£1m placing & update re HY results

RNS Number : 9285I

Provexis PLC

17 December 2020

 

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR'). With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

17 December 2020

Provexis plc

('Provexis' or the 'Company')

Placing of new ordinary shares to raise £1.0 million

Extension of reporting deadline for Half Year results

Provexis, the business that develops, licenses and sells the proprietary, scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food ingredient, is pleased to announce it has raised a gross £1.0 million via a placing (the 'Placing'), conditional on admission to trading on AIM, of 133,333,349 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each (the 'New Provexis Shares') with new and existing investors.

The New Provexis Shares will be issued at a price of 0.75p per share (the 'Placing Price'), and rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of 0.1p each in Provexis. No commissions or expenses will be payable on the issue of the New Provexis Shares.

The Placing Price represents a discount of 6.3 per cent. to the closing mid-market price per Ordinary Share on 16 December 2020, being the latest practicable date prior to this announcement.

Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the New Provexis Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that admission will become effective and that trading in the New Provexis Shares will commence on or around 23 December 2020 ('Admission').

Following Admission, the Company's enlarged issued share capital will comprise 2,204,154,856 ordinary shares with voting rights. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. This figure of 2,204,154,856 ordinary shares may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

In light of the guidance published by AIM Regulation in "Inside AIM" on 9 June 2020 in respect of the temporary measures for the publication of half-yearly reports for AIM companies, pursuant to AIM Rule 18 of the AIM Rules for Companies, the Company announces that it now intends to release its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2020 in January 2021.

Ian Ford, CEO of Provexis, commented:

'The Board is delighted to announce this £1.0 million placing and wishes to thank the new and existing investors who took part in the placing for their strong support.

The funds raised will provide the Company with additional working capital to support its international revenue growth plans for Fruitflow+ Omega-3, particularly in terms of inventory, to include the Chinese CBEC distribution agreement for Fruitflow+ Omega-3 which the Company announced on 16 November 2020.

The placing will also significantly strengthen the Company's capital base and de-risk the business, to the benefit of all shareholders.'

MAR

This Announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 ("MAR"). In addition, market soundings (as defined in MAR) were taken in connection with the Placing as a result of which certain persons became aware of inside information (as defined in MAR), as permitted by MAR. This inside information is set out in this Announcement. Therefore, those persons that received such inside information in a market sounding are no longer in possession of such inside information relating to the Company and its securities.

For further information please contact:

Provexis plc Ian Ford, CEO Dawson Buck, Chairman	Tel:  [phone]   [e-mail]
Allenby Capital Limited Nick Naylor / Liz Kirchner	Tel:  [phone]

Notes for editors

About Provexis plc

AIM-listed Provexis is focused on the development, licensing and sales of its proprietary, scientifically-proven Fruitflow® heart-health functional food ingredient.

Fruitflow is a natural, breakthrough ingredient that helps with platelet aggregation. This helps promote normal blood flow and circulation, which in turn benefits cardiovascular health. Fruitflow helps the platelets to circulate freely and smoothly throughout your blood, without sticking to one another or to the blood vessels themselves. Freely flowing blood helps reduce stress on your cardiovascular system.

Fruitflow is a highly concentrated form of bioactives which is lycopene-free and contains over 30 known anti-platelet compounds. Published clinical studies have shown that Fruitflow works to maintain healthy blood flow in a similar way to 75mg aspirin but with a milder and reversible action; Fruitflow has a similar antiplatelet effect to a single dose of aspirin - but when taken daily, it has none of aspirin's side effects.

The science behind Fruitflow has been validated by leading peer review publications and regulatory authorities. Fruitflow is the only natural antiplatelet to have a health claim approved by the European Food Safety Authority, stating that 150mg of Fruitflow 'helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow'.

Provexis plc entered into a long-term Alliance Agreement with DSM Nutritional Products in 2010 to commercialise Fruitflow through sales as an ingredient to brand owners in the food, beverage and dietary supplement categories. More than 90 regional consumer healthcare brands have now been launched by direct customers of DSM, and a number of further regional brands have been launched through DSM's distributor channels.

Fruitflow has a number of other specific health benefits which have been reflected in separate patent filings for the use of Fruitflow in:

· mitigating exercise-induced inflammation;

· managing blood pressure; and

· protecting against the adverse effects of air pollution on the body's cardiovascular system. Laboratory work has shown that Fruitflow can reduce the platelet activation caused by airborne particulate matter, such as that from diesel emissions, by approximately one third.

Provexis sells a high quality dietary supplement product containing Fruitflow and Omega-3 from its separate website www.fruitflowplus.com on a mail order basis. The product is also available to purchase from Amazon.co.uk and from Holland & Barrett.

The Company is working closely with By-Health Co., Ltd, a £5bn listed Chinese dietary supplement business, to support the planned launch of some Fruitflow based products in the Chinese market. The planned launch is progressing well with potential sales volumes remaining at a significant multiple of existing Fruitflow sales.

By-Health has made a significant investment in nine separate clinical studies in China, at its sole expense, in support of the Fruitflow based products which it plans to launch in China. The five studies which have been completed by By-Health showed excellent results in use for Fruitflow, and provide strong evidence for By-Health in its regulatory submissions for Fruitflow.

If a successful blue cap health claim is achieved for Fruitflow in China it would currently be expected to result in some significant recurring orders for Fruitflow, at a multiple of current total sales values.

In November 2020 the Company announced it had entered into a distribution agreement with a company which will act as the distributor for Fruitflow+ Omega-3 in China, exclusively through the Chinese Cross-Border e-commerce ('CBEC') channel. The distribution agreement is separate but wholly complementary to the Company's work with By-Health, with the CBEC regulations enabling the distributor to sell Fruitflow+ Omega-3 in China now, prior to the blue cap health claim which By-Health is seeking to secure.

COVID-19

The Company and DSM have experienced increased consumer interest for Fruitflow in recent months, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, as consumers look to nutritional interventions to help them fortify the circulatory system against the effects of COVID-19. The Company and DSM will look to maximise the commercial opportunities arising from this increased consumer interest in Fruitflow, and will further promote the core blood circulatory and anti-inflammatory benefits of the product.

In September 2020 Fruitflow was recognised in a review article by the Frontiers in Nutrition journal www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2020.583080/full which stated that nutraceuticals such as Fruitflow may serve as:

'A safe antiplatelet prophylactic treatment for those at high risk of COVID-19 who may also be at increased risk of thrombotic complications and an alternative to pharmacological compounds that may cause greater risk of bleeding.'

Provexis was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Reading, Berkshire.

Provexis shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PXS.

For further information, please visit www.provexis.com and www.fruitflowplus.com.

 

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