the Firm Placing
and Subscription and the Placing and Open Offer will be contained
in the Circular currently anticipated to be sent to Shareholders on
or around 15 April 2024.
Directors' Participations
The following Directors of the
Company have agreed to or provided their intention to subscribe for
in aggregate of 12,050,000
New Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price in the Firm
Placing or Open Offer as follows:
Director
|
Number of New Ordinary
Shares
|
Firm
Placing
|
|
Rob Pitcher
|
8,000,000
|
Jemima Bird
|
1,000,000
|
Open Offer
|
|
Keith Edelman
|
1,440,000
|
Danielle Davies
|
1,250,000
|
William Tuffy
|
360,000
|
(together, the "Participating Directors")
Related Party Transactions
The participation of
Eldose Babu and Mark Ward in the Firm Placing constitute 'related party transactions'
under the AIM Rules, by virtue of both
Eldose Babu and Mark Ward (and their
affiliates) being classified as substantial shareholders in the
Company. Keith Edelman, Danielle Davies and William Tuffy (being
the independent Directors for the purpose of this opinion)
consider, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser,
Cavendish, that the terms of the participation in the Firm Placing
by Eldose Babu and Mark Ward
are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's
Shareholders are concerned.
General Meeting and Circular
As noted, the Fundraising is
conditional upon, inter
alia, Shareholder approval at the General Meeting of the
Company which is currently anticipated to take place at 11.00 a.m.
at the High Field, 22 Highfield Road, Edgbaston B15 3DP on 2 May
2024, and the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in all
respects. The Firm Placing and Subscription are not conditional on
the Open Offer proceeding or on any minimum take-up under the Open
Offer.
Further announcements will be made
in due course confirming the publication of the Circular relating
to the Fundraising (which will include the notice of the General
Meeting), and/or relating to the results of the Placing and Open
Offer, the Formal Sale Process and the Restructuring Plan in due
course. The Circular will contain details on how Shareholders
can vote their Ordinary Shares at the General Meeting and
Shareholders who hold their Existing Ordinary Shares in certificated form
will also receive Application Forms in respect of their Open Offer
Entitlements.
Revised Timetable of Events
Please note that the Record Date as
announced by the Company yesterday has now changed to 6:00 p.m. 10
April 2024. No other dates have changed as a result. The revised
timetable is set out below.
EXPECTED TIMETABLE OF KEY
EVENTS
|
|
|
2024
|
Record Date for entitlement to
participate in the Open Offer
|
|
6.00 p.m.
on 10 April
|
Announcement of the
Fundraising
|
|
intra-day
on 10 April
|
Announcement of the Result of
Fundraising
|
|
by 11
April
|
Ex-entitlement Date for the Open
Offer
|
|
11
April
|
Publication and despatch of the
Circular and, to Qualifying Non-CREST Shareholders, the Application
Form
|
|
15
April
|
Basic Entitlements and Excess CREST
Open Offer Entitlements credited to CREST stock accounts of
Qualifying CREST Shareholders
|
|
8.00 a.m.
on 16 April
|
Recommended latest time and date for
requesting withdrawal of Basic Entitlements and Excess CREST Open
Offer Entitlements from CREST
|
|
4.30 p.m.
on 24 April
|
Latest time for depositing Basic
Entitlements and Excess CREST Open Offer Entitlements into
CREST
|
|
3.00 p.m.
on 25 April
|
Latest time and date for splitting
Application Forms (to satisfy bona fide market claims
only)
|
|
3.00 p.m.
on 26 April
|
Latest time and date for receipt of
proxy votes to be valid at the General Meeting
|
|
11.00 a.m.
on 30 April
|
Latest time and date for receipt of
completed Application Forms and payment in full under the Open
Offer or settlement of relevant CREST instructions (as
appropriate)
|
|
11.00 a.m.
on 30 April
|
Announcement of the result of the
Open Offer
|
|
30
April
|
General Meeting
|
|
11.00 a.m.
on 2 May
|
Announcement of the result of the
General Meeting
|
|
2
May
|
Admission and commencement of
dealings in the New Ordinary Shares on AIM
|
|
8.00 a.m.
on 3 September
|
New Ordinary Shares in
uncertificated form expected to be credited to accounts in CREST
(uncertificated holders
only)
|
|
8.00 a.m.
on 3 September
|
Expected date of despatch of
definitive share certificates for the New Ordinary Shares in
certificated form (certificated holders only)
|
|
by 10
September
|
Long Stop Date
|
|
30
September
|
For
further information, please contact:
Revolution Bars Group plc
Rob Pitcher, CEO
Danielle Davies,
CFO
|
Tel: 0161 330 3876
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Financial and Rule 3
Adviser, Nominated Adviser, Broker and
Bookrunner)
Matt Goode / Simon Hicks / Teddy
Whiley / Hamish Waller (Corporate Finance)
Tim Redfern (Corporate
Broking)
|
Tel: 020 7220 0500
|
Instinctif (Financial PR)
Matthew Smallwood / Justine
Warren
020 7457 2010
|
Tel: 020 7457 2005
|
The person responsible for arranging release of this
announcement on behalf of Revolution Bars Group plc is Danielle
Davies, Chief Financial Officer.
