Proposed sub-division of issued share capital

RNS Number : 3732T

AssetCo PLC

22 July 2022

 

LEI: 213800LFMHKVNTZ7GV45

22 JULY 2022

ASSETCO PLC

("AssetCo" or the "Company")

POSTING OF CIRCULAR AND NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETING

PROPOSED SUB-DIVISION OF THE ISSUED SHARE CAPITAL AND CANCELLATION OF THE SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT

Consistent with the previously stated intention, the Company announces that it is today posting a circular to shareholders (the "Circular") in connection with a proposed sub-division of its Existing Ordinary Shares (with each Existing Ordinary Share being divided into ten New Ordinary Shares) and the cancellation of the amount currently standing to the credit of the Company's share premium account.

The closing middle market price of an Existing Ordinary Share on 21 July 2022 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this announcement) was 770.0p.  The Sub-Division is being proposed in response to Shareholder feedback on the liquidity and marketability of the Existing Ordinary Shares and aims to improve the marketability of the Company's shares to retail investors, noting the recent increase in the number of retail Shareholders on the Company's share register. The Board believes that the proposed Sub-Division will reduce the Company's share price to a level where smaller sized dealings would be more efficient, and that this may improve the liquidity and marketability of the New Ordinary Shares to a wider group of investors as well as reduce the bid/offer spread.

At the same time the opportunity is being taken to cancel the amount standing to the credit of the Company's share premium account.  The Company intends to adopt a progressive dividend policy and has stated that it intends to pay a dividend of 13.0 pence per Existing Ordinary Share (which would equate to 1.3 pence per New Ordinary Share following the Sub-Division) in Q4 2022.  Should the relevant Resolution be passed at the General Meeting, application will be made to the Court to confirm the cancellation of the share premium account and thereby create a special reserve that will be distributable and available to support the Company's progressive dividend policy.

The Circular contains a notice of a general meeting of the Company to be held at 11.00 am on 10 August 2022 at the offices of Gowling WLG (UK) LLP, 4 More London Riverside, London SE1 2AU at which resolutions necessary to implement the proposals described above will be proposed.

The Key Statistics and Expected Timetable of Principal Events are set out in the Appendix to this announcement.

Capitalised terms used but not defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Circular. A copy of the Circular will shortly be available for inspection on the Company's website at   www.assetco.com/investor-relations/documents/ .

Enquiries:

AssetCo plc	[phone]
Campbell Fleming Peter McKellar James Thorneley
Numis -Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker to AssetCo Giles Rolls Charles Farquhar	[phone]
Panmure Gordon - Joint Broker to AssetCo Charles Leigh-Pemberton Atholl Tweedie Gabriel Hamlyn	[phone]
Maitland/AMO - PR Adviser to AssetCo Neil Bennett Rachel Cohen	[phone]

APPENDIX

KEY STATISTICS

Number of Existing Ordinary Shares in issue	14,918,229
ISIN code for the Existing Ordinary Shares	GB00B42VYZ16
SEDOL code for the Existing Ordinary Shares	B42VYZ1
Number of New Ordinary Shares in issue following the Sub-Division	149,182,290
ISIN code for the New Ordinary Shares	GB00BQ2K3557
SEDOL code for the New Ordinary Shares	BQ2K355
TIDM	ASTO
LEI	213800LFMHKVNTZ7GV45

EXPECTED TIMETABLE OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS

	2022
Date of publication of Circular	22 July
Latest time and date for receipt of Forms of Proxy	11.00 a.m. on 8 August
General Meeting	11.00 a.m. on 10 August
Record date for the Sub-Division and disablement in CREST of the Existing Ordinary Shares	6.00 p.m. on 10 August
Admission of the New Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM expected to commence	8.00 a.m. on 11 August
Expected date of crediting CREST accounts with New Ordinary Shares	At or soon after 8.00 a.m. on 11 August
Expected date by which certificates in respect of New Ordinary Shares in certificated form to be dispatched	By 25 August
All references to times and dates in this announcement are to London time.  Each of the times and dates in this announcement is subject to change.  If any of the above times and/or dates change, the revised time and/or date will be notified to Shareholders through a regulatory information service.

 

END

 

 

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