Results of Placing and PDMR Shareholdings

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT, IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION OR FORWARDING, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER STATE OR JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU NO. 596/2014).

 

 

29 May 2020

Johnson Service Group plc

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

 

Results of Placing and PDMR Shareholdings

 

Johnson Service Group plc, a leading UK textile services provider, announces the successful completion of the placing of ordinary shares of £0.10 each ("Ordinary Shares") in the capital of the Company announced earlier today (the "Placing Announcement").

 

A total of 73,915,188 new ordinary shares of £0.10 each in the capital of the Company (the "Placing Shares"), representing approximately 19.99 per cent. of the existing issued share capital of the Company, have been placed by Investec Bank plc ("Investec"), the sole broker and sole bookrunner, at a price of 115 pence per Placing Share (the "Placing Price"), raising gross proceeds of approximately £85 million for the Company. The Placing Price of 115 pence represents a discount of 7 per cent. to the 10 day average closing mid-market price of 123.6 pence per ordinary share and 2 per cent. to the 10 day volume weighted average price of 117.5 pence per ordinary share both ending on 28 May 2020, being the last practicable day prior to the publication of this announcement.

 

Applications have been made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that settlement for the Placing Shares and Admission will take place on or before 8.00 a.m. (London time) on 2 June 2020 (or such later time and/or date as may be agreed between the Company and Investec), and that dealings in the Placing Shares will commence at that time. The Placing Shares, when issued, will be fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued Ordinary Shares of the Company, including, without limitation, the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid in respect of the Ordinary Shares after Admission.

 

The Placing is conditional upon, amongst other things, Admission becoming effective and the Placing Agreement not being terminated in accordance with its terms.

 

Total voting rights

 

Following Admission, the Company will have 443,676,012 Ordinary Shares in issue. There are no Ordinary Shares held in treasury. Therefore, the Company hereby confirms that, following Admission, the total number of voting rights in the Company will be 443,676,012. 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.

 

Directors' and PDMRs' participation in the Placing

 

As part of the Placing, the following Directors and certain members of the senior management team have agreed to subscribe for Placing Shares at the Placing Price. Details of the Placing Shares for which the Directors have subscribed and their resultant shareholdings are displayed below:

 

Name	Beneficial interest prior to the Placing	Number of Placing Shares subscribed for as part of the Placing	Resultant shareholding in the Company after the Placing	Percentage of the Company's issued share capital as enlarged by the Placing
William Shannon	125,000	30,434	155,434	0.04%
Nick Gregg	25,000	8,695	33,695	0.01%
Chris Girling	8,638	8,695	17,333	0.00%
Peter Egan	151,868	47,826	199,694	0.05%
Yvonne Monaghan	614,086	10,869	624,955	0.14%

 

 

Capitalised terms used have the meanings given to them in the Placing Announcement released this morning, unless the context provides otherwise.

 

Peter Egan, Chief Executive of Johnson Service Group, commented:

 

"We are pleased by the level of support we have received for this fundraising. These proceeds will improve our liquidity position and further bolster our balance sheet, helping to see us through this downturn and ensuring that we are best-placed to quickly restore our market position as our markets start to improve. We are encouraged by early signs of some customers reopening across both Workwear and HORECA and remain confident in the long-term prospects of the Group."

 

This announcement is released by Johnson Service Group plc and contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

 

For the purposes of MAR and Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1055, the person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement is Yvonne Monaghan, Chief Financial Officer.

 

For further information, please contact

 

Johnson Service Group PLC (www.jsg.com)
Peter Egan, CEO
Yvonne Monaghan, CFO
Tel: 01928 704 600
Investec Investment Banking (NOMAD)	Camarco (Financial PR)
David Flin	Ginny Pulbrook
Carlton Nelson	Ben Woodford
Virginia Bull	Oliver Head
Tel: 020 7597 4000	Tel: 020 3757 4992

 

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Neither this announcement and the information contained in it (this "Announcement"), nor any copy of it, nor the information contained in it, is for publication, release, transmission distribution or forwarding, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa or any other jurisdiction in which publication, release or distribution would be unlawful (or to any persons in any of those jurisdictions). This Announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or issue, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for shares in the capital of the Company in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa or any other state or jurisdiction (or to any persons in any of those jurisdictions). This Announcement has not been approved by the London Stock Exchange. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of such jurisdictions.

The Placing Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority or under any securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold, resold, pledged, taken up, exercised, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the US Securities Act and in compliance with the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States.  The Placing Shares have not been approved, disapproved or recommended by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission in the United States or any other U.S. regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Placing Shares. Subject to certain exceptions, the securities referred to herein may not be offered or sold in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa or to, or for the account or benefit of, any national, resident or citizen of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the Republic of South Africa.

No public offering of the Placing Shares is being made in the United States, United Kingdom or elsewhere. All offers of the Placing Shares will be made pursuant to an exemption from the requirement to produce a prospectus under the Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as supplemented by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/979), as amended from time to time and including any relevant implementing measure in any member state and the United Kingdom) (the "Prospectus Regulation"). 

