REG - Frontier Developmnts - Board Changes and Notice of Results

Frontier DevelopmentsAnnouncement

10/08/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 4655V  Frontier Developments PLC  10 August 2022

10 August 2022

Frontier Developments plc

Board Changes and Notice of Results

Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV, "Frontier" or the "Company"), a leading
developer and publisher of videogames based in Cambridge, UK, announces a
number of changes to its Board of Directors to take Frontier into its next
exciting chapter of growth.

Headlines

·    CEO transition - David Braben moves to a new role on the Board of
President and Founder, as Jonny Watts is promoted to CEO after 10 years as
Chief Creative Officer

·    Chairman transition - David Wilton to join the Board as a
Non-Executive Director and Chairman designate and will become Chairman in
December when David Gammon retires from the Board after serving a full term

·    The Board is further strengthened by the promotion of James Dixon to
Chief Operating Officer and Jessica Bourne to General Counsel & Company
Secretary

·    David Wilton will join the Board on 22 September 2022 following the
announcement of Frontier's FY22 financial results on 21 September 2022. All
other role changes are effective 10 August 2022

Chief Executive Officer

Frontier has announced David Braben's transition to his new role of President
and Founder, with Jonny Watts, currently Chief Creative Officer, being
appointed as CEO, effective from today, to lead the next phase of the
Company's evolution.

After 28 years leading Frontier's rise to become one of the world's leading
independent games companies, David Braben commented: "Frontier is very
important to me, and I am delighted to be able to pass on my CEO
responsibilities to the exceptionally talented Jonny Watts, who I know will do
a terrific job.  He has the perfect combination of creative leadership and
gaming vision to build on the excellent momentum in the business.  I am
looking forward to my new role at Frontier, and this change enables me to
focus on our longer-term strategic opportunities."

David Braben will transition into the newly created role of President and
Founder, an Executive Director position, where he will retain his leadership
and vision for Frontier's strategic direction, whilst maintaining and building
key relationships within the games industry and the wider digital
entertainment sector.

As CEO, Jonny Watts will build on an exceptional track record at Frontier
having worked closely with David Braben for over 24 years, and as Chief
Creative Officer since 2012.  The partnership has delivered outstanding
success for the Company, including the substantial value created over the last
decade from Frontier's transition to self-publishing, development of a
portfolio of high-quality games played by millions around the world, and
record revenue (unaudited) of £114m in FY22.  Jonny has been key to the
Company's major game successes over recent years, and he has also been
instrumental in establishing and delivering Frontier's successful Develop,
Launch and Nurture strategy, which delivers long-term value to both Frontier's
players and investors.  In his new role as CEO, Jonny will be responsible for
all aspects of day-to-day leadership and delivery against Frontier's
operational and longer term strategic plans.

Commenting on his appointment, Jonny Watts said: "I am excited to step up and
lead Frontier into the next chapter of our growth. We have an amazing team and
an exceptional culture of high-quality creativity and inclusivity.  I'm
looking forward to working with David and the wider Board to take us to still
greater success.  We look forward with great confidence".

Chairman

Frontier has also announced that David Gammon will retire as Chairman in
December 2022 after serving his full term on the board.  David Gammon will be
succeeded by David Wilton who will join the Board as an Independent
Non-Executive Director and Chairman Designate on 22 September 2022, becoming
Chairman when David Gammon retires in December 2022.

David Wilton brings a wealth of experience of high growth businesses across
multiple sectors, including games.  Most recently, he has been CFO of Sumo
Group plc from where he will be retiring on 31 October 2022.  He is an
experienced Non-Executive Director, consultant and qualified chartered
accountant with many years in corporate finance, primarily in mid cap M&A
with Rothschild & Co. He is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair
of the Audit Committee of CVS Group plc, the AIM quoted veterinary services
group.

David Gammon said: "I am very pleased that David Wilton is succeeding me.
Chairing the Board of Frontier over the last 10 years has been a tremendous
privilege.  Frontier is an exceptional business with a portfolio of games
which entertain millions around the world.  It has been a great pleasure to
oversee its growth and transformation including our listing on the stock
exchange and scale-up to a world class gaming business of 800 people.  With
Jonny becoming CEO and David Braben still closely involved, David Wilton will
have an outstanding team to work with. I am immensely grateful to my fellow
board members for their support and hard work during my tenure as Chairman. I
wish Frontier the very best for the future."

David Wilton said: "I am thrilled to be joining Frontier's Board. I have known
David Braben for many years and have watched the business with great interest.
Jonny Watts is an exceptional leader and I am looking forward to working with
him.  Frontier is an amazing company making great games and has been a
tremendous success story. I look forward to playing a part in Frontier's
future success as we take advantage of the many opportunities ahead".

