23 July 2024

Investment Evolution Credit plc

("IEC", the "Company" or the Group)

Appointment of Director and Significant Expansion of UK Executive Team

Investment Evolution Credit plc (AQSE: IEC) - 23 July 2024: IEC, a global fintech group specialising in online consumer loans, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Gareth Hawkins as an Independent Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee effective 1 August 2024. Mr Hawkins is a UK citizen with strong financial and compliance experience and will be responsible for finance  at the Company.

In addition, IEC is also finalising non-board appointments for early August of three new additional key UK executives who are all UK residents. The new positions are Chief Financial Officer, Managing Director (Corporate Finance) and Chief Operating Officer/UK Lending & Compliance Manager. The addition of the new UK INED, combined with these three additional UK executives, will significantly strengthen IEC's UK FCA Consumer Credit Licensing Application and signifies IEC's strong long-term commitment to both the UK public company and UK consumer finance markets. IEC's management continue to work towards commencing consumer lending operations in the United Kingdom by early 2025.

Gareth Hawkins

Mr Hawkins currently serves as a Director at Angel Syndicate Ltd and Fundry Capital Partners Ltd since 2023, Chairman of Biz Crunch Ltd (T/A BizCrunch) and a non-Executive Director at ElectrAssure Ltd since 2022 and Chairman of Letchworth Garden City since 2022, having been a trustee since 2021. Additionally, Mr Hawkins is an Advisor to a number of investment advisory companies such as Connectd, Stratiphy and Block Dojo.

From 2022 to 2023 he was a member of the Investment Committee at Henley Business Angels Ltd. Prior to this he held various roles at Wholesale Welding Supplies Ltd, subsequently Weldability Sif Ltd, from 1997 to 2021, culminating as Managing Director from 2016. Mr Hawkins gained an MBA through the Quantic School of Business and Technology in 2019.

Save as set out below, there is no further information to disclose regarding Mr Hawkins pursuant to Rule 4.9 of the AQSE Growth Market Access Rulebook.

Mr Gareth Peter George Hawkins (aged 45) has held the following current and former directorships / partnerships in the past five years:

Mr Hawkins does not hold any shares, or options or warrants over ordinary shares, in the Company.  

About IEC

IEC is an experienced regulated licensed lender under the consumer brand Mr. Amazing Loans in the United States with state consumer lending licenses/certificates of authority in the 6 states of California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada and New Jersey and an established track-record of regulatory compliance for over 13 years. IEC plans to expand its United States lending model to the United Kingdom market in due course by providing £2,000 to £10,000 online personal loans with fixed affordable repayments, subject to the receipt of all necessary authorisations and permits.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

Enquiries:

For more information please visit: www.investmentevolution.com/investors  

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company's current expectations, estimates, and projections about its industry; its beliefs; and assumptions. Words such as 'anticipates,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control, are difficult to predict, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions security holders and prospective security holders not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the view of the Company only as of the date of this announcement. The forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. The Company will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances, or unanticipated events occurring after the date of this announcement except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory authority.