Board Appointments and Placing

RNS Number : 1251D

Kennedy Ventures PLC

25 March 2014

 

Kennedy Ventures plc

Board Appointments and Placing

Placing of new ordinary shares

Kennedy Ventures plc ("Kennedy Ventures" or "the Company") announces that it has successfully raised a total of £489,375 (before expenses) through a placing of new ordinary shares ("Placing Shares") in the Company (the "Placing").

The Placing will be effected by the issue of 39,150,000 Placing Shares to new and existing investors at a price of 1.25 pence per Placing Share. 

Application has been made for 39,150,000 new Ordinary Shares, which will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares of the Company, to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). Admission is expected to be effective from 8.00 a.m. on 28 March 2014.

Following Admission of the Placing Shares the total issued share capital of the Company is 66,248,000 Ordinary Shares, each with voting rights.

New Board appointments

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Giles Clarke as Chairman and Nick Harrison as a Director of the Company with immediate effect.

Giles Clarke is currently Chairman of Amerisur Resources plc (AIM: AMER) and Westleigh Investments Holdings Limited and Non-executive Chairman of Ironveld plc (AIM: IRON). He began his career as an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston before successfully establishing, building and selling a number of high profile businesses including Majestic Wine, Pet City plc and Safestore plc. He is Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board and Chairman of several private organisations.

Mr Harrison is currently Finance Director of Amerisur Resources plc (AIM: AMER) and a Non-executive Director of Ironveld plc (AIM: IRON). Mr Harrison was Finance Director of Pet City plc and has held Board positions at a number of private companies with international activities. He is a Chartered Accountant, having qualified with Arthur Andersen before holding senior roles with Deloittes, Midland Bank (International) and Coopers & Lybrand.

Following the appointment of Giles Clarke as Chairman, Peter Redmond will remain a Director of the Company.

Both Amerisur Resources plc and Ironveld plc have performed with great success in the natural resources sector since Giles Clarke and Nick Harrison were appointed as directors. The market capitalisation of Amerisur Resources plc has increased from approximately £25 million in 2007, when they were appointed, to in excess of £650 million at the current time. Ironveld plc is currently trading at a significant premium to the share price in August 2012, when the company was re-admitted to trading on AIM.

Giles Clarke and Nick Harrison have participated in the Placing as set out below:

Director	Placing Shares	Beneficial Interest post-Placing
Nick Harrison*	4,800,000	4,800,000	7.2%
Giles Clarke*	4,800,000	4,800,000	7.2%

* In addition, Westleigh Investments Holdings Limited, a company in which Mr Clarke and Mr Harrison hold a beneficial interest of 73.28% and 26.72% respectively, holds 7,600,000 Ordinary shares, representing 11.5% of the Company.

Peter Redmond, Director of Kennedy Ventures, commented:

"I am pleased to announce today's equity refinancing which will give the Company the resources needed to attract and review a significant investment or acquisition in line with its investment policy. The costs incurred in clearing away the its historic problems left it under-resourced and the successful Placing has resolved that issue.

We are also very pleased the appointment of Giles Clarke and Nick Harrison to the Board of Kennedy Ventures and that they have agreed to join in the Placing to a significant degree, thus aligning their interests with that of other investors and shareholders. They bring a range of experience and expertise that we believe will greatly enhance our prospects of finding and completing an attractive transaction to create value for our shareholders."

For further information, please contact:

Kennedy Ventures plc
Peter Redmond, Director	[phone]
Cenkos Securities plc
Derrick Lee / Alan Stewart	[phone]
Peterhouse Corporate Finance
John Levinson	[phone]

In relation to the appointments of Mr Clarke and Mr Harrison, the Company confirms that there is no further information to be disclosed under paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies save as disclosed below:

Full name:	Charles Giles Clarke	John Nicholas Harrison
Age:	60	55
Shareholding in the Company:	4,800,000 Ordinary shares, representing 7.2% of the Company's issued share capital In addition, Westleigh Investments Holdings Limited, a company in which Mr Clarke holds a beneficial interest of 73.28%, holds 7,600,000 Ordinary shares, representing 11.5% of the Company.	4,800,000 Ordinary shares, representing 7.2% of the Company's issued share capital In addition, Westleigh Investments Holdings Limited, a company in which Mr Harrison holds a beneficial interest of 26.72%, holds 7,600,000 Ordinary shares, representing 11.5% of the Company.
Current Directorships:	· Amerisur Resources plc	· Amerisur Resources plc
	· Ironveld plc	· Ironveld plc
	· Fosters Rooms Limited	· ATL Telecom Limited
	· ATL Telecom Limited	· M J Associates Limited
	· RAM (102) Limited	· Westleigh Investments Limited
	· The Boston Tea Party Group Limited	· Westleigh Investments Holdings Limited
	· The Boston Tea Party Limited	· Makura Sport Limited
	· Clark Clay Industries Limited	· Abattia Group Limited
	· England and Wales Cricket Board Limited	· Trufflenet Limited
	· West Country Business Systems Limited	· West Country Business Systems Limited
	· West Country Business Systems (Holdings) Limited	· West Country Business Systems (Holdings) Limited
	· Designspin Limited	· Fanvil (UK) Limited
	· Westleigh Investments Holdings Limited	· Edvectus Limited
	· M J Associates Limited
	· England and Wales Cricket Trust
	· International Cricket Council
	· Edvectus Limited
Previous Directorships / Partnerships in the last 5 years:	· RAM 106 Limited	· RAM 106 Limited
	· All Mass Cladding Systems Limited (Formerly a non-executive director and resigned on 19 October 2011. Subsequent to this resignation, the directors of the company appointed an administrator to oversee the company's affairs on 24 February 2012)	· All Mass Cladding Systems Limited (Formerly a non-executive director and resigned on 19 October 2011. Subsequent to this resignation, the directors of the company appointed an administrator to oversee the company's affairs on 24 February 2012)
	· Pure Wafer International Limited
	· Pure Wafer plc
	· The Pure English Alpaca Company Limited
	· Clifton Down Charitable Trust Limited
Other disclosures:	· Mr Clarke was formerly Chairman of Majestic Wine Corporation (MWC) in the US.  Subsequent to his resignation in May 1988, MWC filed for protection under Chapter XI of the US Bankruptcy Code.

 

END

 

 

MSCJAMJTMBMTBJI