REG - Zotefoams PLC - Joint Venture Agreement and Executive Appointment

ZotefoamsAnnouncement

Tue 07:05

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RNS Number : 9278T  Zotefoams PLC  05 August 2025

Zotefoams plc

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

Joint Venture Agreement and Executive Appointment

5 August 2025 - Zotefoams, a world leader in supercritical foams, is pleased
to announce that it has entered into a joint venture arrangement (the "Joint
Venture") with Seoheung Co. Ltd. ("Seoheung"), a footwear supply chain
specialist manufacturing footwear in Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China, to
support the construction and commissioning of its new manufacturing facility
in Vietnam.

Under the terms of the Joint Venture, Seoheung will invest USD10m for an
initial equity stake of 17.5% in a newly established holding company for the
Vietnamese facility, with the Group retaining the remaining 82.5%. Subject to
the agreement of both parties, Seoheung can increase its equity ownership to
35%, for a further $14m investment. The proceeds of Seoheung's investment will
be applied to the commissioning of the facility, expected in Q4 2026, with the
project expected to cost a total of approximately $32m. The remaining $22m
will be funded by the Company from existing debt facilities.

Seoheung is a footwear supply chain specialist manufacturing footwear in
Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. The company plays a key sourcing role
for major footwear producers, including Changshin Inc., and continues to grow
steadily through ongoing innovation, with annual revenues of approximately
$260m.

As previously announced, in addition to existing production in the UK,
manufacturing in Vietnam brings a number of benefits to the Group, including
strengthened customer relationships, lower production and transport costs, and
significantly improved sustainability metrics.

The collaboration between Zotefoams and Seoheung de-risks the Group's Asian
investment from both financial and technical perspectives. By partnering with
an experienced local manufacturer, Zotefoams gains immediate access to proven
Asian manufacturing expertise, while sharing project costs and operational
risks. Seoheung brings decades of experience in the Asian footwear industry,
including deep knowledge of Vietnam's manufacturing landscape. The partnership
supports Zotefoams' strategic evolution from supplying traditional foam sheets
to producing advanced 3D preforms for the athletic footwear market. This
technological transition requires both Zotefoams' expertise in supercritical
foams and Seoheung's manufacturing process expertise to ensure successful
implementation and rapid market adoption. The Joint Venture allows Zotefoams
to continue to serve and work in collaboration with all its customers in the
footwear business.

The Joint Venture will also leverage over 30 years of local knowledge. It will
explore best practice for injection moulding and footwear manufacturing
systems and processes, while assisting in providing greater longer term market
access.

Zotefoams is also announcing the appointment of Brandon Thomas as Managing
Director - Asia, a newly created role that reflects the strategic importance
of this region to Zotefoams' growth ambitions. Most recently, Brandon served
as General Manager, Asia at Nike, based in Vietnam, where he set up and led
their Air Manufacturing Innovation facility. Brandon is based in Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam, and will lead the execution of the Group's investment and Joint
Venture in Asia. He joined the business on 21 July and is a member of the
Group Executive Team.

Ronan Cox, Zotefoams plc CEO, said: "The Joint Venture with Seoheung will
provide significant benefits to our investment in Asia. Collaborating with an
experienced local footwear manufacturing partner significantly de-risks the
project from a financial and technical perspective and will enable us to
ramp-up more quickly and effectively as well as guarantee excellent quality,
service and value to all our Tier 1 factory partners in the region.
Furthermore, this underpins our confidence in the substantial growth potential
of our footwear business in Southeast and East Asia and our commitment to
deliver attractive returns for our shareholders.

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Brandon, who brings to Zotefoams
a wealth of technical and commercial experience and whose expertise will be
invaluable as we strengthen relationships with all our partners across the
region."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic
Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR")

- Ends -

Enquiries:

 

 Zotefoams plc                         +44 (0) 208 664 1600
 Ronan Cox, Group CEO
 Gary McGrath, Group CFO

 IFC Advisory (Financial PR & IR)      +44 (0) 203 934 6630
 Graham Herring

 Tim Metcalfe

 Zach Cohen

About Zotefoams plc

Zotefoams plc (LSE - ZTF) is a world leader in supercritical fluid foam
technology, delivering optimal material solutions for the benefit of society.
Utilising a variety of unique manufacturing processes, including
environmentally friendly nitrogen expansion for lightweight AZOTE(®) and
ZOTEK(®) high-performance foams, Zotefoams sells to diverse markets worldwide
across three market verticals, Consumer & Lifestyle, Transport & Smart
Technologies, and Construction & Other Industrial. Zotefoams uses its own
materials to manufacture T-FIT(®) advanced insulation for demanding
industrial markets.

Zotefoams is headquartered in Croydon, UK, with additional manufacturing sites
in Kentucky, USA and Brzeg, Poland (foam manufacture), and foam products
conversion in Oklahoma, USA and Jiangsu Province, China (T-FIT).

www.zotefoams.com (http://www.zotefoams.com)

AZOTE(®), ZOTEK(®) and T-FIT(®) are registered trademarks of Zotefoams plc.

 

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