Important notices relating to financial advisers

Houlihan Lokey UK Limited ("Houlihan Lokey"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively for Laumann UK and Laumann and no one else in connection with the Acquisition and will not be responsible to anyone other than Laumann UK and Laumann for providing the protections afforded to clients of Houlihan Lokey or for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition or any other matter or arrangement referred to in this announcement. Neither Houlihan Lokey nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Houlihan Lokey in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

Shore Capital and Corporate Limited and Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited (either individually or collectively "Shore Capital"), which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, are acting exclusively for Epwin and no one else in connection with the matters set out to in this announcement and will not regard any other person as their client in relation to such matters and will not be responsible to anyone other than Epwin for providing the protections afforded to clients of Shore Capital nor for providing advice in relation to the contents of, or any matter referred to in, this announcement or any transaction or arrangement referred to herein.  Neither Shore Capital and Corporate Limited nor Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited, nor any of their subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Shore Capital in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein, any transaction or arrangement referred to herein, or otherwise

Further information

This Announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of any offer or inducement to sell or an invitation to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Acquisition or otherwise. The Acquisition will be implemented solely pursuant to the terms of the Scheme Document (or, if the Acquisition is implemented by way of an Offer, the Offer Document), which will contain the full terms and conditions of the Acquisition, including details of what action is required from Epwin Shareholders in respect of the Acquisition. Any decision in respect of, or other response to, the Acquisition should be made only on the basis of the information in the Scheme Document (or, if the Acquisition is implemented by way of an Offer, the Offer Document).

Epwin and Laumann UK shall prepare the Scheme Document (or, if the Acquisition is implemented by way of an Offer, the Offer Document) to be distributed to Epwin Shareholders. Epwin and Laumann UK urge Epwin Shareholders to read the Scheme Document in its entirety (or, if the Acquisition is implemented by way of an Offer, the Offer Document) when it becomes available because it will contain important information relating to the Acquisition including details of how to vote in respect of the Scheme.

This Announcement does not constitute a prospectus or prospectus equivalent document.

If you are in any doubt about the contents of this Announcement or the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own independent financial advice immediately from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or independent financial adviser duly authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriately authorised independent financial adviser.

Overseas Shareholders

The release, publication or distribution of this Announcement in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and/or regulation.  No action has been taken by Epwin, Laumann or Laumann UK to obtain any approval, authorisation or exemption to permit the possession or distribution of this Announcement in any jurisdiction, other than in the United Kingdom.

The implications of the Scheme and the Acquisition for Overseas Shareholders may be affected by the laws and/or regulations of jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom.  Overseas Shareholders should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable legal or regulatory requirements.  It is the responsibility of any Overseas Shareholders to satisfy themselves as to the full observance of the laws and regulations of the relevant jurisdiction in connection therewith, including the obtaining of any governmental, exchange control or other consents which may be required, the compliance with other necessary formalities and the payment of any issue, transfer or other taxes or duties or payments due in such jurisdiction.  Any failure to comply with such restrictions or requirements may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

This Announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with English law, the Code and the AIM Rules and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this Announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations of any jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom.

Further details in relation to Overseas Shareholders will be set out in the Scheme Document.

Notice to US holders of Epwin Shares

Neither the United States Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other US federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority has reviewed, approved or disapproved this Announcement, any of the proposals described in this Announcement or passed an opinion on the accuracy or the adequacy of this Announcement.  Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

The Acquisition relates to shares of an English company and is proposed to be implemented by means of a scheme of arrangement under the laws of England and Wales.  A transaction implemented by means of a scheme of arrangement is not subject to the proxy solicitation or tender offer rules under the US Exchange Act.  Accordingly, the Scheme is subject to the disclosure requirements, rules and practices applicable in the United Kingdom to schemes of arrangement, which differ from the requirements of the US proxy solicitation and tender offer rules.  However, if Laumann UK exercises its right with the consent of the Panel (and subject to the terms of the Co-operation Agreement) to implement the Acquisition by means of an Offer, such Offer will be made in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including Section 14(e) of the US Exchange Act and Regulation 14E thereunder.  Such an Offer would be made in the United States by Laumann UK and no one else.  In addition to any such Offer, Laumann UK, certain affiliated companies and the nominees or brokers (acting as agents) may make certain purchases of, or arrangements to purchase, shares in Epwin outside such Offer during the period in which such Offer would remain open for acceptance.  If such purchases or arrangements to purchase were to be made they would be made outside of the United States and would comply with applicable law and regulation, including the US Exchange Act.  Any information about such purchases will be disclosed as required in the UK, will be reported to a Regulatory Information Service and will be available on the London Stock Exchange website www.londonstockexchange.com.

It may be difficult for US Epwin Shareholders to enforce their rights and claims arising out of the US federal securities laws, since Laumann UK and Epwin are located in countries other than the United States, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of countries other than the United States.  US Epwin Shareholders may not be able to sue a non-US company or its officers or directors in a non-US court for violations of the US securities laws.  Further, it may be difficult to compel a non-US company and its affiliates to subject themselves to a US court's judgment.

In accordance with normal UK practice and pursuant to Rule 14e-15(b) of the US Exchange Act, Laumann UK, certain affiliated companies and the nominees and brokers (acting as agents) may make certain purchases of, or arrangements to purchase shares in Epwin outside of the US, other than pursuant to the Acquisition, until the date on which the Acquisition and/or the Scheme becomes Effective, lapses or is otherwise withdrawn.  If such purchases or arrangements to purchase were to be made they would occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices and comply with applicable law and regulation, including the US Exchange Act. Any information about such purchases or arrangements to purchase will be disclosed as required in the United Kingdom, will be reported to a Regulatory Information Service and will be available on the London Stock Exchange website www.londonstockexchange.com.

Dealing and opening position disclosure requirements

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Takeover Code, any person who is interested in one per cent. 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 p.m. (London time) on the 10th Business Day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (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 Takeover Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in one per cent. 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 p.m. (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.

Publication on a website

Pursuant to Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be available free of charge, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, at Laumann's and Epwin's websites at https://www.laumann-group.com and https://investors.epwin.co.uk respectively promptly following the publication of this announcement and in any event by no later than 12 noon on the business day following this announcement until the end of the Offer Period.

For the avoidance of doubt, the content of the websites referred to above is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.