Ultimate
Products plc
("Ultimate Products", "the Company" or "the Group")
Share buyback programme and
EBT share purchase programme update
Ultimate Products, the owner of a
number of leading homeware brands including Salter (the UK's oldest
houseware brand, est.1760) and Beldray (est.1872), announces the
following updates to its share buyback programme ("Share Buyback
Programme") and EBT share purchase programme ("EBT
Programme").
Share Buyback Programme
The Company intends to continue with
the rolling programme of share buybacks as previously announced on
10 May 2024, and, in line with the previously announced schedule,
has transferred both the Share Buyback Programme and the EBT
Programme instruction to its joint broker, Cavendish Capital
Markets Limited ("Cavendish"), to purchase shares on its behalf
from 1 August for the next six months.
The programme will continue on an
ongoing basis, in accordance with the terms of the Company's
general authority to purchase a maximum of 8,931,245 ordinary
shares ("Ordinary Shares") gained at the Company's General Meeting
held on 2 May 2024 ("General Meeting"). Any Ordinary Shares
purchased under the Share Buyback Programme will be cancelled and
the number of Ordinary Shares in issue reduced
accordingly.
As previously announced, the Company
is completing the Share Buyback Programme in tranches. Tranche 1
was completed on 31 July 2024. Tranche 2 commences from today's
date and consists of a maximum consideration of up to £1 million to
purchase Ordinary Shares until 31 October 2024 ("Tranche 2"). The
Company has given irrevocable and non-discretionary instructions to
Cavendish in relation to Tranche 2. Cavendish will act as principal
during Tranche 2 and will make trading decisions concerning the
timing of the purchases of Ordinary Shares independently of the
Company. The Company will announce subsequent tranches of the Share
Buyback Programme prior to the initiation of each new tranche.
These tranches are expected to alternate between the Company's
joint brokers, in each case acting as principal.
The maximum price which may be paid
for an Ordinary Share pursuant to the Share Buyback Programme is an
amount equal to the higher of: (i) 105 per cent. of the average of
the middle market quotations for an Ordinary Share for the five
dealing days immediately preceding the day on which the Ordinary
Share is purchased; and (ii) the value of an Ordinary Share
calculated on the basis of the higher of the price quoted for: the
last independent trade of, and the highest current independent bid
for, any number of the Ordinary Shares on the trading venue where
the purchase is carried out. The minimum price which may be paid
for an Ordinary Share is an amount equal to its nominal
value.
It is the intention that the Share
Buyback Programme will be conducted within the pricing parameters
of the Market Abuse Regulation. However, given the limited
liquidity in the issued Ordinary Shares, the Company has agreed
that, on any trading day, a buyback of Ordinary Shares under the
Share Buyback Programme may exceed 25 per cent. but remain below 50
per cent. of the average daily trading volume in the Ordinary
Shares in the 20 trading days preceding the date on which a
buy-back of Ordinary Shares is carried out. Accordingly, the
Company may not benefit from the exemption contained in the
Regulations.
Any market repurchase of Ordinary
Shares will be announced no later than 7:30am on the business day
following the calendar day on which the repurchase
occurred.
Details of the authority granted at
the General Meeting can be found on the Company's website
under: https://upplc.com/investor-relations/annual-meeting/
EBT
Programme
The Company further announces that
JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Limited, in its capacity as trustee
("the Trustee") of the Ultimate Products Employee Benefit Trust
(the "EBT"), has extended the previously announced EBT Programme to
buy ordinary shares of 0.25p each in the Company ("Ordinary
Shares") for the period to 31 January 2025, and increased the
aggregate value by a further £325,000.
The Trustee of the EBT will purchase
Ordinary Shares in accordance with the EBT Programme, which seeks
to mitigate the dilutive impact of share option awards and to
improve overall shareholder return.
The current issued share capital of
the Company consists of 88,628,572 Ordinary Shares. This figure may
be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by
which they will determine if they are required to notify their
interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company, under
the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the
FCA.
The EBT currently holds 2,476,436
Ordinary Shares which represent 2.8% of the Company's current
issued share capital.
The Trustee of the EBT will enter
into arrangements with the Company's joint broker, Cavendish, to
carry out on-market purchases of Ordinary Shares under the EBT
Programme from 1 August for the next six months, including on a
discretionary basis independent of the Company in accordance with
certain pre-set parameters, during any prohibited periods of the
Company, as determined by the UK Market Abuse Regulation, which may
fall during the period of the EBT Programme.
For more information, please
contact:
Ultimate Products +44 (0) 161 627
1400
Andrew Gossage, CEO
Chris Dent, CFO
Shore Capital +44 (0) 20 7408
4090
Mark Percy
Malachy McEntyre
David Coaten
Harry Davies-Ball
Isobel Jones
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited +
44 (0)20 7220 0500
Carl Holmes (Corporate
Finance)
Matt Goode (Corporate
Finance)
Abigail Kelly (Corporate
Finance)
Charlie Combe (ECM)
Sodali & Co +44 (0) 207 250
1446
Rob Greening
Sam Austrums
Oliver Banks
Notes to Editors
Ultimate Products is the owner of a
number of leading homeware brands including Salter (the UK's oldest
houseware brand, established in 1760) and Beldray (a laundry, floor
care, heating and cooling brand that was established in 1872).
According to its market research, nearly 80% of UK households own
at least one of the Group's products.
Ultimate Products sells to over 300
retailers across 38 countries, and specialises in five product
categories: Small Domestic Appliances; Housewares; Laundry; Audio;
and Heating and Cooling. Other brands include Progress (cookware
and bakeware), Kleeneze (laundry and floorcare), Petra (small
domestic appliances) and Intempo (audio).
The Group's products are sold to a
broad cross-section of both large national and international
multi-channel retailers as well as smaller national retail chains,
incorporating discount retailers, supermarkets, general retailers
and online retailers.
Founded in 1997, Ultimate Products
employs over 370 staff, a significant number of whom have joined
via the Group's graduate development scheme, and is headquartered
in Oldham, Greater Manchester, where it has design, sales,
marketing, buying, quality assurance, support functions and
warehouse facilities across two sites. Manor Mill, the Group's head
office, includes a spectacular 20,000 sq ft showroom that showcases
each of its brands. In addition, the Group has an office and
showroom in Guangzhou, China and in Paris, France.
Please note that Ultimate Products
is not the owner of Russell Hobbs. The company currently has
licence agreements in place granting it an exclusive licence to use
the "Russell Hobbs" trademark for cookware and laundry (NB this
does not include Russell Hobbs electrical appliances).
For further information, please
visit www.upplc.com.
