Gresham House plc (LON:GHE), the specialist alternative asset manager, was notified on 27 July 2020 that the Company’s Employee Benefit Trust intends to subscribe for 1,329,306 ordinary shares of 25 pence in the Company at their par value and at an aggregate cost to the EBT of £332,326.50. The Company has agreed to lend £332,326.50 to the EBT to fund its subscription for the New Ordinary Shares.
The New Ordinary Shares are intended to be used by the EBT to satisfy the requests received from three of the Company’s PDMRs to exercise previously announced Employee Share Scheme options over Gresham House Holdings Limited shares. The ESS Options were issued under the long term incentive plan approved by the Company’s shareholders at the General Meeting of the Company held on 20 November 2015.
The ESS Options were satisfied in accordance with the provisions of the 2016 LTIP by the Company repurchasing 320 GHHL A Shares from Mr Dalwood, 250 GHHL A Shares from Mr Robinson and 104 GHHL B Shares from Mr Acton in exchange for Ordinary Shares. Their resultant holdings are below:
| Director/PDMR | Title | New Ordinary Shares received as a result of the exercise of ESS Options | Resultant shareholding in Gresham House plc | Percentage holding |
| Anthony Dalwood | Chief Executive Officer | 635,685 | 1,011,190 | 3.2% |
| Rupert Robinson | Managing Director | 496,629 | 559,857 | 1.9% |
| Kevin Acton | Chief Financial Officer | 196,992 | 229,367 | 0.7% |
Accordingly, on 27 July 2020, the Company allotted the New Ordinary Shares to the EBT and such shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of the Company. It is anticipated that the New Ordinary Shares will be admitted to trading on AIM on or around 31 July 2020.
Following Admission, the Company’s issued share capital will comprise 32,091,707 Ordinary Shares, which figure 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 FCA’s Disclosure and Transparency Rules. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury.
Gresham House plc is an AIM quoted specialist asset manager providing funds, direct investments and tailored investment solutions, including co-investment across a range of highly differentiated alternative investment strategies. Our expertise includes timber, renewable energy, housing and infrastructure, strategic public and private equity (private assets). The group aims to deliver sustainable financial returns and is committed to building long-term partnerships with clients (institutions, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, charities and endowments and private individuals) to help them achieve their financial goals.
Shareholder value creation will be driven by long-term growth in earnings as a result of increasing AUM and returns from invested capital.
