6 May 2022
Raven Property Group Limited ("Raven" or the "Company")
Publication of Circulars in connection with the Proposed De-Listing of Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares
On 17 March 2022, the Board announced the proposed divestment of its Russian business to Prestino Investments Ltd, a Cypriot company, to be owned and controlled by its Russian management team, led by Igor Bogorodov together with the proposed cancellation of the
With regard to the De-Listings, the Company announces that it has today posted circulars including notices convening the General Meeting to Ordinary Shareholders and a separate class meeting of Preference Shareholders in respect of the De-Listings and details of the Transaction.
A copy of each of the circulars has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism. The circulars will also shortly be available on the Company's website at www.theravenpropertygroup.com.
A copy of the Chairman's Letter, contained within the General Meeting Circular, has been included at the foot of this announcement.
Audiocast
The Company also announces that the Board will be conducting an audiocast for Raven shareholders on 19 May 2022 at 11.00 a.m. regarding the Transaction. Should you wish to listen, please register and submit your questions by emailing Benn Garnham, Company Secretary, bgarnham@theravenpropertygroup.com. Those who have registered for the audiocast may submit questions to the Board via the same email address by no later than 14 May 2022.
No new material information will be disclosed during the audiocast.
The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Benn Garnham, Company Secretary.
Enquiries
Raven Property Group Limited Anton Bilton Glyn Hirsch
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1481 712955 |
Novella Communications (public relations adviser) Tim Robertson Fergus Young
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Tel: +44 (0) 203 151 7008 |
Singer Capital Markets ( Investment Banking - James Maxwell / Alex Bond Markets - Alan Geeves / James Waterlow
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Tel: +44 (0) 207 496 3000 |
Java Capital (South African Sponsor) Jean Tyndale-Biscoe / Andrew Brooking
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Tel: +27 (11) 722 3050 |
Renaissance Capital (Russian broker) David Pipia
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Tel: + 7 495 258 7770 |
Ravenscroft Consultancy & Listing Services Limited (TISE sponsor) Semelia Hamon
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1481 732746 |
About Raven Property Group
Raven Property Group Limited was founded in 2005 to invest in class A warehouse complexes in
LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Raven Property Group Limited
(a company incorporated in
Directors: Registered and Head Office:
Sir Richard Wilson Jewson, Non-Executive Chairman P.O. Box 522
Anton John Godfrey Bilton, Executive Deputy Chairman Second Floor
Glyn Vincent Hirsch, Chief Executive Officer La Vieille Cour
Mark Sinclair, Chief Financial Officer La Plaiderie
Colin Andrew Smith, Chief Operating Officer St. Peter Port
Michael James Hough, Non-Executive Director
David Christopher Moore, Non-Executive Director GY1 6EH
Russell Colin Field, Non-Executive Director
Philip Humphrey Martin Swire, Non-Executive Director
Lysa Hardy, Non-Executive Director
6 May 2022
Dear Shareholders
PROPOSED CANCELLATION OF ORDINARY SHARES FROM THE OFFICIAL LIST PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ARTICLES
1. Introduction
On 17 March 2022, the Company announced that it proposes to cancel the admission of the Company's Ordinary Shares from listing on the Financial Conduct Authority's Official List and from trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities. It is anticipated that the effective date of the Ordinary Share De-Listing will be 28 June 2022. In the interim, with effect from 7.30 a.m. on 17 March 2022, the admissions to listing of the Company's Shares on the Financial Conduct Authority's Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities were suspended. The listings of the Company's Shares on TISE, the JSE and MOEX were also suspended.
Under the Listing Rules, the Ordinary Share De-Listing requires the Company to obtain, at a general meeting, approval from a majority of not less than 75 per cent. of the votes attaching to the Ordinary Shares voted on the resolution.
In addition, the Company proposes, conditional upon the Ordinary Share De-Listing and to take effect from the Ordinary Share De-Listing Effective Time, to adopt the Amended Articles, which are intended to make the Company's articles of incorporation more appropriate for an unlisted company.
Therefore, the purpose of this Circular is (i) to provide Shareholders with details of the Ordinary Share De-Listing, particulars of the proposed amendments to the Articles and the Resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting, (ii) to convene the General Meeting at which the Resolutions will be proposed, (iii) to explain why, in the Board's opinion, the Ordinary Share De-Listing and the proposed amendments to the Articles are in the best interests of the Shareholders as a whole, and (iv) to recommend that Shareholders vote in favour of the Resolutions on which they are entitled to vote.
