Exercise of Options, PDMR Dealing, EBT and TVR

Immediate release                                                                                                                          9 October 2023

CVS Group Plc

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

Exercise of Options, PDMR Dealing, EBT Share Purchase and Total Voting Rights

CVS, the UK listed veterinary group and a leading provider of veterinary services, announces that on 6 October 2023, options over a total of 107,903 new Ordinary shares of 0.2 pence each (the "New shares") were exercised under the CVS Group 2020 Long Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP 14"), at an exercise price of 0.2 pence. 

Richard Fairman, Chief Executive Officer, Ben Jacklin, Deputy CEO, and Robin Alfonso, Chief Financial Officer, exercised options over 41,030, 24,618 and 13,540 Ordinary shares of 0.2p each in the Company ("Ordinary shares") respectively.  The balance of the options was exercised by certain other employees of the Company.

On 6 October 2023, the Company was notified by JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Limited, the trustee of the CVS Group Employee Benefit Trust (the "EBT"), that the EBT had purchased a total of 56,896 of the New shares from LTIP 14 option-holders at a volume-weighted average price of £16.17 per Ordinary share.  This included the purchase of shares by the EBT from Richard Fairman, Ben Jacklin and Robin Alfonso to meet the costs of exercise incurred by them as PDMR option-holders, including personal taxation, as set out below:

Name                                    Number of shares sold to EBT                    Price

Richard Fairman                                19,510                                                   £16.17

Ben Jacklin                                          11,706                                                   £16.17

Robin Alfonso                                    6,439                                                     £16.17

The New shares purchased by the EBT are intended to be used to satisfy the exercise of share options by employees.  The EBT is a discretionary trust for the benefit of the Company's employees, including the Directors of the Company.  The purchase of the New shares by the EBT has been funded from the Company's existing cash reserves.  Following this transaction, a total of 57,280 Ordinary shares are held by the EBT, representing approximately 0.08% of the Company's total voting rights.

Admission of the New shares, which rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing Ordinary shares, has been satisfied by the Company's block listing admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 15 May 2023.

Following the issue of the New shares, the Company has a total issued share capital of 71,537,662 Ordinary shares each carrying one voting right.  The Company holds no Ordinary shares in treasury. Therefore, following the issue of the New shares, the total number of voting rights in the Company will be 71,537,662.  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 FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Following their respective option exercises, their sales of a portion of the New shares arising and admission of the New shares, the Executive Directors, together with their respective spouses, hold a beneficial interest in the following Ordinary shares in the Company:

Name                                    Number of shares           Percentage interest in the Company

Richard Fairman                                77,501                                                   0.108%

Ben Jacklin                                          36,714                                                   0.051%

Robin Alfonso                                    19,252                                                   0.027%

The notification below, made in accordance with the requirements of the UK Market Abuse Regulation, provides further detail.

Contacts:

CVS Group plc                                                                                                                                via Camarco

Richard Fairman, CEO

Scott Morrison, Company Secretary

Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser & Broker)                                                 +44 (0)20 7418 8900

Adrian Trimmings / Michael Burke / Andrew Clark / Lalit Bose

   Berenberg (Joint Broker)                                                                                          +44 (0)20 3207 7800

Toby Flaux / Ben Wright / James Thompson / Milo Bonser

Camarco (Financial PR)                                                                                             

Geoffrey Pelham-Lane                                                                                +44 (0)7733 124 226

Ginny Pulbrook                                                                                                     +44 (0)7961 315 138

Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them