Live Market Bookbuild Closes

RNS Number : 8545Q

WideCells Group PLC

11 June 2018

 

11 June 2018

WideCells Group PLC ('WideCells Group' or 'the Group')

Live Market Bookbuild Closes

WideCells Group PLC, the healthcare services company focused on providing stem cell services and ground-breaking insurance for stem cell treatment, announces that the Live Market Bookbuild ('the 'Bookbuild'), which commenced on 10 May 2018, has now closed and has received commitments to raise a further £513,000. 

Pursuant to the he Group's Placing, which was announced on 10 May 2018 with an update announced on 5 June 2018,  the Group has accordingly  received commitments representing a total of £2.036 million (gross), including the £513,000 committed under the Bookbuild.  Directors of the Group have participated in the Bookbuild, collectively subscribing for 6,100,001 Placing Shares at 3 pence per share for a total of £183,000 out of the £513,000 committed. The net proceeds of the Placing will be used to expand the Group's core end-to-end stem cell services as it looks to build its revenue profile. 

A breakdown of the Directors' participation is as follows:

Director	Number of Existing Ordinary Shares held	Number of Placing Shares subscribed for	Resultant holding following Admission	Estimated resultant percentage  holding following Admission
Peter Presland, Chairman	0	1,666,667	1,666,667	1.2%
João Andrade, CEO	8,055,000	333,333	8,388,333	6.3%
Lopes Gil, COO	8,050,000	266,667	8,316,667	6.2%
Peter Hollands, CSO	0	166,667	166,667	0.1%
David Bridgland, CFO	403,981	1,666,667	2,070,648	1.6%
Marilyn Orcharton, NED	158,095	166,667	324,762	0.2%
Malcolm Glaister, NED	0	500,000	500,000	0.4%
David Henriques, NED	0	1,333,333	1,333,333	1.0%

A further announcement will be made in due course at such time that the Placing, including the above transactions, completes.

WideCells Group CEO, João Andrade, said, "With this Placing and Bookbuild receiving subscriptions to raise gross proceeds of £2 million, which includes continued support from institutional shareholders, we are delighted that investors continue to recognise the strong value fundamentals of our business, which we firmly believe in, as can be indicated through a number of Directors participating in this Placing.  Our focus now is to drive uptake of our innovative portfolio of stem cell services and ultimately build revenues as we embark on a new phase of growth.  We look forward to providing further updates in due course."

 **ENDS**

For further information, please visit the Group's website www.widecellsgroup.com, follow us on Twitter @WideCells_Group or contact:

WideCells Group PLC	CEO - João Andrade	Tel:  [phone]
Smaller Company Capital Limited	Broker - Jeremy Woodgate & Rupert Williams	Tel: [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP	Broker - Damon Heath & Erik Woolgar	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners Limited	PR - Charlotte Page & Isabel de Salis	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

WideCells Group PLC

WideCells Group PLC is building an integrated stem cell services company, focused on making stem cell treatments accessible and affordable.  This is achieved through three divisions:

The Group has three divisions:

·     CellPlan: the world's first stem cell healthcare insurance plan with financial cover for medical treatment, travel and accommodation expenses and concierge service to manage the treatment process.

·     WideCells: The Institute of Stem Cell Technology has been established and is based in the University of Manchester Innovation Centre to provide stem cell storage services and focus on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. Its international cryogenics division specialises in stem cell storage, with the Group currently offering umbilical cord blood and tissue storage services to clients in the UK and Europe under the brand name BabyCells.

·     Wideacademy: an education and training division to promote awareness of the benefits of stem cell storage across the global general practice community.

The Group has built an experienced senior management team that has been integral to the development of its growth and business to date.

Stem Cell Fast Facts:

·     Cord blood (which is taken from the umbilical cord) provides the most effective source of stem cells for families due to it being simple, safe and painless to collect relative to other sources of stem cells such as bone marrow - WideCells will focus on promoting the collection and storage of cord blood.

·     Since 2005, there has been a 300% increase in the number of illnesses that can be treated using stem cells.

·     82 illnesses can currently be treated using stem cell procedures.

·     Despite initial storage often costing no more than a few £thousand, actual treatment can cost in the £hundreds of thousands

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR).

 

END

 

 

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