Shareholders should read the whole of this Circular and not just rely on the summarised information set out in this letter. SA Shareholders should also refer to the Letter to SA Shareholders, which contains additional information regarding the General Meeting that is relevant to them.
Further details of the Ordinary Share De-Listing, the proposed amendments to the Articles and the Resolutions which will be put to the Shareholders at the General Meeting are set out below. The Notice of the General Meeting is set out at the end of this document.
2. Background to and reasons for the Ordinary Share De-Listing
As announced on 17 March 2022, the events in
The impact of these sanctions on the Company and its business are numerous and include: the inability to communicate with internationally-sanctioned banks with which members of the Group have facilities; severe limitations on the ability to move funds within the Group; the diminishing ability and number of international parties that will transact in Roubles outside of
These factors have completely compromised the Company's business model, its ability to assess its current financial position and to inform the market accordingly.
Consequently, the Company requested from the FCA a suspension of listing of its Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares and a suspension to trading on the London Stock Exchange of the same Shares, which took effect from 7.30 a.m. on 17 March 2022. Similar suspensions applied to the Company's listings on TISE, JSE and MOEX.
At the same time, in light of these extraordinary events, it became necessary for the Board to take extraordinary measures to protect all employees and other stakeholders in the Company, including entering into the Put Option Agreement with the intention of divesting the Group's Russian business to members of its Russian Management Team. The Board considered this the most effective way to meet sanction and Counter-Sanction requirements. Following Put Option Completion, Prestino will gain control of the Group's Russian business. The Russian Management Team will operate that business and secure the investment property portfolio.
Under the Put Option Agreement the Company has the option to transfer RRHCL, the holding company of the Group's Russian business, to Prestino, a Cypriot company to be wholly-owned and controlled by members of the Russian Management Team. Following Put Option Completion, the Company will retain an economic interest in RRHCL via the RRHCL Loans in the principal amounts of
As noted in section 6 of this Part 1 (Letter from the Chairman), following Put Option Completion the assets of the Company will comprise the RRHCL Loans and RRHCL Preference Shares, together with the Company's existing
The Board has concluded that the Company should now de-list its Ordinary Shares as:
• it will enable the Company to exercise the Put Option in a timely manner (the Ordinary Share De-Listing being a condition to its exercise), which the Board considers to be in the best interests of all the Company's Shareholders, employees and other stakeholders;
• following Put Option Completion, the business as described in section 6 of this Part 1 (Letter from the Chairman) will no longer satisfy the requirements for a Premium Listing on the London Stock Exchange; and
• the uncertainty over access to cash flows from
It is also expected that the Ordinary Share De-Listing and Preference Share De-Listing will result in a reduction to the Company's Sterling expenses of approximately
The Board considered whether the Company could maintain a listing of its Ordinary Shares on another market or exchange but concluded that, as it was unclear whether and when the circumstances described above that led to the suspensions in trading of the Shares would change sufficiently to allow any suspensions (even if the listings were maintained on another market or exchange) to be lifted, it is not practicable to maintain any listing of the Ordinary Shares at this time.
The Board will continue to assess ways in which it can create value for Shareholders and in the future, subject to there being favourable business conditions (including the significant easing of current sanctions and Counter-Sanctions), the Board would consider a re-listing of the Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares on suitable exchanges.
Shareholders should note that, if the Ordinary Share De-Listing proceeds, Shareholders will not be able to vote on the exercise of the Put Option by the Company.
3. Details of the Put Option Agreement
As noted above, the Company has entered into the Put Option Agreement to allow it to dispose of the entire issued ordinary share capital of RRHCL (being the existing (direct or indirect) owner of all of the Group's Russian assets and related debt) to Prestino, which will be the wholly-owned corporate vehicle of certain members of the Russian Management Team, for nominal consideration. The Company's ability to exercise the Put Option under the Put Option Agreement is conditional on the Ordinary Share De-Listing. Put Option Completion is subject to a number of conditions set out in the Put Option Agreement (including obtaining the Local Regulatory Consents), each of which conditions can be waived at the Company's discretion.
