Abingdon Health plc
("Abingdon Health" or "the Company")
Update to Shareholder Concert Parties
York, U.K. 11 January 2024: Further to its announcement on 30 August 2023, Abingdon Health plc (AIM: ABDX), a leading international lateral flow contract research (CRO) and contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), provides an update to its shareholder concert parties.
Under the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code") published by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Panel"), a concert party arises where persons who, pursuant to an agreement or understanding (whether formal or informal), co-operate to obtain or consolidate control (as defined in the Code) of a company or to frustrate the successful outcome of an offer for a company.
Certain persons will be presumed, as set out in the Definitions in the Code, to be persons acting in concert with other persons in the same category unless the contrary is established, including shareholders in a private company who, following the re-registration of that company as a public company in connection with an initial public offering or otherwise, become shareholders in a company to which the Code applies.
On 30 August 2023, the Company announced that it had agreed with the Panel that the concert party that was put in place upon the Company's IPO on 15 December 2020 would be split in to three separate concert parties which are distinct and independent for the purposes of the Code being:
1. The Founder Group, comprising founders and associates which has an aggregate interest of the Company of approximately 18.5%1
2. The Duckworth Group, comprising certain investment vehicles associated with Mr Max Duckworth which has an aggregate interest of the Company of approximately 13.6%1
3. The Drayson Group, comprising Professor Mark Drayson and associates which has an aggregate interest in the issued share capital of the Company of approximately 1.8%1
The Company has now agreed with the Panel that Brett Pollard should be removed from the Founder Group concert party. The revised members of the Founder Group and the members of The Duckworth Group and The Drayson Group (each of which is unchanged in terms of composition), including their beneficial interests in ordinary shares in the Company, are as follows:
| 1. The Founder Group | | |
| | | |
| Shareholder | Number of Shares | % of ISC |
| Chris Hand | 13,178,467 | 10.8% |
| Chris Yates | 7,888,844 | 6.5% |
| Chris Lewis | 640,000 | 0.5% |
| Tracie Lewis | 481,500 | 0.4% |
| Philip Hand | 248,496 | 0.2% |
| Nicola Hand | 142,328 | 0.1% |
| Total | 22,579,635 | 18.5% |
| As at 10 January 2024 |
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| | | |
| 2. The Duckworth Group | | |
| | | |
| Shareholder | Number of Shares | % of ISC |
| Max Duckworth | 0 | 0% |
| Catenalucis LLC | 7,088,488 | 5.8% |
| Thornapple LLP | 6,113,124 | 5.0% |
| Godstow Holdings LLC | 1,780,068 | 1.5% |
| Nicholas Properties UK Ltd | 891,132 | 0.7% |
| Humble Rogue Ventures LLC | 709,180 | 0.6% |
| Total | 17,081,992 | 13.6% |
| As at 10 January 2024 |
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| 3. The Drayson Group | | |
| | | |
| Shareholder | Number of Shares | % of ISC |
| Prof Mark Drayson | 1,313,272 | 1.1% |
| Prof Roy Jefferis | 370,020 | 0.3% |
| Dr Mark Cobbold | 461,924 | 0.4% |
| Total | 2,145,216 | 1.8% |
| As at 10 January 2024 |
| |
The individuals within these three groups can each acquire further shares in the Company without triggering an obligation under Rule 9 of the Code to make an offer for the whole of its issued share capital, provided such acquisitions do not cause the aggregate interest of their respective concert party to reach or exceed 30 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital.
Enquiries
| Abingdon Health plc | ||
| Chris Yates, Chief Executive Officer | Via Walbrook PR | |
| Chris Hand, Non-Executive Chairman |
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| Singer Capital Markets (Sole Broker and Nominated Adviser) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3000 | |
| Peter Steel, Alex Bond (Corporate Finance) |
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| Tom Salvesen (Corporate Broking) |
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| Walbrook PR Limited | Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or abingdon@walbrookpr.com | |
| Alice Woodings | Mob: +44 (0)7407 804 654 | |
About Abingdon Health plc
Abingdon Health is a leading lateral flow contract research (CRO) and contract development and manufacturing organisation ("CDMO") offering its services to an international customer base across industry sectors that include clinical, animal health, plant health, and environmental testing. Abingdon Health has the internal capabilities to take projects from initial concept through to routine and large-scale manufacturing; from "idea to commercial success."
The Company's CDMO division offers product development, regulatory support, technology transfer and manufacturing services for customers looking to develop new assays or transfer existing laboratory-based assays to a lateral flow format. Abingdon Health aims to support the increase in need for rapid results across many industries and locations and produces lateral flow tests in areas such as infectious disease, clinical testing including companion diagnostics, animal health and environmental testing. Faster access to results allows for rapid decision making, targeted intervention and can support better outcomes.
Abingdon Health's Abingdon Simply Test™ range of self-tests is an ecommerce platform that offers a range of self-tests to empowers consumers to manage their own health and wellbeing. The Abingdon Simply Test™ ecommerce site offers consumers a range of information to support them in making informed decisions on the tests available. In addition, the site provides Abingdon's contract services customers with a potential route to market for self-tests. The Abingdon Simply Test range is also sold through international distributors and through other channels in the UK and Ireland such as pharmacy chains.
Founded in 2008, Abingdon Health is headquartered in York, England. For more information visit: www.abingdonhealth.com
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