Director Retirement and Board Change

Big Technologies PLC

29 June 2026

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR

29 June 2026

Big Technologies plc

("Big Technologies" or "the Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the 'Group')

Director Retirement and Board Change

Big Technologies plc (AIM: BIG), a leading provider of electronic monitoring solutions, today announces the retirement of Ian Johnson from the Board and the appointment of Charles Lewinton as Acting CEO.

Ian Johnson joined the Board of Big Technologies in April 2025, during a challenging time for the Group. Ian was appointed CEO in May 2025, tasked to transition the business while providing stability and strong leadership and experience at a critical period. Ian oversaw the restructure and professionalisation of the business, strengthening the management of the Group and establishing a foundation for a return to growth. Under Ian's leadership, new business momentum has increased, as demonstrated by 12% ARR growth in fiscal year 2025.

Ian oversaw the creation of a robust succession plan across the Group, including for the post of CEO. In line with this succession plan, the Board is pleased to announce that Charles Lewinton will assume the role of Acting CEO whilst a formal search process is conducted for a permanent successor. Charles will be included in the formal search process for the permanent appointment.

Charles has extensive experience with the Group's clients, products and employees having joined the business pre-IPO, fourteen years ago. Charles has served as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technology Officer and VP Americas during his time with the Group, demonstrating his broad leadership qualities. Charles has most recently overseen significant growth in the Americas, with US ARR growth at 40% in 2025, and supplemented by this year's large contract win in Chile. He has also overseen the release and certification of the Group's latest AlcoTag and AlcoBreath products.

Ian's responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer will now transfer to Charles, with Ian remaining with the business until the end of July to provide on-going handover support.

Sangita Shah, Interim Chair, said:

"I would like to express my gratitude to Ian for his work in providing stability and leadership to the business during a turbulent period. Ian has achieved what he set out to do and more: a restructured business yielding growth whilst maintaining resilience at a challenging time. The management of the Group has been strengthened and repivoted, driving performance through accountability and performance management.

I am delighted that Charles will assume the role of Acting CEO whilst a formal search process is conducted. Charles is tireless in his commitment to driving the business forward and has an extraordinary breadth of knowledge and experience with the Group's activities. Charles has also demonstrated his calibre during the turbulent period for the Group in early 2025, ensuring the Group's operations continued seamlessly.

I look forward to working with Charles more closely to build on the good work that he and Ian have overseen since the middle of 2025."

Ian Johnson, CEO, said:

"I am delighted to see Charles step up to the Acting CEO position. Charles and I have worked closely since I joined the Board in April 2025, and he is exceptionally well suited to assume these responsibilities.

I am proud of our achievements over the past year, not least returning the business to growth and increasing contract momentum. Big Technologies and Buddi is a fantastic business with great prospects ahead. I wish the team well and look forward to watching the Group go from strength to strength."

For further information please contact:

Big Technologies plc		[phone]
Sangita Shah (Interim Chair)
Zeus (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)		[phone]
Dan Bate / Kieran Russell (Investment Banking)
Nick Searle  (Equity Capital Markets)
Singer Capital Markets (Joint Broker)		[phone]
James Moat / Shaun Dobson / James Todd (Investment Banking)

About Big Technologies

Our mission is to deliver innovative, high-quality electronic monitoring solutions that combine advanced hardware and software to support monitoring of individuals in our core criminal justice business. Big Technologies is a market leader in the electronic monitoring industry, operating under the trusted 'Buddi' brand. Through its integrated technology platform, Buddi offers state-of-the-art Electronic Monitoring solutions on a subscription-based, SaaS-like model. This platform is highly flexible and scalable, enabling tailored deployments across diverse use cases and geographies.

For more information, please visit www.buddi.com

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains certain projections and other forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, businesses and prospects of Big Technologies PLC. The use of terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "estimate", "intend", "continue", "target" or "believe" and similar expressions (or the negatives thereof) are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Any of the assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements could prove inaccurate or incorrect and therefore any results contemplated in the forward-looking statements may not actually be achieved. Nothing contained in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast or profit estimate. Investors or other recipients are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained herein. Big Technologies PLC undertakes no obligation to update or revise (publicly or otherwise) any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or other circumstances.

 

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