There is no binding obligation on the Company to exercise the Put Option and its exercise is solely at the discretion of the Company, subject to completion of the Ordinary Share De-Listing. However, in the event that the Put Option is exercised and following Put Option Completion, the Company would retain an economic interest in RRHCL via the RRHCL Loans in the principal amounts of
Summaries of the terms of the RRHCL Loans and the RRHCL Preference Shares are set out at Parts 2 (RRHCL Loan Terms) and 3 (RRHCL Preference Share Terms) respectively of this Circular.
The RRHCL Preference Shares are not convertible and have been issued to the Company as part of a restructuring of RRHCL's balance sheet, converting the total of its existing share premium account into RRHCL Preference Shares by way of a bonus issue. The Company/RRHCL Loan Agreement was entered into on the date of the bonus issue of the RRHCL Preference Shares.
Due to the current circumstances in
Should the Ordinary Share De-Listing not complete and as a consequence the Company is not able to exercise the Put Option, the Board believes that the business and its employees would continue to be exposed to the risk of inadvertently breaching existing sanctions and/or Counter-Sanctions. Ultimately this could lead to a heightened risk that sanctioned banks enforce security over the Group's assets or that some larger sequestration of the Group's property portfolio results. The Board considers that Put Option Completion will provide the best route to allow all the parties involved to operate effectively in accordance with sanctions and Counter- Sanctions and to preserve the value in the business.
4. The Russian Management Team
The Russian Management Team is headed by Igor Bogorodov. Following Put Option Completion, Igor will indirectly, through Prestino, hold 92% of the issued ordinary share capital of RRHCL. Igor has been the Russian General Director of the Group since its inception and, along with Anton Bilton and Glyn Hirsch, was integral in first developing the business on the ground. He is also a director of Prestino and RRHCL, and is a holder of both the Company's Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares.
The other members of the Russian Management Team hold senior positions in the business and have, on average, 12 years of service. All have holdings of the Company's Ordinary Shares.
5. Details of the Ordinary Share De-Listing
Conditional upon the Ordinary Share De-Listing Resolution being approved at the General Meeting, the Company will apply to cancel the admission to listing of the Ordinary Shares on the Premium Segment of the Financial Conduct Authority's Official List and their admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities. Cancellation of the admission to listing of the Ordinary Shares on the Official List is expected to take effect at 8.00 a.m. on 28 June 2022, being not less than 20 business days from the passing of the Ordinary Share De- Listing Resolution.
In accordance with the Listing Rules, the Ordinary Share De-Listing Resolution is subject to approval being obtained from a majority of not less than 75 per cent. of the votes attaching to the Ordinary Shares voted on the resolution. If the requisite percentage of Ordinary Shareholders does not approve the Ordinary Share De-Listing Resolution, the Ordinary Shares will continue to be admitted to listing on the Premium Segment of the Financial Conduct Authority's Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities (albeit trading in the Shares is currently suspended). In such circumstances it will not be possible for the Company to exercise the Put Option.
Whilst each of the Ordinary Share De-Listing and the Preference Share De-Listing is not conditional on the other and the Ordinary Share De-Listing may take effect without the Preference Share De-Listing and vice versa, if approved by the Preference Shareholders at the Preference Shareholder Meeting, it is proposed that the Preference Share De-Listing will also take effect on or around the Ordinary Share De-Listing Effective Time. The Preference Share De-Listing is subject to the Company notifying a Regulatory Information Service, giving at least 20 business days' notice of the intended cancellation of the listing of the Preference Shares, and, under articles 2.6.11 and 15.1 of the Articles, to a Special Resolution passed at a separate meeting of the Preference Shareholders. Accordingly, a circular has been despatched to the Preference Shareholders in relation to the Preference Shareholder Meeting and so that the Preference Shareholders may vote upon and approve the Preference Share De-Listing.
If the Ordinary Share De-Listing Resolution is passed, the admission of the Ordinary Shares to TISE and MOEX will also be cancelled. Such cancellations are expected to take place on or around the date of the Ordinary Share De-Listing. SA Shareholders should refer to the Letter to SA Shareholders for further information regarding the cancellation of the JSE listing.
