Employee Benefit Trust and Issue of Shares

RNS Number : 6002P

Block Energy PLC

11 June 2020

 

11 June 2020

Block Energy Plc

("Block Energy" or the "Company")

Establishment of Employee Benefit Trust and Issue of Shares

Block Energy Plc, the exploration and production company focused on Georgia, a nnounces that it has established the Block Energy Plc Employee Benefit Trust ("EBT"). It is intended that the EBT will be used to satisfy obligations arising from the Company's Management Incentive Plan ("MIP") (formerly named Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme) and other share and option awards granted to employees.

The EBT is a discretionary trust for the benefit of employees, former employees, and their dependants.

The Company has been notified by the trustee of the EBT that they intend to subscribe for 39,609,348 new ordinary shares of 0.25p each in the Company, at par value per ordinary share at an aggregate cost of £99,023.37, representing 10% of the existing issued share capital of the Company ("New Ordinary Shares"). The Company has, therefore, agreed to lend £99,023.37 to the EBT to fund the subscription for the New Ordinary Shares. The New Ordinary Shares to be held in the EBT are intended to be used to satisfy obligations arising from the MIP and other share and options awards granted to employees, including the existing options to acquire 30,451,547 shares as summarised in the table below:

Date of Issue	Number of Shares	Subscription Price (pence)	Expiry Date
30-Jun-17	1,200,000	2.5	22-Dec-22
06-Apr-18	4,400,000	2.5	11-Jun-28
09-Jun-18	15,512,856	4.0	11-Jun-28
21-Oct-19	5,991,667	11.0	21-Oct-29
01-May-20	1,962,641	0.0	01-May-30
01-Jun-20	1,384,383	0.0	01-Jun-30
	Total 30,451,547

Awards of ordinary shares to beneficiaries of the EBT by the trustees will be subject to appropriate vesting and other performance conditions, which are set under the MIP by the Remuneration Committee in line with normal market practice.

Accordingly, on 10 June 2020, the Company allotted 39,609,348 new ordinary shares to the EBT and the shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares. It is anticipated that the New Ordinary Shares will be admitted to trading on AIM on or around 16 June 2020 ("Admission").

Following Admission, the Company's issued share capital will comprise 435,702,834 ordinary shares with one voting right each. As the Company does not hold any shares in treasury, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 435,702,834 and this figure of ordinary shares 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 share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For further information please visit http://www.blockenergy.co.uk/ or contact:

Paul Haywood (Chief Executive Officer)	Block Energy Plc	Tel:  [phone]
Neil Baldwin (Nominated Adviser)	Spark Advisory Partners Limited	Tel: [phone]
Peter Krens (Corporate Broker)	Mirabaud Securities Limited	Tel: [phone]
Billy Clegg / Owen Roberts / Violet Wilson (Financial PR)	Camarco	Tel: [phone]

Notes to editors

Block Energy is an AIM-listed independent oil and gas company focused on production and development in Georgia, applying innovative technology to realise the full potential of previously discovered fields.

The Company has a 100% working interest in the highly prospective West Rustavi onshore oil and gas field with multiple wells that have tested oil and gas from a range of geological horizons. The Field has so far produced 50 Mbbls of light sweet crude, and has 0.9 MMbbls of gross 2P oil reserves in the Middle Eocene. It also has 38 MMbbls of gross unrisked 2C contingent resources of oil and 608 BCF of gross unrisked 2C contingent resources of gas in the Middle, Upper and Lower Eocene formations  (Source: CPR Gustavson Associates: 1 January 2018) .

Block Energy also holds 100% and 90% working interests in the onshore oil producing Norio and Satskhenisi fields. It has recently entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement for Georgian onshore Blocks XI^B and IX.

The Company offers a clear entry point for investors to gain exposure to Georgia's growing economy and the strong regional demand for oil and gas.

 

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