Inside Information
The information contained within
this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU)
no. 596/2014 (as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018). On the publication of this
announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain. The
person responsible for making this announcement on behalf of the
Company is Rob Pitcher, CEO.
Notice related to financial adviser
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited
("Cavendish"), which is
authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, is
acting exclusively for the Company and for no one else in
connection with the subject matter of this Announcement and will
not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing
the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in
relation to the subject matter of this announcement. Neither
Cavendish nor any of its subsidiaries, affiliates or branches owes
or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever
(whether direct, indirect, consequential, whether in contract, in
tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client
of Cavendish in connection with this announcement, any statement or
other matter or arrangement referred to herein or
otherwise.
Disclosure requirements of the Code
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any
person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant
securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange
offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of
which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be,
solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following
the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the
announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first
identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of
the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to
subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree
company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening
Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be
made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th
business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if
appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the
10th business day following the announcement in which
any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant
persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company
or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for
making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing
Disclosure.
Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any
person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of
relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities
exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals
in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any
securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain
details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and
short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant
securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any
securities exchange offeror, save to the extent that these details
have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure
by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later
than 3.30 pm (London time) on the business day following the date
of the relevant dealing.
If two or more persons act together
pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or
informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities
of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will
be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule
8.3.
Opening Position Disclosures must
also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing
Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any
offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see
Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4). Details of the offeree and offeror
companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position
Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in
the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website
at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk,
including details of the number of relevant securities in issue,
when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first
identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit
on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you
are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing
Disclosure.
Rule 26.1 disclosure
In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the
Code, a copy of this announcement will be available (subject to
certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted
jurisdictions) at https://www.revolutionbarsgroup.om/investors/ by
no later than 12 noon (London time) on the business day following
the date of this announcement. The content of the website referred
to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form
part of this announcement.
Additional Information
This announcement is not intended
to, and does not, constitute or form part of any offer, invitation
or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire,
subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities, or the
solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant
to this announcement or otherwise. Any offer, if made, will be made
solely by certain offer documentation which will contain the full
terms and conditions of any offer, including details of how it may
be accepted. The distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions
other than the United Kingdom and the availability of any offer to
shareholders of the Company who are not resident in the United
Kingdom may be affected by the laws of relevant jurisdictions.
Therefore any persons who are subject to the laws of any
jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom or shareholders of the
Company who are not resident in the United Kingdom will need to
inform themselves about, and observe any applicable
requirements.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
This announcement includes 'forward
looking statements' which include all statements other than
statements of historical facts, including, without limitation,
those regarding the Group's financial position, business strategy,
plans and objectives of management for future operations, or any
statements proceeded by, followed by or that include the words
'targets', 'believes', 'expects', 'aims', 'intends', 'will', 'may',
'anticipates', 'would', 'could' or similar expressions or negatives
thereof. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the
Company's control that could cause the actual results, performance
or achievements of the Group to be materially different from future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward looking statements. Such forward looking statements are
based on numerous assumptions regarding the Group's present and
future business strategies and the environment in which the Group
will operate in the future. These forward looking statements speak
only as at the date of this announcement. The Company expressly
disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate or release
publicly any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements
contained in this announcement to reflect any change in the
Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based,
unless required to do so by applicable law or the AIM
Rules.
Apart from the responsibilities and
liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on Cavendish under FSMA
or the regulatory regime established thereunder, neither of
Cavendish nor any of its respective affiliates accepts any
responsibility whatsoever or makes any representation or warranty,
express or implied, concerning the contents of this announcement,
including its accuracy, completeness or verification, or concerning
any other statement made or purported to be made by any of them, or
on behalf of them in connection with the Company or any of the
matters described in this announcement and nothing in this
announcement is or shall be relied upon as a promise or
representation in this respect, whether as to the past or future.
Subject to applicable law, Cavendish and its respective affiliates
accordingly disclaim all and any duty, liability or responsibility
whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in
tort, under statute or otherwise (save as referred to above)) which
any of them might otherwise have in respect of this announcement or
any statement purported to be made by them, or on their behalf, in
connection with the Company, or the matters described in this
announcement.
MARKET ABUSE REGULATION
Market soundings, as defined in MAR,
were taken in respect of the Fundraising, with the result that
certain persons became aware of inside information, as permitted by
MAR. That inside information is set out in this announcement and
has been disclosed as soon as possible in accordance with paragraph
7 of article 17 of MAR. Therefore, those persons that received
inside information in a market sounding are no longer in possession
of inside information relating to the Company and its
securities.