REG - Bonhill Group PLC - Update on Strategic Review, FSP and Trading

BonhillAnnouncement

09/12/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 1362J  Bonhill Group PLC  09 December 2022

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

 

09 December 2022

 

Bonhill Group plc

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

 

Update on Strategic Review and Formal Sale Process

and

Trading Statement

 

Bonhill Group plc (AIM: BONH), a leading B2B media business specialising in
financial services providing media, events and data & analytics, announces
an update on the strategic review and formal sale process which was announced
on 10 October 2022 and an update on trading since its most recent announcement
released on 2 November 2022.

 

Update on Strategic Review and Formal Sale Process

On 2 November 2022, the Company provided an update on the Company's strategic
review and formal sale process and that the strong level of interest received
was from a range of potential buyers, including for separate parts of the
Group. The Company is now pleased to announce that it has received a
conditional offer of £6.6m in cash (equating to a price per share of
approximately 5.5 pence) from a privately owned UK media company for the
assets and trade of its UK and Asia businesses which, subject to the
completion of satisfactory due diligence, is expected to complete in January
2023. In addition, the Company has received indicative conditional offers for
its US business, InvestmentNews LLC ("InvestmentNews") and will provide a
further update once a preferred buyer has been selected.

Shareholders are advised that there can be no certainty that any offers will
be made as a result of the formal sale process, that any sale or other
transaction (whether referred to in this announcement or otherwise) will be
concluded, nor as to the terms on which any offer or other such transaction
may be made.

Trading Statement

 

On 2 November 2022, the Company also announced that the Board expected
revenues of approximately £14.5 million and an EBITDA loss of approximately
£0.6 million for the year ending 31 December 2022 ("FY2022") due to the
reluctance of some clients to release planned marketing spend into FY2022.
Since 2 November 2022, the Company has also seen the shift of some major
content projects, which had been budgeted for Q4 2022, slip into Q1 2023 and,
as such, the Board now expects that FY2022 revenue will be approximately
£13.8m, with an EBITDA loss from continuing operations of approximately
£1.3m. The year-end cash position is expected to be approximately £0.3m. The
Company continues to manage its cash well including the use of the available
drawdown facility where required.

 

Forward bookings into FY2023 are strong with 7% of management's budget for
FY2023 already booked, being 31% higher than at the same time last year.
Momentum is building for FY2023 with bookings for InvestmentNews and the
Company's UK business currently 57% and 16% higher year on year respectively.

 

This announcement includes inside information as defined in Article 7 of the
Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 and is disclosed in accordance with the
Company's obligations under Article 17 of those Regulations.

 

For further enquiries please contact:

 

 Bonhill Group plc
 Jonathan Glasspool, Non-executive                                                                                +44 (0)207 638 6378
 Chairman

                                                                                                                +44 (0)7714 660 943
 Patrick Ponsford, Group CEO

 Shore Capital (Financial Adviser, Nominated Adviser and Broker)
 Tom Griffiths/David Coaten                                                                                       +44 (0)20 7408 4050

About Bonhill Group plc

Bonhill Group plc is a leading, AIM-quoted, B2B media company providing
Business Information, Events and Data & Insight propositions to the global
Financial Services community. Bonhill operates multiple digital platforms, has
market leading media brands, hosts over 100 events per annum, offers a
portfolio of data & analytics propositions and provides a range of content
marketing solutions.

Bonhill operates exclusively in the financial services space where its brands
and services are acknowledged as market leaders. It specialises in enhancing
the relationship and flow of information between the global community of
financial services providers and the advisers who recommend their products.
Bonhill was early to recognise the growing importance of ESG in asset
allocation and fund selection and now owns the leading global platform in this
space, serving the adviser community.

Flagship brands include: InvestmentNews, ESG Clarity, Portfolio Adviser, Fund
Selector Asia, Expert Investor Europe, UK Adviser and International Adviser.

Offices in New York, London, Singapore and Hong Kong.

For more information visit www.bonhillplc.com.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Shore Capital and Corporate Limited is authorised and regulated in the United
Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and is acting exclusively
as Financial Adviser, Nominated Adviser and Broker and for no one else in
connection with the subject matter of this announcement and will not be
responsible to anyone other than Bonhill for providing the protections
afforded to its clients nor for providing advice in relation to the subject
matter of this announcement.

 

This announcement is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of
any offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise
acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities whether
pursuant to this announcement or otherwise.

 

This announcement (including any information incorporated by reference in this
announcement), oral statements made regarding the formal sale process, and
other information published by the Group contain statements about the Group
that are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Without
limitation, any statements preceded or followed by or that include the words
"targets", "plans", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may",
"anticipates", "estimates", "projects" or words or terms of similar substance
or the negative thereof, may be forward looking statements.

 

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.
Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results and are based
on certain key assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected or implied in any forward-looking statements.
Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers should not rely on such
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
announcement. The Group disclaims any obligation or responsibility to update
publicly or review any forward-looking or other statements contained in this
announcement, except as required by applicable law.

 

The distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions outside the United
Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession
this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and observe, such
restrictions. Any failure to comply with the restrictions may constitute a
violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction.

 

Publication on website

A copy of this announcement will be made available, subject to certain
restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions, on the
Group's website at www.bonhillplc.com by no later than 12 noon (London time)
on the business day following the date of this announcement. Neither the
content of any website referred to in this announcement nor the content of any
website accessible from hyperlinks is incorporated into, or forms part of,
this announcement.

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