6. Business of the Company following the Ordinary Share De-Listing and Put Option
Completion
Following the Ordinary Share De-Listing and Put Option Completion, the assets of the Company will comprise the RRHCL Preference Shares, the RRHCL Loans,
The terms of the RRHCL Preference Shares and the RRHCL Loans are detailed in Parts 2 (RRHCL Loan Terms) and 3 (RRHCL Preference Share Terms) of this Circular, including the dividend of 10 per cent. per annum and interest of 8 per cent. and 15 per cent. per annum which accrue in favour of the Company under, respectively, the terms of the RRHCL Preference Shares and the RRHCL Loans. Save for any voluntary early redemptions or early prepayments (to the extent permitted by applicable law or otherwise), the RRHCL Preference Shares are redeemable (together with payment of any accrued dividends and to the extent permitted by applicable law) on the date 10 years following their allotment and the RRHCL Loans are repayable on the date falling 10 years after the date of the Company/RRHCL Loan Agreement.
The Company's principal business following the Ordinary Share De-Listing and Put Option Completion will be overseeing these investments within the constraints of their terms. The Board will continue to monitor the day-to-day business in
The Company's main obligation following the Ordinary Share De-Listing and Put Option Completion will remain the servicing of its own Preference Shares. In this regard, the Company announced on 30 March 2022 that the Board had resolved not to pay the Preference Dividend for the period from 31 December 2021 up to, but excluding, 31 March 2022 and such amount is now accumulating in accordance with the terms of the Preference Shares. The ability of the Board to approve future quarterly instalments of the Preference Dividend will be wholly dependent on the Company's access to sufficient funds from the servicing of the RRHCL Loans and the RRHCL Preference Shares.
As noted above, at this time the Board is unable to assess the current value of the RRHCL Loans and RRHCL Preference Shares or the ability of RRHCL to make interest payments under the RRHCL Loans or pay dividends on the RRHCL Preference Shares in the future. This situation will persist following Put Option Completion unless there is a significant easing of existing sanctions and Counter-Sanctions.
The current sanctions-related situation and consequent uncertainties were not envisaged at the time the Company established the FYPP. It is currently anticipated that the FYPP will entitle the participants to a payment of approximately
The extreme volatility of the Rouble exchange rate since 24 February 2022 and the uncertainty of being able to convert Roubles into other currencies, along with the difficulty in assessing the valuation of RRHCL's investment property portfolio, makes it extremely difficult to value the Company's Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares. However Shareholders can form their own view on these variables and assess valuation in the context of the known quantum of RRHCL's bank debt (see section 7 of this Part 1 (Letter from the Chairman) below).
7. The business of RRHCL
RRHCL will continue to own 19 investment properties in
"Subsequent to the valuation date,
Also at 31 December 2021, the Group had Rouble-denominated secured debt facilities totalling
In the year to date, the Group has collected 98.4% of rents due and has occupancy of 96.5% at the date of this Circular.
As intimated in JLL's independent valuation and explained elsewhere in this Circular, the Board is unable to assess the value of the property investment portfolio at this time.
8. Governance of the Company following the Ordinary Share De-Listing
Following the Ordinary Share De-Listing, whilst not required, the Company intends to retain Michael Hough and David Moore, two of the current independent non-executive directors, to provide an element of independent oversight and input into Board matters, including in relation to executive remuneration. Michael Hough will become Chairman.
9. Annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021
It is the intention of the Board to issue the audited financial statements of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2021 shortly following the Ordinary Share De-Listing Effective Time. Should the proposed Ordinary Share De-Listing not be approved or take effect, a further announcement on the timing of the issue of the 2021 financial statements will be made at that time.
10. Trading of the Ordinary Shares following the Ordinary Share De-Listing
Following the Ordinary Share De-Listing, the Company intends to put in place a secondary trading facility to allow Shareholders to trade their Ordinary Shares. It is, however, unlikely that any such facility will offer a comparable degree of liquidity to that currently available as a result of the listings of the Ordinary Shares. Share certificates representing those Ordinary Shares held in certificated form will continue to be valid and no new Ordinary Share certificates will be issued. Ordinary Shares held in uncertificated form will continue to be transferable through CREST.
As noted in section 2 of this Part 1 (Letter from the Chairman) above, in the future, subject to there being favourable business conditions (including the significant easing of current sanctions and Counter-Sanctions), the Board would consider a re-listing of the Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares on suitable exchanges.
