Director Shareholdings

RNS Number : 4677A

Watkin Jones plc

24 March 2017

 

For immediate release

24 March 2017

Watkin Jones plc

('Watkin Jones', the 'Group' or the 'Company')

Director Shareholdings

Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation sector, announces that 50,250,000 ordinary shares of one penny each in the Company representing approximately 19.7% of the issued share capital have been placed (the 'Placing') on behalf of the G&J Watkin Jones 1992 Settlement Trust, in which Mark Watkin Jones (CEO) has an interest as a potential beneficiary, and Philip Byrom (CFO).  The shares have been placed to meet demand from new and existing shareholders and to improve the liquidity of the Group.

The resultant shareholdings are shown in the table below.

Shareholder name	Shares held	Percentage %
G&J Watkin Jones 1992 Settlement Trust*	38,901,422	15.24
Philip Byrom	3,167,891	1.24

* Mark Watkin Jones has a life interest in the shares registered in the name of the 1992 Trust, of which Mark Watkin Jones, Glyn Watkin Jones and Jennifer Watkin Jones are trustees. Mark also holds an interest as a potential beneficiary of the Watkin Jones Will Trust (27,857,985 shares) and also holds 7,650,000 shares in his own name. Mark therefore has an interest in a total of 74,409,407 ordinary shares (29.14% of the ordinary share capital).

The notification below, made in accordance with the requirements of the EU Market Abuse Regulation, provides further detail.

Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them.

1	Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated
a)	Name	1.   Mark Watkin Jones* 2.   Philip Byrom  * Mark Watkin Jones has a life interest in the shares registered in the name of the G&J Watkin Jones 1992 Settlement Trust, of which Mark Watkin Jones, Glyn Watkin Jones and Jennifer Watkin Jones are trustees.
2	Reason for the notification
a)	Position/status	1.   Chief Executive Officer 2.   Chief Financial Officer
b)	Initial notification /Amendment	Initial notification
3	Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
a)	Name	Watkin Jones plc
b)	LEI	(Pending)
4	Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted
a)	Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code	Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each ISIN: GB00BD6RF223
b)	Nature of the transaction	Sale of ordinary shares
c)	Price(s) and volume(s)	Price      Shareholder No. of shares 140p G&J Watkin Jones 1992 Settlement Trust 49,250,000 140p Philip Byrom 1,000,000
d)	Aggregated information - Aggregated      volume - Price	Volume: 50,250,000 Weighted average price: 140p
e)	Date of the transaction	24 March 2017
f)	Place of the transaction	London Stock Exchange, AIM

- Ends -

For further information:

Watkin Jones plc
Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Phil Byrom, Chief Financial Officer	www.watkinjonesplc.com
Zeus Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)
Corporate Finance
Dan Bate / Jamie Peel		Tel: [phone]
Corporate Broking		Tel: [phone]
Dominic King / Benjamin Robertson		www.zeuscapital.co.uk
Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker)		Tel: [phone]
Mike Bell / Matthew Brooke-Hitching		www.peelhunt.com

Media enquiries:

Buchanan
Henry Harrison-Topham / Richard Oldworth Jamie Hooper / Steph Watson	Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]	www.buchanan.uk.com

Notes to Editors

Watkin Jones is a leading UK developer and constructor of multi occupancy property assets, with a focus on the student accommodation sector.  The Group has strong relationships with institutional investors, and a good reputation for successful, on-time-delivery of high quality developments.  Since 1999, Watkin Jones has delivered over 31,800 student beds across 98 sites, making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose built student accommodation market.  In addition, Watkin Jones has been responsible for over 50 residential developments, ranging from starter homes to executive housing and apartments.

The Group's competitive advantage lies in its experienced management team and business model, which enables it to offer an end to end solution for investors, delivered entirely in-house with minimal reliance on third parties, across the entire life cycle of an asset.  Key components of the business model are:

·     Site identification - extensive experience of site identification and acquisition facilitates high quality sites being acquired;

·     Planning consents - in depth knowledge and experience of the planning consent process specific to this type of asset facilitates high success rates on planning applications;

·     In-house construction and delivery - in-house construction expertise, management and delivery limits reliance on third parties and, together with favourable contractual relationships with key suppliers, enhances control of cost;

·     Funding structure - forward sale model reduces risk for Watkin Jones and provides security and visibility of the asset pipeline for investors.  The Group has strong relationships with blue chip investors, including a number that are repeat investors in Watkin Jones developments; and

·     Asset management - dedicated property management division provides a continued service solution to investors post development completion and completes the 'end to end' business model.

 

END

 

 

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