Management and Employee Incentive Schemes

RNS Number : 7179I

Fulcrum Utility Services Ltd

27 March 2015

 

27 March 2015

FULCRUM UTILITY SERVICES LIMITED

Management and Employee Incentive Schemes

Fulcrum Utility Services Limited ("Fulcrum" or the "Company"), the UK's market leading independent energy and multi-utilities services provider, announces the following details of new management and employee incentive schemes and the associated issuance of shares and share options.

Background

Over the past 18 months the new management team at Fulcrum has implemented a recovery plan based on a new operating model which successfully delivered Fulcrum's first ever reported operating profit during the 2014 half year trading period. The Company now has a solid foundation for further growth and the Board believes that the appropriate incentivisation of key managers and employees through share ownership is an important factor for future success.

The new incentive arrangements are detailed below:          

Employee Shareholder Status ("ESS") Arrangement

This scheme applies to a limited number of key managers and the following employee shareholder status shares in Fulcrum Group Holdings Limited (B shares) were awarded on 27 March 2015. The associated loan values from the Company in respect of the tax liabilities are also shown and these amounts will be repaid to the Company as hurdle rates are achieved prior to conversion into Ordinary Shares.

Name	Position	Total number of ESS shares awarded	Loan value £
Martin Donnachie	Chief Executive Officer	3,567,988	19,012
Martin Harrison	Chief Financial Officer	2,432,719	12,666
All other qualifying staff		3,513,138	14,199
Total		9,513,845	45,881

The B shares carry a put option which allows the participants to sell their B shares to Fulcrum Utility Services Limited in tranches on achieving the relevant share price performance hurdles. The Company's share price must meet the relevant share price hurdle for a period of 20 working days within a 36 month performance period. Awards will be made in stages and the minimum share price at which any award will be made is 14 pence per share with hurdles to 24 pence per share.

Fulcrum Utility Services Limited Enterprise Management Incentive ("EMI") share option plan

946,430 approved options were granted to three additional qualifying staff on 27 March 2015. The exercise price for the 27 March 2015 awards is 10.88p, which is equal to the closing price as at the 26 March 2015. The share options will vest in the event that the Fulcrum Utility Services Limited share price averages 15.88p over any period of 20 consecutive working days within a 24 month period beginning on 27 March 2015. Once vested, the share options can be exercised at any time up to and including 26 March 2018. If the Fulcrum Utility Services Limited share price does not average 15.88p over any period of 20 consecutive working days within the 24 month period, the share options will lapse.

Further to the initial grant of EMI share options announced on 12 February 2014, the performance period for three participants, including Martin Donnachie, for their existing EMI shares in Fulcrum Group Holdings Limited (B shares), has been extended by six months from 12 February 2016 to 12 August 2016. The performance period now more closely aligns with the recent entrants to the EMI scheme announced on 20 January 2015.

Issue of Shares to Employees

The Company will be issuing £100-worth of free shares in the Company to each of the Company's employees who do not participate in  the Company's EMI scheme, have not been awarded ESS shares and are not statutory directors of any the companies in the group. A further announcement will be made shortly to confirm the number of shares being admitted.

The Company's Chairman, Phil Holder, commented: "Fulcrum has undergone significant change over the past 18 months resulting in much improved performance, and the introduction of the new incentivisation schemes today meets the Board's commitments made to Martin Donnachie at the time of his permanent appointment when the share price was 4.88p and recognises all of our employees' positive contribution to date and their future contribution to our continued business success".

Enquiries:

Fulcrum Utility Services Limited Craig Baugh, Head of Marketing and Communications Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated adviser and broker) Max Hartley (Nomad) / Oliver Baxendale (Sales) Camarco (Financial PR advisers) Ginny Pulbrook Georgia Mann Tom Huddart

[phone] [phone] [phone]

Notes to Editor

Fulcrum is an energy solutions company based in Sheffield, UK. The Company's primary business is the provision of unregulated utility connection services to the residential, commercial and industrial markets throughout the UK. These range from the design, installation or alteration of connections for single site properties to large complex multi-site projects. Through its subsidiary, Fulcrum Pipelines Limited, Fulcrum is also licensed as an Independent Gas Transporter, operating gas connection pipelines that connect properties to the main UK gas network.

http://www.fulcrum.co.uk/

 

END

 

 

MSCUBRORVUAOUAR