This Announcement is not being distributed by, nor has it been approved for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended ("FSMA") by, a person authorised under FSMA. This Announcement is being distributed and communicated to persons in the United Kingdom only in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply.

No prospectus will be made available in connection with the matters contained in this Announcement and no such prospectus is required (in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation) to be published.  Members of the public are not eligible to take part in the Placing. This Announcement is for information purposes only and is directed only at: (a) persons in Member States of the European Economic Area ("EEA") and the United Kingdom who are (unless otherwise agreed by Investec Bank plc ("Investec")) qualified investors within the meaning of article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation ("Qualified Investors"); and (b) in the United Kingdom (unless otherwise agreed by Investec), Qualified Investors who are persons who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within the definition of "investments professional" in article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"); (ii) are persons falling within article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc") of the Order; or (iii) are persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated; (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This Announcement must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Persons distributing this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.  Any investment or investment activity to which this Announcement relates is available only to, and will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons.

This Announcement has been issued by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company. No responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by, and no undertaking, representation or warranty or other assurance, express or implied, is or will be made or given by Investec, or by any of its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates as to, or in relation to, the accuracy, fairness or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested person or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.  The information in this Announcement is subject to change.

Investec, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (the "PRA") and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and the PRA, is acting solely for the Company and no-one else in connection with the Placing and the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement and will not regard any other person (whether or not a recipient of this Announcement) as a client in relation to the Placing or the transactions and arrangements described in this Announcement. Investec is not responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Investec or for providing advice in connection with the contents of this Announcement, the Placing or the transactions and arrangements described herein.

None of the information in this Announcement has been independently verified or approved by Investec or any of its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates.  Save for any responsibilities or liabilities, if any, imposed on Investec by FSMA or by the regulatory regime established under it, no responsibility or liability whatsoever whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, is accepted by Investec or any of its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates whatsoever for the contents of the information contained in this Announcement (including, but not limited to, any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the information or any opinions) or for any other statement made or purported to be made by or on behalf of Investec or any of its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates in connection with the Company, the Placing Shares or the Placing or for any loss, cost or damage suffered or incurred howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this Announcement or its contents or otherwise in connection with this Announcement or from any acts or omissions of the Company in relation to the Placing.  Investec and its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants and affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any responsibility and liability whatsoever, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) in respect of any statements or other information contained in this Announcement and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Investec or any of its partners, directors, officers, employees, advisers, consultants or affiliates as to the accuracy, completeness or sufficiency of the information contained in this Announcement.  Investec's responsibilities as the Company's nominated adviser under the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange and are not owed to the Company or to any Director or to any other person.

The distribution of this Announcement and the offering of the Placing Shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company, Investec or any of their respective affiliates that would permit an offering of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution of this Announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to the Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this Announcement comes are required by the Company and Investec to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions. 

Persons distributing this Announcement must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. Persons (including without limitation, nominees and trustees) who have a contractual right or other legal obligations to forward a copy of this Announcement (or any part thereof) should seek appropriate advice before taking any action.

In connection with the Placing, Investec and any of its affiliates, acting as investors for their own account, may take up a portion of the shares in the Placing as a principal position and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell for the own accounts or otherwise deal for their own account in such shares and other securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the Placing or otherwise. Accordingly, references to Placing Shares being offered, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or acquisition, placing or dealing by, Investec and any of its affiliates acting in such capacity. In addition, Investec and any of its affiliates may enter into financing arrangements (including swaps) with investors in connection with which Investec and any of its affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of shares. Investec does not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.

This Announcement may contain and the Company may make verbal statements containing "forward-looking statements" with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, strategic initiatives, objectives and results. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "seek", "may", "could", "outlook" or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond the control of the Company. As a result, the actual future financial condition, performance and results of the Company may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made in this Announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's judgment at the date of this Announcement and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results and cautions that its actual results of operations and financial condition, and the development of the industry in which it operates, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement and/or information incorporated by reference into this Announcement. The information contained in this Announcement is subject to change without notice and except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publish any updates, supplements or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement to reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, except where required to do so under applicable law.

This Announcement does not identify or suggest, or purport to identify or suggest, the risks (direct or indirect) that may be associated with an investment in the Placing Shares. Any investment decision to buy Placing Shares in the Placing must be made solely on the basis of publicly available information, which has not been independently verified by Investec.  This Announcement does not constitute a prospectus or offering memorandum or an offer in respect of any securities and is not intended to provide the basis for any decision in respect of the Company or other evaluation of any securities of the Company or any other entity and should not be considered as a recommendation that any investor should subscribe for, purchase, otherwise acquire, sell or otherwise dispose of any such securities.  Recipients of this Announcement who are considering acquiring Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing are reminded that they should conduct their own investigation, evaluation and analysis of the business, data and property described in this Announcement. The price and value of securities can go down as well as up and past performance is not a guide to future performance. The contents of this Announcement are not to be construed as legal, business, financial or tax advice. Each investor should consult with his or her or its own legal adviser, business adviser, financial adviser or tax adviser for legal, financial, business or tax advice.

