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RNS Number : 5406J

Ultimate Finance Group PLC

17 July 2013

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO ANY RESTRICTED JURISDICTIONS OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

Ultimate Finance Group plc("UFG" or the "Company")

Statement re. Possible Offer and Rule 2.10 announcement

In response to today's share price rise, the Company announces that it has received an approach from Renovo Group plc ("Renovo") that may or may not lead to an offer being made for the Company. Discussions are at an advanced stage, however there can be no certainty that an offer will be made for UFG, nor as to the terms on which an offer may be made.

Rule 2.6(a) of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Takeover Code"), requires that Renovo, by not later than 5.00 p.m. on 14 August 2013 (the "relevant deadline"), either announces a firm intention to make an offer for UFG in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code or announces that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Takeover Code applies.

This is an announcement falling under Rule 2.4 of the Takeover Code and does not constitute an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code. There can be no certainty that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made.

A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.

Rule 2.10

In accordance with Rule 2.10 of the Takeover Code, the Company confirms that it has 74,624,700 ordinary shares of 5 pence each in issue. The ISIN reference for these securities is GB0031685414.

Ends

WH Ireland Limited which is regulated in the United Kingdom by The Financial Conduct Authority is acting for the Company in relation to the matters described in this announcement and is not advising any other person, and accordingly will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to customers of WH Ireland or for providing advice in relation to the matters described in this announcement.

The directors of UFG accept responsibility for the information contained in this announcement. To the best of their knowledge and belief (having taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case), the information contained in this announcement for which they are responsible is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information.

Disclosure requirements of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any paper offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any paper offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any paper offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any paper offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a paper offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any paper offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any paper offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any paper offeror, save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a paper offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure".

 
 Contacts: 
 
 Ultimate Finance Group plc                   www.ultimatefinance.co.uk 
 Jeremy Coombes, Chief Executive Officer            +44 (0) 7967 613208 
 Shane Horsell, Finance Director                    +44 (0) 7811 330828 
 
 WH Ireland Limited (Nominated Adviser and         www.wh-ireland.co.uk 
  Broker) 
 John Wakefield 
  Mike Coe                                         +44 (0) 117 945 3470 
 
 Newgate Threadneedle (Financial PR)           www.threadneedlepr.co.uk 
 John Coles / Fiona Conroy                         +44 (0) 20 7653 9850

About Ultimate Finance Group plc

Ultimate Finance Group is a leading provider of financial solutions to SMEs across the UK. The Company is headquartered in Bristol with offices in London, Manchester, Norwich and Lutterworth. Through its subsidiaries (Ultimate Invoice Finance, Ultimate Asset Finance, Ultimate Trade Finance, Ultimate Construction Finance, Ultimate Recruitment Finance, Ashley Commercial Finance and Ashley Business Cash), UFG supports SMEs by funding their growth with a range of products and services tailored to each client. In the current climate where bank lending to SMEs is increasingly restricted the benefits of UFG's flexible and efficient solutions become even more compelling.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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