First Day of Dealings

RNS Number : 0605A

Various Eateries PLC

25 September 2020

 

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25 September 2020

VARIOUS EATERIES PLC

("Various Eateries" or "the Company"

and with its subsidiaries "the Group")

ADMISSION TO TRADING ON AIM AND FIRST DAY OF DEALINGS

Various Eateries PLC, whose Group owns, develops and operates restaurant sites in the United Kingdom, is pleased to announce the admission of its entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Dealings in the ordinary shares of the Company will commence today at 8.00 a.m. under the ticker "VARE" and the ISIN " GB00BM9BZK23".

The Company has successfully raised £25 million (before expenses) by way of a placing of 34,246,576 new Ordinary Shares   with institutional and other investors at a price of 73 pence per Ordinary Share (the "Placing Price"). Various Eateries' market capitalisation at the Placing Price on admission will be £65 million. WH Ireland Limited ("WH Ireland") is acting as Sole Broker and Nominated Adviser in relation to the Admission.

The net proceeds will principally be used to advance the Group's plans to roll out its Coppa Club and Tavolino brands and to fund future activities, possibly including acquisitions.  

The Company's admission document is available to view on the Company's website: at  www.variouseateries.co.uk

Hugh Osmond, Founder of Various Eateries, commented:

"To be launching our flotation into the teeth of the worst crisis ever faced by the hospitality industry is an incredible achievement. It is a testament to the strength of the Various Eateries team and to our brokers, WH Ireland.

Adversity is the backdrop to the creation of many of the greatest ventures, not just in business but in life. I helped to build up PizzaExpress out of the UK recession of the early 1990s; we will build up Various Eateries out of the devastation caused by this current crisis.

I believe we have one of the best and most experienced teams ever put together in this industry. Between us we have run thousands of restaurants, pubs, clubs and hotels, and built some of the UK's largest and most successful hospitality businesses over more than 27 years. We have seen good times and we have seen bad.

We will take new sites, build new venues, employ new people and create new places for people to go, on the high street and in local communities. Our industry creates entry level jobs for people just out of school or university: the only qualifications required are to be able to work hard and to be a nice person.

I am sad to see many high streets devastated by the turmoil in hospitality and retail. But we will take those empty sites and turn them into busy all-day community hubs suited for how people in the post-Covid 2020s will want to live.

Hospitality is about so much more than food and drink. Hospitality is about freedom, frivolity and fun; it is about providing places that human beings want to go to in order to meet other human beings, to socialise and to enjoy life.

To many, this crisis is an existential threat; but it is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a new, major leisure business, based on how people want to live now.

That is why we are floating Various Eateries today and that is what we are raising money to try to achieve."

Enquiries

Various Eateries plc
Yishay Malkov	Chief Executive Officer	Via Alma PR
Andrew Bassadone	Executive Chairman
Hugh Osmond	Non-Executive Director
WH Ireland Limited	Sole Broker and Nominated Adviser	Tel: [phone]
Broking - Harry Ansell, Adam Pollock
Corporate Finance - Katy Mitchell, Lydia Zychowska
Alma PR	Financial PR	Tel: [phone]
Rebecca Sanders-Hewett		[e-mail]
Susie Hudson
David Ison
Harriet Jackson

About Various Eateries

Various Eateries owns, develops and operates restaurant sites in the United Kingdom. The Group's stated mission is "great people delivering unique experiences through continuous innovation".

The Group is led by a highly experienced senior team including Andy Bassadone (Executive Chairman), Hugh Osmond (Founder), Yishay Malkov (CEO), Oliver Williams (CFO) and   Matt Fanthorpe (Chef Director, a non-board position).

The Group operates two core brands across ten locations:

· Coppa Club, a multi-use, all-day concept that combines restaurant, terrace, café, lounge, bar and work spaces

· Tavolino, a restaurant aiming to address a gap in the market for high quality Italian food at mid-market prices

For more information visit www.variouseateries.co.uk

 

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