No statement in this Announcement is intended to be a profit forecast or estimate, and no statement in this Announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of the Company for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per share of the Company.

References in this Announcement to other reports or materials, such as a website address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources of information on the Company which may be of interest.  Neither the content of the Company's website (or any other website) nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into or forms part of this Announcement.

The Placing Shares to be issued or sold pursuant to the Placing will not be admitted to trading on any stock exchange other than AIM.

Information to Distributors

Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements contained within: (a) EU Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended ("MiFID II"); (b) Articles 9 and 10 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 supplementing MiFID II; and (c) local implementing measures (together, the "MiFID II Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Placing Shares have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that the Placing Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "Target Market Assessment").  Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, distributors should note that: the price of the Placing Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Placing Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the Placing Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Placing. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, Investec will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Placing Shares.

Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Placing Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels.

The information below set out in accordance with the requirement of the EU Market Abuse Regulation provides further detail.

DIRECTOR / PDMR SHAREHOLDINGS

 

1.	Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
(a)	Name	William Shannon
2.	Reason for the notification
(a)	Position/status	Non-executive Chairman
(b)	Initial notification/ Amendment	Initial notification
3.	Details of the issuer
(a)	Name	Johnson Service Group PLC
(b)	LEI	2138004WZUPWV53KWV11
4.	Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
(a)	Description of the Financial Instrument	Ordinary shares of 10 pence each
(b)	Identification code of the Financial Instrument	GB0004762810
(c)	Nature of the transaction	Purchase of shares
(d)	Price(s) and volume(s)	Price(s)	Volume(s)
		115	30,434
(e)	Aggregated information -               Aggregated volume -               Price	N/A
(f)	Date of the transaction	29 May 2020
(g)	Place of the transaction	London Stock Exchange

 

 

 

2.	Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
(a)	Name	Nick Gregg
2.	Reason for the notification
(a)	Position/status	Non-executive Director
(b)	Initial notification/ Amendment	Initial notification
3.	Details of the issuer
(a)	Name	Johnson Service Group PLC
(b)	LEI	2138004WZUPWV53KWV11
4.	Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
(a)	Description of the Financial Instrument	Ordinary shares of 10 pence each
(b)	Identification code of the Financial Instrument	GB0004762810
(c)	Nature of the transaction	Purchase of shares
(d)	Price(s) and volume(s)	Price(s)	Volume(s)
		115 pence	8,695
(e)	Aggregated information -               Aggregated volume -               Price	N/A
(f)	Date of the transaction	29 May 2020
(g)	Place of the transaction	London Stock Exchange

 

3.	Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
(a)	Name	Chris Girling
2.	Reason for the notification
(a)	Position/status	Non-executive Director
(b)	Initial notification/ Amendment	Initial notification
3.	Details of the issuer
(a)	Name	Johnson Service Group PLC
(b)	LEI	2138004WZUPWV53KWV11
4.	Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
(a)	Description of the Financial Instrument	Ordinary shares of 10 pence each
(b)	Identification code of the Financial Instrument	GB0004762810
(c)	Nature of the transaction	Purchase of shares
(d)	Price(s) and volume(s)	Price(s)	Volume(s)
		115 pence	8,695
(e)	Aggregated information -               Aggregated volume -               Price	N/A
(f)	Date of the transaction	29 May 2020
(g)	Place of the transaction	London Stock Exchange

 

 

4.	Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
(a)	Name	Peter Egan
2.	Reason for the notification
(a)	Position/status	Chief Executive Officer
(b)	Initial notification/ Amendment	Initial notification
3.	Details of the issuer
(a)	Name	Johnson Service Group PLC
(b)	LEI	2138004WZUPWV53KWV11
4.	Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
(a)	Description of the Financial Instrument	Ordinary shares of 10 pence each
(b)	Identification code of the Financial Instrument	GB0004762810
(c)	Nature of the transaction	Purchase of shares
(d)	Price(s) and volume(s)	Price(s)	Volume(s)
		115 pence	47,826
(e)	Aggregated information -               Aggregated volume -               Price	N/A
(f)	Date of the transaction	29 May 2020
(g)	Place of the transaction	London Stock Exchange

 

5.	Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated
(a)	Name	Yvonne Monaghan
2.	Reason for the notification
(a)	Position/status	Chief Financial Officer
(b)	Initial notification/ Amendment	Initial notification
3.	Details of the issuer
(a)	Name	Johnson Service Group PLC
(b)	LEI	2138004WZUPWV53KWV11
4.	Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
(a)	Description of the Financial Instrument	Ordinary shares of 10 pence each
(b)	Identification code of the Financial Instrument	GB0004762810
(c)	Nature of the transaction	Purchase of shares
(d)	Price(s) and volume(s)	Price(s)	Volume(s)
		115 pence	10,869
(e)	Aggregated information -               Aggregated volume -               Price	N/A
(f)	Date of the transaction	29 May 2020
(g)	Place of the transaction	London Stock Exchange