2 January 2025

Investment Evolution Credit plc

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

Subscription, Director/PDMR Dealings, Related Party Transaction, Issue of Equity and

Directorate Changes

Investment Evolution Credit plc (AQSE: IEC) - 2 January 2025: IEC, a global fintech group specialising in online consumer loans, is pleased to announce that it has raised £27,000 through the issue of 2,700,000 new ordinary shares of £0.005 each in the Company ("Subscription Shares") at an issue price of £0.01 each per share through a subscription by three (3) Directors and one (1) PDMR of the Company ("Subscription").

Subscription

The Subscription is on the same terms of the subscription and broker option announced by the Company on 31 October 2024. The funds will be used to fund the Company's business plan and for general working capital purposes.

The participation in the Subscription by Neil Patrick, a director of the Company, is a related party transaction pursuant to Rule 4.6 of the AQSE Growth Market Access Rulebook (the "Transaction"). The Directors of IEC independent of the Transaction, being Glendys Aguilera and Paul Mathieson, confirm that, having exercised reasonable care, skill and diligence, the related party transaction is fair and reasonable insofar as the shareholders of IEC are concerned.

Following the Subscription, Neil Patrick, Marc Howells and Richard Leaver and the PDMR who participated in the Subscription will hold the following number of shares in the Company:

Admission

Application has been made for the 2,700,000 Subscription Shares to be admitted to trading on AQSE ("Admission") and it is expected that Admission will take place on, or around, 10 January 2025. The Subscription Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of the Company.

Total Voting Rights 

Following admission of the Subscription Shares, the Company's enlarged issued share capital will comprise 64,963,671 ordinary shares. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. The figure of 64,963,671 ordinary shares may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Directorate Changes

The Company is pleased to announce that, further to the announcement on 17 December 2024, Mr. Marc Howells and Dr. Richard Leaver have been appointed to the Board of the Company as CEO and Independent Non-executive Director, respectively, as of 1 January 2025. Biographic details and disclosures in relation to Marc Howells and Richard Leaver pursuant to AQSE Rule 4.9 are set out further below. In addition to his role as Independent Non-Executive Director, Dr. Richard Leaver has also been appointed as a member of the Audit & Risk, Remuneration and Nomination & AQSE Rules Committees. Paul Mathieson has retired from the Board of the Company effective 31 December 2024.

Marc Richard Howells

Mr. Marc Richard Howells currently serves as a non-Board Chief Executive Officer of IEC from September 2024 and  Director at Myogenes Limited since 2023. Previously he was Chief Executive Officer at Goodbody Health Group from 2021 to 2022 and Advancis Limited (trading as Buddy Loans) from 2021 to 2022. Prior to this he was the Managing Director at Everyday Loans from 2017 to 2019; George Banco from 2013 to 2019; First Banco from 2012 to 2013 and MBA International from 2010 to 2012. He was Chief Executive Officer at Home Credit from 2007 to 2009. Mr. Howells commenced his career at HFC Bank in 1984, moving to Citi Group in 2002, followed by Barclaycard in 2007.

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

Mr. Marc Richard Howells (aged 59) has held the following current and former directorships / partnerships in the past five years:

In January 2021 Mr. Howells was appointed as a director of Advancis Limited, having been approached by the company in order to provide advice to the company in relation to ongoing operational concerns and assist the company with its forthcoming FCA review. In September 2021, following examination of the company's financial positioning, Mr. Howells advised the board of the company to appoint administrators, which were appointed on 7 September 2021, and subsequently resigned shortly after in October 2021. Mr. Howells was removed from the company's Companies House in April 2022. The company was dissolved following liquidation in December 2023 and there was an unsecured creditor shortfall of approximately £26.5 million.

Mr. Howells holds 900,000 shares in the Company following his participation in the Subscription on 31 December 2024, representing 1.39 per cent of the Company's enlarged issued share capital. He does not hold any options or warrants over new ordinary shares, in the Company.

Dr. Richard Alexander Leaver

Dr. Leaver is the founder and Director of Greybrook Limited, his consultancy firm since 1998. With a career spanning several industries, he has held roles such as Non-executive Director (latterly as Deputy Chairman) at Image Scan Holdings PLC (2014-2023) and CEO at Blue Star Capital PLC (2008-2012). Earlier in his career, he worked at BAE Systems (1983-1994) and Sagentia, after earning a BSc in Applied Physics & Electronics, a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, and an MBA from Durham University (the latter two degrees whilst employed by BAE Systems). He is currently a regional director at Boardroom Advisors, a mentor at Cambridge Judge Business School, and a visiting professor at Hainan University, having previously served as a guest professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing and a Dealmaker for the UK Government. His diverse leadership experience includes partnerships, board positions, and advisory roles across technology, finance, and academia.

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

Dr. Richard Alexander Leaver (aged 64) has held the following current and former directorships / partnerships in the past five years:

In June 2008, Dr. Leaver was appointed a director of Pedagog Limited, an early-stage technology company designing a cellular SIM based security camera. The business was capital intensive and following, constrained market conditions between 2009 to 2011, was unable to raise sufficient working capital in order to continue operating. Consequently in June 2011, the company entered into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation proceedings. Dr. Leaver resigned as a director of the company in February 2011 and was not involved in the CVL process before the company was dissolved following liquidation in September 2013. Unsecured creditor claims amounted to approximately £500,000 - there was no  repayment due to insufficient realisations during the liquidation process.

Dr. Leaver was appointed as a director of Enigma Digital Limited in April 2014. Enigma Digital was a start up tech company focused on the retrieval of selective business critical data and mobile phone data restoration. Over the COVID-19 period the market for the services of Enigma Digital was heavily impacted and did not revert to pre-pandemic levels. The company was unable to secure sufficient financing and subsequently in October 2021 the directors arranged for the company to undergo a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation. The CVL completed on 21 December 2024 and the estimated total due to be returned to creditors is approximately £60,000-90,000.

Dr. Leaver holds 1,000,000 shares in the Company following his participation in the Subscription on 31 December 2024, representing 1.54 per cent of the Company's enlarged issued share capital. He does not hold any options or warrants over new ordinary shares, in the Company.  

About IEC

IEC is an AI driven, consumer finance fintech innovator with a mission to rehabilitate borrowers through better technology and fairer products. 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 14 years. IEC plans to expand its United States lending model to the United Kingdom market in 2025 by providing £2,000 to £10,000 online personal loans with fixed affordable repayments, subject to the successful acquisition of an existing UK FCA licensed consumer lender.

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.