11. Regulatory and taxation
Shareholders should note that following the Ordinary Share De-Listing becoming effective:
a. the regulatory regime which applies to companies with shares admitted to listing on the Premium Segment of the Financial Conduct Authority's Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities will no longer apply, including the requirement for shareholder approval under the Listing Rules to approve transactions above a certain size not in the ordinary course of business or with related parties; and
b. the Ordinary Share De-Listing may have implications for Ordinary Shareholders in a Self- Invested Personal Pension ("SIPP") or ISAs. For example, shares in unlisted companies may not qualify for certain SIPPs under the terms of that SIPP and may not be eligible for a stocks and shares ISA. If in any doubt, Shareholders should consult with their SIPP or ISA provider.
12. Amendments to the Articles
The Company proposes, conditional upon the Ordinary Share De-Listing and to take effect from the Ordinary Share De-Listing Effective Time, to adopt the Amended Articles, principally to ensure that the Company's articles of incorporation are appropriate for an unlisted company (as the Company will be following the Ordinary Share De-Listing).
A summary of the principal changes to the Articles is set out in Part 4 (Explanatory notes on the principal amendments to the Articles) of this Circular. A copy of the Amended Articles, marked to show the changes proposed, will be available for inspection online at www.theravenpropertygroup.com until the close of the General Meeting and at the place of the General Meeting for at least 15 minutes prior to, and until the conclusion of, the General Meeting and on the national storage mechanism from the date of sending this Circular.
13. General Meeting
Under the Listing Rules, the Ordinary Share De-Listing is conditional, inter alia, on the approval by Ordinary Shareholders of the Ordinary Share De-Listing Resolution.
As a result of the Preference Dividend being in arrears, the holders of Preference Shares will be entitled to vote, alongside the holders of Ordinary Shares, on the Articles Resolution in accordance with the notes to the Notice of General Meeting at the end of this Circular.
Notice of the General Meeting to be held at the offices of Carey Olsen, Carey House, Les Banques,
Resolutions
1 Resolution 1 is a Special Resolution to approve the cancellation of the Ordinary Shares from admission to listing on the Premium Segment of the Financial Conduct Authority's Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities; and
2 Resolution 2 is a Special Resolution to approve and adopt the Amended Articles, conditional upon the Ordinary Share De-Listing and to take effect from the Ordinary Share De-Listing Effective Time. The Amended Articles are intended to make the Company's articles of incorporation more appropriate for an unlisted company.
The full text of the Resolutions are set out in the Notice of the General Meeting at the end of this Circular.
Both of the Resolutions are Special Resolutions. A special resolution requires a majority of not less than 75 per cent. of the votes cast (by Shareholders present in person or by proxy who are eligible to vote on the relevant Resolution) at the General Meeting to be in favour of the resolution in order for the resolution to be passed. As noted above, only the holders of Ordinary Shares are eligible to vote on the Ordinary Share De-Listing Resolution but the holders of both the Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares are eligible to vote on the Articles Resolution.
14. Action to be taken
Whether or not Shareholders intend to be present at the General Meeting, Shareholders are requested to register their proxy vote as soon as possible by:
• logging on to www.signalshares.com and following the instructions in order to submit your proxy appointment online;
• requesting a hard copy Form of Proxy directly from the registrars, Link Market Services, on tel: +44 (0) 371 664 0300. Upon such request, a Form of Proxy will be provided for use by Ordinary Shareholders and Preference Shareholders. Calls are charged at the standard geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the
• in the case of CREST members, by utilising the CREST electronic proxy appointment service in accordance with the procedures set out in note 9 to the Notice of General Meeting.
Proxy appointments (using any of the alternatives detailed above), whether submitted electronically or by post, must be received by Link Market Services by no later than 9.00 a.m. on 24 May 2022.
Submitting their proxy appointments in this manner will not preclude Shareholders from attending and voting in person at the General Meeting should they so wish.
Further details relating to voting by proxy are set out in the notes to the Notice of General Meeting.
As noted above, a separate circular has been despatched to Preference Shareholders in relation to the Preference Shareholder Meeting and the Preference Share De-Listing, and holders of Preference Shares should also refer to that document in respect of the Preference Share De- Listing.
15. Recommendation
The Board considers the Ordinary Share De-Listing and the proposed amendments to the Articles to be in the best interests of Shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Board unanimously recommends that Shareholders vote in favour of those Resolutions on which they are entitled to vote to be proposed at the General Meeting, as the Board intends to do in relation to their own beneficial holdings.
Yours faithfully
Sir Richard Jewson
(Chairman)
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