Chief Operating Officer

Also effective from today, James Dixon, Frontier's current Senior Director of
Operations, has joined the Board as Chief Operating Officer. James has worked
with David Braben and Jonny Watts for over 24 years and has been integral to
Frontier's success over that time, particularly during the significant
scale-up phases of the last decade. James will provide support to Jonny Watts
in his new CEO role, and to the whole Board, as Frontier continues to grow and
evolve.

Company Secretary

Jessica Bourne, Frontier's current Head of Legal, has been promoted into the
role of General Counsel and Company Secretary, effective from today. Jessica
joined Frontier in October 2020 and has provided excellent support throughout
that time. She is a qualified Solicitor having broad experience of in-house
practice in a number of organisations including PA Consulting Group. Jessica
has previous experience of the games industry from her time at Ninja Theory
Limited and their acquisition by Microsoft in 2018.

Jessica will take over company secretarial responsibilities from Alex Bevis,
Chief Financial Officer, which will allow Alex to focus more time on strategic
planning and stakeholder management.  It will also provide an improved
segregation of duties, and will deliver clear leadership across the distinct
areas of finance (Alex) and legal (Jessica). Alex will continue to be
responsible for all aspects of HR in addition to his finance and investor
relations responsibilities.

 

The following additional information is provided in accordance with Rule 17
and paragraph (g) of Schedule Two of the AIM Rules for Companies.

David Charles Wilton

David Charles Wilton, aged 59, holds 7,000 ordinary shares of 0.5p each in
Frontier ("Ordinary Shares"). His current and previous directorships or
partnerships are detailed below:

Current directorships and partnerships:

CVS Group plc

Auroch Digital Limited

Timbre Games Studio Inc

Pacman Finco Limited

Auroch Digital Coco Limited

Aghoco 1952 Limited

Secret Mode Limited

Sumo Video Games Private Limited

Lab42 Limited

Red Kite Games Limited

Red Kite Software Development Limited

Riverside Games Limited

Sumo Digital (Chilli) Limited

Sumo Digital (Locus) Limited

The Chinese Room Limited

Sumo Group Limited

Atomhawk Canada Limited

Project Republica Topco Limited

Project Republica Bidco Limited

Sumo Digital Holdings Limited

Sumo Digital Group Limited

Sumo Digital Entertainment Limited

Sumo Digital Limited

Sumo Games Development Limited

Mistral Entertainment Limited

Sumo Digital (Genus) Limited

AGHOCO 1337 Limited

Cirrus Development Limited

Atomhawk Design Limited

 

Past directorships and partnerships held within the last 5 years:

Gealka Limited

Pacman Reverse Acquisitions Sub, Inc

Pacman Acquisition Sub, Inc

Sumo Digital (Atlantis) Limited

 

James Alexander Dixon

James Alexander Dixon, aged 49, holds 46,859 Ordinary Shares and options over
20,267 Ordinary Shares under the following Frontier Developments plc share
schemes:

 Share scheme               Number of options over Ordinary Shares  Average exercise price
 Company Share Option Plan  2,742                                   £10.940
 Long Term Incentive Plan   15,674                                  £0.005
 Sharesave                  1,851                                   £9.720
 Total                      20,267                                  £2.372

 

Mr Dixon's wife, Katharin Dixon, a person closely associated ("PCA"), also
holds 4,321 Ordinary Shares in the Company.

Mr. Dixon does not have any current or past directorships or partnerships to
disclose.

Save as disclosed above, there are no further disclosures to be made in
accordance with Rule 17 or Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation
(EU) No. 596/2014 as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit)
Regulations 2019. The person responsible for making this announcement on
behalf of the Company is Alex Bevis.

 

Enquiries:

Frontier Developments   +44 (0)1223 394 300

Jonny Watts, CEO

David Braben, President and Founder

Alex Bevis, CFO

 

Liberum - Nomad and Joint Broker   +44 (0)20 3100 2000

Neil Patel / Cameron Duncan

 

Jefferies - Joint Broker   +44 (0)20 7029 8000

Max Jones / William Brown

 

Tulchan Communications   +44 (0)20 7353 4200

Matt Low / Alex Dart

 

About Frontier Developments plc

Frontier is a leading independent developer and publisher of videogames
founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the iconic Elite game. Based in
Cambridge, Frontier uses its proprietary COBRA game development technology to
create innovative genre-leading games, primarily for personal computers and
videogame consoles. As well as self-publishing internally developed games,
Frontier also publishes games developed by carefully selected partner studios
under its Frontier Foundry games label.

Frontier's LEI number: 213800B9LGPWUAZ9GX18.

www.frontier.co.uk (http://www.frontier.co.uk/)

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