Update on Trading, PGM and Investment

This announcement contains price sensitive information  

Personal Group Holdings Plc

("the Company" or "the Group")

Update on Trading, PGM and Investment

The Company provides an update on trading for the six month period to 30 June 2016.  The Group's core businesses of Insurance and PG Tech, its salary sacrifice technology business, have traded strongly over the first six months. The insurance business achieved record new sales of £6.2m (H1 2015: £5.5m) exceeding last year's record. We remain on target to launch Royal Mail as a PG Tech customer with a rollout currently being planned for September this year. All contractual elements have now been agreed and are expected to be signed in the coming weeks.

Following a review of PG Mobile, the Company's Mobile Virtual Network Operator ("MVNO"), the Company has concluded that the market conditions have changed and will not allow for the expected run rate to be achieved. Wholesale pricing available to the business is not keeping pace with the fast moving market and uptake in salary sacrifice for mobiles is not meeting expectations. It is the Company's view that resources could be better deployed to other parts of the business and the Group therefore intends to close down PG Mobile by the end of the year.  This decision will see the Company take a one off additional cost of £1m in the current financial year to allow for the carefully managed wind down of the activity. The Company has a full plan in place to manage its customers through the wind down.

As previously announced, the Company have signed a Letter of Intent with Sage (UK) Ltd ("Sage") for the development of a Sage Employee Benefits product and platform. The development is progressing well and the product is expected to be launched during the fourth quarter of this year, conditional on certain regulatory approvals.

Following launch, the product is intended to be offered through Sage's payroll business, in the UK and Ireland. It is the intention to eventually widen the offering to Sage's entire UK and Ireland customer base. To achieve this, the investment required in this financial year is approximately £1 million which will fund the business and the board believes it is expected to payback within the next financial year once operational.

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Notes to Editors

With over 30 years' experience of looking after its customers' employees, Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM: PGH) is a leading provider of employee benefits and employee related insurance products, offering benefits programmes to over 2 million employees across the UK.

Personal Group's innovative approach to using technology to deliver its programmes, combined with its face-to-face method of communicating with employees, makes its offering compelling to blue chip clients across the UK as a way of attracting, retaining and motivating employees.  The Group tailors its packages to include insurance products such as hospital and convalescence plans, death benefit and income protection plans, as well as lifestyle benefits such as holiday and retail discounts, health and wellbeing benefits and a range of tax efficient benefits.

Personal Group can also supply home technology via salary sacrifice through its subsidiary Let's Connect.  Offering the latest iPads and other tablets, home computers and laptops, smart phones and smart TVs is a highly engaging benefit from which both the employer and employee can profit. In April 2015 the Group established its own Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) called Personal Group Mobile Ltd. which was achieved through the acquisition of the assets of shebang Technologies Ltd. This means that home technology, including handsets and airtime, can be provided via salary sacrifice with a reduction of c10-47% on costs to its client's employees.

Personal Group has a strong client base across a range of sectors including transport, where it works with the likes of Network Rail, Stagecoach and EYMS Group Ltd, and healthcare, where clients include Four Seasons Health Care, Priory Group and Spire Healthcare. The Group also covers logistics, with companies such as TNT Express and Bibby, and motoring with Manheim and JCT600 as clients. In addition the Group also has a strong presence in food manufacturing and service and clients include 2 Sisters Food Group and Young's Seafood.

With over 520 clients the Group has grown considerably and provides engaging and effective benefits packages across a breadth of sectors.  

For further information, go to www.personal-group.com.