Board Changes and Grant of Share Options

RNS Number : 1625O

CentralNic Group PLC

05 February 2016

 

Press Release

5 February 2016

CentralNic Group Plc

("CentralNic" or the "Company")

Board Changes and Grant of Share Options

CentralNic, (AIM: CNIC), the internet platform business which derives revenues from the global sale of domain names, announces that Executive Director, Robert Pooke has indicated his wish to retire from its Board of Directors (the "Board") with immediate effect.  Robert will continue as a consultant with the Company for the time being.  Robert is one of the founders of CentralNic and has been involved in the domain name industry since 1998.

CentralNic also announces that, with immediate effect, Desleigh Jean Jameson (age 46), the Chief Executive of Instra Group, will join the Board as a Director. Instra Group's acquisition by CentralNic was announced on 8 December 2015 and completed in January 2016. Desleigh will also take on the role of head of CentralNic's retail operations worldwide.  Desleigh has led the Instra Group retail operations through consistent double-digit growth for the last two years and now brings that experience along with her governance capabilities to CentralNic.

Commenting on the changes to the Board, Ben Crawford, CEO of CentralNic, said:

"Robert Pooke was instrumental in establishing a culture focussed on innovation and profitability in CentralNic, a culture which has been instrumental in our recent growth to become a leading global player in the domain name industry. On behalf of my Board colleagues, I would like to thank Robert and to wish him every success for the future."

"I would also like to welcome Desleigh Jameson to the Board. Desleigh's management skills and experience, in driving growth in domain name retailing and online brand protection, will be very valuable to delivering CentralNic's growth strategy. I look forward to working with Desleigh at a Board level and on a day-to-day basis."

Commenting on her Board appointment, Desleigh Jameson said:

"I'm delighted to be working with such an engaged Board.  With the synergies and advantageous market positions brought about by the acquisition of the Instra Group, it's an exciting time to be a part of CentralNic's growth strategy."

The Remuneration Committee and the Board also authorised the grant of options, over a total of 2,267,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares").

The different parties to be granted options under the unapproved option scheme, which in aggregate total 2,219,000 options at an exercise price of 40 pence per Ordinary Share, and their resultant holdings are set out below:

Director Name	Number of options to be granted	Expected vesting date	Total number of options held following the grant	Options held as % of existing share capital
Mike Turner	750,000	15 September 2018	750,000	0.78%
Iain McDonald	350,000	26 October 2018	350,000	0.37%
Tom Pridmore	350,000	3 February 2019	438,000	0.46%
Thomas Rickert	350,000	3 February 2019	438,000	0.46%
Desleigh Jameson	200,000	14 January 2019	200,000	0.21%
Other Instra employees	219,000	14 January 2019	219,000	0.23%

In addition to the above, 48,000 EMI options are being granted to other CentralNic employees, at an exercise price of 51 pence per Ordinary Share based on the middle market price of the Company's Ordinary Shares at the close of business on 4 February 2016. These options will vest on 4 February 2019.

Regulatory Information of Desleigh Jameson: 

Desleigh currently holds or has held the following directorships and partnerships in the last five years: 

Current Directorships	Past Directorships
Instra Holdings (NZ) Ltd Instra Corporation Ltd Only Domains Ltd Private Ranger Ltd	Six Corporation Ltd* Allied Fastenings Ltd

* Desleigh Jameson was a Director of Six Corporation Ltd between February 2012 and December 2014. The company entered into a Voluntary Winding up arrangement in October 2014, no amounts were owed to creditors.

There is no other information that is required to be disclosed pursuant to Schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

-Ends-

For further information:

CentralNic Group Plc
Ben Crawford (CEO)	[phone]
Zeus Capital Limited - NOMAD and Joint Broker
Nick Cowles / Jamie Peel John Goold / Alex Davies	[phone] [phone]
Peel Hunt LLP - Joint Broker
Richard Kauffer / Euan Brown	[phone]
Abchurch Communications
Jamie Hooper / Canace Wong	[phone]
[e-mail]	www.abchurch-group.com

About CentralNic

CentralNic (LSE: CNIC) is a London-based AIM-listed company which earns revenues from the worldwide sales of internet domain names over its proprietary technology platform. These domain names are sold on an annual subscription basis and paid for by customers upfront, making CentralNic a cash-generative business with annuity revenue streams.   CentralNic comprises three business lines within the domain name industry.  

It operates a global wholesale network, supplying domain names to over 1,500 vendors in 77 countries. CentralNic is the exclusive wholesaler for all domains ending with .xyz .tickets, .site, .design .bar, .love, .feedback, and over 30 other new Top-Level Domain extensions (the new. alternatives to .com and .net). As at 14 January 2016, .xyz is ranked as the most subscribed new Top-Level Domain extension, with total number of registrations close to two million. One in five of all domains registered under new TLDs globally uses the CentralNic platform, consistently ranking CentralNic as a top two global supplier with over two and a half million of these domains under management.

CentralNic is also a leading global domain name retailer, with its retail websites including internetbs.net, buydomains.london and domain.luxury and most recently instra.com and others following its acquisition of global domain name retailer Instra Group. Additionally, via its enterprise programme, CentralNic supplies domain names (including high-value premium domain names), software and services directly to large corporations and governments.

For more information please visit: www.centralnic.com 

 

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