TIDMSYME
RNS Number : 1662H
Abal Group PLC
23 March 2020
23 March 2020
Abal Group plc
To be renamed
Supply@ME Capital plc
("Supply@ME" or "the Company")
Completion of acquisition of Supply@ME S.r.l.
Admission to the Standard Segment of the Official List
Change of name and Board changes
&
Commencement of Dealings in the Enlarged Share Capital
Unless otherwise expressly stated, all defined terms and
definitions used below shall have the same meaning as given to them
in the announcement made by the Company on Thursday 5 March 2020
and in the Circular to Shareholders dated 4 March 2020.
Further to the announcements on 27 October 2019, 5 March 2020
and 20 March 2020, the Company has completed the acquisition of
Supply@ME S.r.l., a business which has developed an alternative
FinTech platform focussed on inventory monetisation facilities,
which can enable a wide range of manufacturing and trading
businesses to improve their working capital position and provide a
new asset class to investors. Consideration for the acquisition is
GBP224.5 million to be satisfied by the issue of 32,332,246,220
Consideration Shares at a price of 0.69 pence per share ("the
Acquisition").
The Acquisition constitutes a reverse takeover under the Listing
Rules for Companies and, as previously announced, shares in the
enlarged company will be admitted to the Standard Segment of The
Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main
Market at 8.00 a.m. today under the ticker "SYME" ("Admission").
The ISIN of the Ordinary Shares is GB00BFMDJC60 and the SEDOL Code
is BFMDJC6. Following completion of the acquisition, the Company
has now changed its name to Supply@ME Capital plc and its website
can be found at the following link: www.supplymecapital.com.
In conjunction with the Acquisition, the Company has raised
GBP2.24 million, before expenses, through the issue of 331,604,094
Placing Shares in the Company at a price of 0.68 pence per share to
certain investors ("the Placing"). A total of GBP42.18 million of
Ordinary Shares were placed through the Placing and Vendor Placing
with institutional and other investors.
Highlights of the Acquisition and Business Processes
-- Supply@ME was founded by its CEO, Alessandro Zamboni in 2017.
It has developed an alternative FinTech platform focussed on
inventory monetisation facilities which offers manufacturing and
trading companies the means to release capital against the value of
inventory, speeding up working capital cycles and improving supply
chain efficiency.
-- Unlike conventional bank funding, the Supply@ME offering is
not treated as debt finance on a company's balance sheet. Rather,
it is treated as a "true-sale" of inventory. The transactions,
based on innovative legal schemes, combine detailed regulatory and
financial controls with leading-edge technology that allows
accurate tracking and recording of inventory. This solution is
proving attractive to both clients and investors and is highly
scalable.
-- The key to the process is the creation of a "digital" version
of the physical inventory. This allows legal ownership of the
inventory to pass to a Supply@ME Special Purpose Stock Company
("SPSC"), facilitating the release of funds to the corporate client
(which retains the physical inventory). Sophisticated tracking and
monitoring systems such as distributed ledger technology and, in
the near future, the Internet of Things then ensure that inventory
is properly and legally processed throughout.
-- Clients receive a cash payment based on the book value of the
inventory minus a refundable deposit (15% by value) which is
withheld as deferred price, repayable at the end of the standard
contract term of three years.
-- The SPSC's servicing fee (typically 6-8%) is passed on to the
SPSC's investors after deducting Supply@ME's platform royalties of
2%.
-- The three-year inventory funding "package" is offered to
investors as an asset backed note or other form of security with
funders receiving a coupon of 4-6% per annum. Supply@ME has
attracted funding from banks, hedge funds, family offices and other
similar financial institutions. For Supply@ME, the greater the
access to funds, the greater its ability to grow.
-- The Company believes there is a strong and growing market for
the provision of high-quality specialist inventory funding services
to a wide range of companies operating in different business
sectors, in different countries. Its initial target market is
Western Europe, including the UK where it is currently building a
significant new presence in London.
Supply@ME is a fast growing, innovative "inventory monetisation"
platform, having originated more than EUR300 million of prospective
"inventory monetisation deals" in the first six months of operation
to June 2018. In the first half of 2019, an additional EUR300
million of prospective deals were originated. As at the date of
Admission, EUR972 million of prospective contracts have been
originated. The Directors believe this makes Supply@ME one of the
fastest growing inventory FinTech providers internationally.
The Company aims to be the leading FinTech business focussed on
inventory funding through this disruptive service model which
combine innovative legal contracts and state of the art
technologies. The target addressable inventory financing
opportunity in Supply@ME's markets is estimated to comprise GBP1.9
trillion of inventory under management.
