Resignation of Auditor

RNS Number : 6756A

DX (Group) PLC

04 February 2022

 

AIM: DX.

DX (Group) plc

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

Resignation of Auditor

DX announces that the Group's auditor, Grant Thornton UK LLP ("Grant Thornton"), has tendered its resignation.

The Board has been in discussions with Grant Thornton with respect to the progress of the corporate governance inquiry ("Inquiry") as reported by DX on 25 November 2021, and which is required to be completed prior to the conclusion of the audit of the financial statements of the Company for the year ended 3 July 2021. The Inquiry which, until their resignations as announced on 2 February 2020, was led by Non-executive Directors, Ian Gray and Paul Goodson, has not proceeded as expediently as initially hoped by the Board. Nonetheless, it remains focused on concluding the Inquiry as soon as possible.

As required in the circumstances by section 519 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Companies Act"), Grant Thornton has provided the Company with the reasons connected with its resignation (the "Reasons"). However, the Board of DX does not consider that the Reasons provided by Grant Thornton accurately reflect the current situation. As required by the Companies Act, DX will send a copy of the Reasons to shareholders within 14 days of their receipt.

The Board reiterates that the Inquiry is a corporate governance investigation and, in addition, notes that it is connected to a disciplinary matter. It does not relate to the financial performance or the financial position of the Group, consistent with the trading update released on 2 February 2022.

Grant Thornton's stated Reasons relate to its view of the Company's governance and to executive conduct, specifically arising in connection with Grant Thornton's concerns over: (i) actual or potential breaches of law and/or regulations by the Company and/or by an entity in the DX (Group) Plc group and/or by employees; (ii) the performance of the investigation and subsequent corporate governance inquiry referred to by the Company in its announcement on 25 November 2021, and action in response to the evidence generated by that investigation and inquiry; (iii) the provision of inaccurate information, which in Grant Thornton's view did not give a full picture of the scale and seriousness of the facts referred to in (i) and (ii) above; and concerns over insufficient access to relevant information and documents, in relation to the matters being investigated by the Company.

The Board intends to provide further commentary to shareholders on the Reasons and to provide an update on the progress made with the Inquiry. Further updates will be made in due course.

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.

Enquiries:

DX (Group) plc www.dxdelivery.com
Ron Series, Chairman Lloyd Dunn, Chief Executive Officer David Mulligan, Chief Financial Officer		T: 020 3178 6378 (c/o KTZ Communications)
finnCap (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker to DX)		T: 020 7220 0500
Matt Goode/Simon Hicks (Corporate Finance) Andrew Burdis/Charlotte Sutcliffe (Corporate Broking)
Liberum (Joint Broker to DX)		T: 020 3100 2000
Robert Morton/Nick How/William Hall
KTZ Communications		T: 020 3178 6378
Katie Tzouliadis/Dan Mahoney

About DX (Group) plc:

DX is a well-established provider of a wide range of delivery services to both business and residential addresses across the UK and Ireland. First established in 1975 as a Document Exchange service to the legal sector, DX now provides one of the widest ranges of overnight delivery services in the market, as well as logistics services. Items that DX transports range from confidential documents and valuable packages to large, awkward-to-handle freight, unsuitable for automated conveyor.

DX Freight: comprises DX 1-Man, DX 2-Man and Logistics. The Division specialises in the delivery of irregular dimension and weight freight ("IDW").

DX Express: comprises DX Parcels and DX Exchange and Mail. The Division specialises in the express delivery of parcels and documents.

 

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