Results of Placing

RNS Number : 9171F

Provexis PLC

02 August 2016

 

2 August 2016

Provexis plc

Results of placing

Provexis plc ("Provexis" or the "Company"), 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 £224,000 via a placing (the "Placing"), conditional on admission to trading on AIM, of 93,333,340 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each (the "New Provexis Shares") with new and existing investors.

The New Provexis Shares have been issued at a gross 0.24p per share and rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of 0.1p each in Provexis.

The Placing represents a gross discount of 14.3 per cent to the closing mid-market price per Ordinary Share on 1 August 2016, being the latest practicable date prior to this announcement.

The Company's RNS announcement of 29 June 2016 confirmed that the Company then had non-legally binding indications of interest in a placing to raise a total of approximately £185,000 at a subscription price of 0.24 pence per ordinary share. The £185,000 interest announced on 29 June comprised indications of a £25,000 interest from the Company's Chairman Dawson Buck, with indications of a £160,000 interest from other investors.

Under the Company's code on dealings in securities the Company is now in a close period for directors' dealings which means that Dawson Buck will not be able to take up his subscription until the Company's audited annual report and accounts are published, expected in early September. Dawson Buck has therefore given a stated intention to subscribe to 10,416,667 shares at a subscription price of 0.24p totalling £25,000, with his formal commitment to and payment for the subscription to take effect in September immediately after publication of the Company's annual report and accounts.

The £224,000 Placing announced today with new and existing investors excludes Dawson Buck's stated intention to subscribe to 10,416,667 shares totalling £25,000 in September 2016, and it therefore represents a £64,000 increase over the £160,000 interest from other investors announced on 29 June. The total funds which are expected to be raised from the Placing announced today and from Dawson Buck's £25,000 intended share subscription in September 2016 amount to £249,000.

The Company will receive the full £224,000 proceeds raised from the Placing announced today, which will be used to provide the Company with additional working capital over the coming year, to include the working capital required to hold stock of the Company's Fruitflow® + Omega-3 dietary supplement product which was launched online at www.fruitflowplus.com on 29 June 2016.

Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the 93,333,340 New Provexis Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that the admission will become effective and that trading in the New Provexis Shares will commence on 8 August 2016 ("Admission").

Following Admission, the Company's enlarged issued share capital will comprise 1,740,401,507 ordinary shares with voting rights. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. This figure of 1,740,401,507 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 and Transparency Rules.

Ian Ford, Finance Director of Provexis, commented:

"The Board is pleased with the outcome of the placing announced today, which has resulted in relatively little dilution to shareholders. The funds raised will be used to provide the Company with additional working capital over the coming year, and they will further strengthen the Company's balance sheet.

The Company is seeking to maximise the commercial returns that can be achieved from its Fruitflow® technology, and the Company's cost base and its resources continue to be very tightly managed. The Company remains keen to minimise dilution to shareholders and it is focussed on moving into profitability as Fruitflow® revenues increase. The Company will provide a further update on its capital structure and funding in its preliminary full year results statement, expected in early September."

This announcement contains inside information.

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For further information please contact:

Provexis plc                                                     Tel:      [phone]

Dawson Buck, Chairman                                 [e-mail]

Ian Ford, Finance Director

Cenkos Securities plc                                      Tel:      [phone]

Bobbie Hilliam

Notes for editors

About Provexis plc

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

In May 2009, the Company's Fruitflow® technology was the first to be substantiated by the European Food Safety Authority ("EFSA") under the new Article 13(5) for proprietary and emerging science. In December 2009 the European Commission authorised the health claim "Helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow", which was the first wording to be authorised under Article 13(5).

In June 2010 it was announced that the Company had entered into a long-term Alliance Agreement with DSM Nutritional Products to commercialise Fruitflow®, and in June 2015 the Company confirmed it had agreed significantly enhanced financial terms for its Alliance Agreement with DSM for Fruitflow®.

The Company's Alliance partner DSM Nutritional Products has developed the market actively for the Company's novel, patented Fruitflow® heart-health ingredient in all global markets, with over 50 regional consumer healthcare brands now having been launched by direct customers of DSM, and with a number of further regional brands having been launched through DSM's distributor channels.

An increasing number of further commercial projects have been initiated by DSM with prospective customers, including some prospective customers which are part of global businesses, with good prospects for these projects to be launched as consumer products. Interest in the technology exists in all major global markets.

On 29 June 2016 the Company launched a high quality dietary supplement product containing Fruitflow® and Omega-3 which is being sold initially from a separate, dedicated website www.fruitflowplus.com on a mail order basis.

The Company is engaged in a two stage collaboration agreement with the University of Oslo ('the University') to undertake further research into the relationship between Fruitflow® and blood pressure regulation. The Company is very pleased with the encouraging results from the first stage of the collaboration with strong evidence that a standard dose of Fruitflow® has the potential to give a clinically relevant reduction in systolic blood pressure. The Company and the University are now in the process of completing a small clinical trial by way of a proof of principle study.

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

 

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