Board Changes
Following completion of the acquisition and Admission, Simon
Charles and John Treacy have resigned as directors of the
Company.
The new board of directors now comprises an experienced
management team which has a blend of deep functional experience
across financial services, financial services regulation,
technology, product development, supply chain financing and risk
management, as well as entrepreneurial experience.
Board of Directors
Non-executive Chairman: Dominic White
Mr White (47) has invested in public markets and private equity
for 25 years. He has acquired and managed more than GBP3.0bn of
assets across Europe and held board positions at a number of public
companies including KRC Residential, REIT plc, Eight Capital
Partners plc and Limitless Earth plc as well as at international
investment institutions such as Security Capital European and
Henderson Global Investors. He is a member of the Institute of
Chartered Financial Analysts.
Chief Executive Officer: Alessandro Zamboni
Mr Zamboni (41) specialises in financial services and related
strategic and digital businesses with wide experience in advisory
and training. Since 2008, he managed the delivery and sales
operations of a consulting company specialising in Regulatory and
Internal Controls for Banks and Insurance Firms. Mr Zamboni founded
the AvantGarde Group, the parent company of Supply@ME, in July
2014. He is also co-founder of Assofintech (Associazione Italiana
per il Fintech e l'Insurtech 2017) a FinTech association
representing over 120 FinTech companies in Italy. Prior roles
include Managing director (Milan) at NIKE Group (2003-2014).
Non-executive Director: Susanne Chishti
Susanne Chishti (48) is the CEO of FINTECH Circle, Europe's 1st
Angel Network focused on fintech opportunities & Founder of the
FINTECH Circle Institute, the leading fintech learning platform
offering Innovation Workshops to C-level executives and online
courses. She is also the Co-editor of The FINTECH Book, translated
into 10 languages and is sold across 107 countries, The WealthTECH
Book and The InsurTECH Book (WILEY 2018).
Awards include: Social Media Influencer of the Year 2018
(Investment Week); Top 7 Crypto Experts globally 2018 (Inc
Magazine); City Innovator - Inspirational Woman in 2016; European
Digital Financial Services 'Power 50' (2015). She has also been a
fintech TV Commentator on CNBC and is a guest lecturer on financial
technology at the University of Cambridge. Susanne worked for more
than 15 years at Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan
Stanley and Accenture in London and Hong Kong.
Non-executive Director: Enrico Camerinelli
Mr Camerinelli (57) is author of "Measuring the Value of the
Supply Chain" and an adviser on Transaction Banking Strategies,
Supply Chain Finance, Blockchain and Treasury Management Systems.
He is a regular participant at major industry events (SIBOS,
EuroFinance, World Trade Symposium, Association of Finance
Professionals) and a contributor to publications such as The
Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. Prior experience includes:
Consultant Editor, Finance Director Europe (2007-2010); Co-author
of "Supply Chain Finance EBA European Market Guide (2013);
Consultant Editor, gtnews, (2010-2015); Co-founder of NdT Il Naso
di Tommaso (2017-2018) a collaborative incubator, Vice-President,
Council of Supply Chain Professionals Italy (2015 onwards); member
of the Italian delegation UN/CEFACT (2015 onwards); UN European
Commission Supply Chain Programme Development Area member (2015
onwards); Senior Analyst, Aite Group Europe (2010 onwards).
Commenting on the Company's Admission, Chief Executive
Alessandro Zamboni said:
"We are very excited by the opportunity to further develop our
operations and build on the significant progress we have made to
date. We believe we provide one of the most innovative, legal and
technologically advanced FinTech solutions for working capital
management related to inventory monetisaton currently available on
the international market and firmly believe that this listing will
enable us to further enhance our reach and offering. Our aim is now
to accelerate the development of the business as we focus on
further strengthening our market position.
"The Supply@ME solution enables companies to more easily
monetise the value of their inventories and realise cash value
without the need to overstretch their balance sheets. Given the
current serious trading and cashflow difficulties encountered by
many businesses, hopefully, following the Acquisition, as a
business we are in a better position to support and assist
companies in these challenging markets."
Enquiries:
Supply@ME Capital plc C/o Walbrook PR Limited
Alessandro Zamboni
Walbrook PR Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780
(Media and Investor Relations) Mob: +44 (0)7768 807631
Paul Vann/Nick Rome/Nicholas or supplyme@walbrookpr.com
Johnson
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END
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