30 September 2024
Investment Evolution Credit
plc
("IEC",
the "Company" or the Group)
Directorate Changes, Loan
Agreement, Notice of General Meeting
and Related Party
Transaction
Investment Evolution Credit plc
(AQSE: IEC) - 30 September 2024: IEC, a global fintech group
specialising in online consumer loans, announces (i) changes
introduced at the Board and senior management team level, (ii)
replacement of an existing loan agreement constituting a related
party transaction and (iii) a notice convening a general meeting to
approve increased share authorities to enable future equity
fundraisings of up to £2.5 million to fund the Company's business
plan and for general working capital purposes.
Directorate and Senior Management changes
Further to the Company's
announcement of 23 July 2024, the Company has sought to continue to
expand and strengthen its Board and senior management teams. On 1
August 2024 Bob Mennie was appointed as non-board Chief Financial
Officer, and the Company has since continued its manager selection
process. Further details on Bob Mennie can be found further
below.
Following this and after due
consideration, Paul Mathieson has stepped down from the role of
Chairman and CEO with effect from 30 September 2024 to pursue
personal interests. He will remain an Executive Director until
retiring at the AGM in late December 2024, and continue providing
services to IEC under his existing consulting services agreement
until 31 December 2024 to facilitate an orderly transition of all
roles. Marc Howells has joined the Company and will be appointed to
the Board as Chief Executive Officer, subject to standard
regulatory due diligence. Further details on Marc Howells can be
found further below. Neil Patrick, Non-executive Director, has been
appointed as Non-executive Chairman of the Company.
The Board of IEC thanks Paul for his
instrumental support and contribution in the establishment of the
Company in both US and UK, the admission of IEC to AQSE Growth
Market and the establishment of the new, experienced, UK executive
management team.
Following the announcement of 23
July 2024 and in conjunction with the changes set out above, Gareth
Hawkins has resigned with immediate effect as Non-executive
Director. The Board of IEC thanks Gareth for his
contribution. Glendys Aguilera remains as
Executive Director & General Manager.
Loan Agreement & Related Party
Transaction
IEC has entered into a further
£200,000 loan agreement with Sam Prasad (the "Loan Agreement"),
former director of the Company, which replaces the existing
£100,000 loan agreement announced on 24 June 2024 that was entered
into with Sam Prasad. Pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Company
has received £200,000 (the "Loan") which will be used, inter alia, for repayment of the
existing loan extended to the Company by Sam Prasad, operating
costs and its short-term working capital needs. The Loan is
unsecured, bears a fixed loan fee of 10% (paid upfront upon advance
of the Loan) and is repayable by the Company by 31 December
2024.
Sam Prasad is a "Related Party" as
defined under the AQSE Growth Market Access Rulebook as a result of
previously being a director of the Company. The Loan Agreement
therefore constitutes a related party transaction for the purposes
of Rule 4.6 of the AQSE Growth Market Access Rulebook (the
"Transaction"). The directors of IEC independent of the Transaction
confirm that, having exercised reasonable care, skill and
diligence, the related party transaction is fair and reasonable
insofar as the shareholders of IEC are concerned.
General Meeting
The Company will shortly post a
notice of general meeting ("General Meeting") to shareholders,
convening a meeting to be held at the offices of the Company at
6th Floor, 60 Gracechurch Street, London EC3V 0HR on 18
October at 3.00 p.m. The purpose of the General Meeting is to seek
increased shareholder authorities to enable future equity
fundraisings of up to £2.5 million ("Capital Raise") to fund the
Company's business plan and for general working capital
purposes.
Marc Howells - Chief Executive Officer
Marc has 38 years' experience in the
financial services industry with significant experience in consumer
finance, across all functional areas including risk management,
with previous senior roles at CitiFinancial and Barclaycard. Marc
was previously CEO of Goodbody Health plc, a former AQSE listed
company and a current director of Myogenes Limited. Marc also has
significant experience in insurance, retail banking, integrations,
mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions, restructuring (turn-around)
and start-ups with an extensive personal network across the
financial services industry. Marc has geographical and cultural
expertise across United Kingdom, Europe, United States, China and
South Africa and was a member nominated Pension Fund Trustee.
Marc is an articulate communicator who is highly experienced at
providing effective leadership in revenue expansion, cost control,
and stakeholder engagement.
Bob
Mennie - Chief Financial Officer
Bob is a Chartered Accountant and
trained with Deloitte. He has over 30 years' experience working as
Finance Director/CFO, predominantly in FCA regulated financial
services businesses. This includes two AIM listed businesses,
Earthport Plc (now called Visa Payments) and Independent
International Investment Research Plc. Bob spent the first
six-years after Deloitte as a partner in a firm of stockbrokers on
the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, trading both in Johannesburg
and London before moving into FD/CFO roles. Bob brings a depth of
experience acting with start-ups and high growth companies. Bob
holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree plus a Graduate Diploma of
Accounting from the University of Cape Town and is a South African
registered Chartered Accountant CA(SA).
About IEC
IEC is an experienced regulated
licensed lender under the consumer brand Mr. Amazing Loans in the
United States with state consumer lending licenses/certificates of
authority in the 6 states of California, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Nevada and New Jersey and an established track-record of
regulatory compliance for over 14 years. IEC plans to expand its
United States lending model to the United Kingdom market in due
course by providing £2,000 to £10,000 online personal loans with
fixed affordable repayments, subject to the
receipt of all necessary authorisations and permits.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company
accept responsibility for the contents of this
announcement.
Enquiries:
Investment Evolution Credit plc
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Marc Howells
CEO
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iec@investmentevolution.com
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Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (IEC AQSE Corporate
Adviser)
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Ludovico Lazzaretti
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+44 (0) 20 7213 0880
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Jo Turner
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Axis Capital Markets Limited (IEC Corporate
Broker)
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Ben Tadd
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+44 (0) 20
3026 0449
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Lewis Jones
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For
more information please visit: www.investmentevolution.com/investors
Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this
announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the
Company's current expectations, estimates, and projections about
its industry; its beliefs; and assumptions. Words such as
'anticipates,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,'
'estimates,' and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These statements are not a guarantee of
future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond the
Company's control, are difficult to predict, and could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in
the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions security
holders and prospective security holders not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the
view of the Company only as of the date of this announcement. The
forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to
events as of the date on which the statements are made. The Company
will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions
or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events,
circumstances, or unanticipated events occurring after the date of
this announcement except as required by law or by any appropriate
regulatory authority.