TIDMWDC
RNS Number : 3512C
WideCells Group PLC
12 April 2017
12 April 2017
WideCells Group PLC ('WideCells Group' or 'the Company')
Completion of a GBP648,696 fundraising to expand the Company's
three divisions
WideCells Group PLC, the healthcare services company focused on
providing stem cell services and ground breaking insurance for stem
cell treatment, is pleased to announce that it has raised gross
proceeds of GBP648,696 by way of a private placing (the
'Placing').
Use of Proceeds
WideCells is focused on becoming a leading provider of services
which make stem cell treatment affordable and accessible to
families around the world. With the Placing proceeds now raised,
the Company is positioned to execute on a range of additional
opportunities it has identified since listing in July 2016 to
rapidly accelerate the roll out of its three stem cell services
divisions, CellPlan, WideCells and WideAcademy, and further its
penetration of this growing market. With this in mind, in order to
streamline and enhance its operations, a portion of the funds will
be used to develop a Client Relationship Management ('CRM') System
for use across all three of its divisions. In addition to this the
funds will be used as follows:
CellPlan
The demand for the Company's first-of-its-kind stem cell
insurance product, CellPlan, is ahead of management expectations.
Therefore, the Company plans to optimise its e-commerce platform
which will facilitate its geographic expansion and support the
progression of numerous campaigns simultaneously. The CellPlan
Excel Membership Programme, the Company's quality assessment
programme, has received applications from numerous cord blood banks
in respect to offering CellPlan to their clients. The applications
have been received from companies located across multiple
continents which together store over 175,000 stem cell samples. In
line with the Company's focus on partnering with 'best-in-class'
facilities, the Company is currently conducting quality assessments
to evaluate the eligibility of each cord blood bank that have
either signed a Letter of Intent or have submitted their CellPlan
Excel Application Forms to CellPlan.
WideCells
The Company's first stem cell storage facility, the Institute of
Stem Cell Technology at the University of Manchester Innovation
Centre ('UMIC'), remains on track to become operational in Q2 2017.
As highlighted in the announcement dated 30 November 2016,
WideCells has been appointed to undertake contract research at the
facility and on investigation, the Board has identified that this
represents an additional strong market opportunity. Therefore the
Company has applied for a research licence. With this in mind,
GBP150,000 will be used to rent additional administrative office
space at the UMIC and to optimise its Quality Management System in
order to capitalise upon this and drive additional revenues.
WideAcademy
A portion of the funds raised will support the new initiatives
developed by Alan Greenberg, the Former Director of Education at
Apple, who recently joined the Company as Non-Executive Director
and Vice President of WideAcademy. WideAcademy is focused on
becoming a thought leader in stem cell technology and accordingly
the Company aims to galvanise Mr. Greenberg's excellent digital
experience and network to establish itself as a high-profile
resource for both healthcare professionals and families alike. It
aims to achieve this goal by establishing collaborations with
leading multinational technology companies and reputed educational
institutions and developing a mobile App which can deliver and
distribute high quality and trustworthy information about this
cutting edge and innovative industry. The funds will also
contribute towards the appointment of key personnel to support the
implementation of these new initiatives. Previous to Alan's
appointment, the Company developed a syllabus of short courses for
professionals alongside the University of Westminster. WideCells
will make a further announcement on its strategy and key
developments in relation to this, in due course.
WideCells Group CEO, João Andrade, said, "WideCells is focused
on becoming a leading provider of stem cell services globally, and
these funds will enable us to drive a range of new initiatives
which have been identified by our world-class Board since listing
to expedite our market penetration and establish new revenue
streams. These are additional to the opportunities which were
outlined in our prospectus, which are on track to deliver cash flow
in H2 2017, demonstrating the strength of the opportunity which
lies within this exciting and growing market. Positively, the
Board's participation in the Placing aligns them closely with our
shareholder base and incentivises them to successfully execute on
these new plans.
"The funds will be split across all three of our unique business
divisions. CellPlan is receiving a fantastic reception and the
level of interest from storage facilities is beyond our original
expectations. In terms of WideCells, thanks to a contract to
conduct research at our Institute of Stem Cell Technology, we are
already generating revenues ahead of our original plans. Therefore,
we have allocated some funds to capitalise and grow our presence in
this market. Finally, Alan Greenberg has presented us with an
opportunity to establish WideAcademy as a go-to digital resource
for healthcare professionals and families who want to find out more
about the US$100 billion stem cell industry. We plan to build an
App, and collaborate with leading digital influencers who share our
vision of making the cutting edge more accessible. I hope investors
share in our excitement for the coming months. I look forward to
providing updates regularly as we focus on creating a global
company with multiple revenue streams."
The Placing
The Placing has raised gross proceeds of GBP648,696 by the issue
of 5,405,806 new ordinary shares of GBP0.0025 each in the share
capital of the Company (the 'Placing Shares') to new and existing
shareholders and Directors of the Company, at a price of 12 pence
per Placing Share (the 'Placing Price'), conditional only on
Admission (as defined below).
Applications have been made for admission of the Placing Shares
to listing on the Standard segment of the Official List of the UK
Listing Authority and to trading on the Main Market for listed
securities of the London Stock Exchange plc ('Admission').
Admission is expected to take place on 28 April 2017.
The Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the
existing ordinary shares in the share capital of the Company
(including as to the right to receive dividends (and other
distributions, if any) declared, made or paid by the Company after
the date of issue of the Placing Shares).
Directors' participation in the Placing
Details of the directors' participation in the Placing are set
out below:
Director Number of Price Number of Shareholding
Placing per Placing shares held following
Shares subscribed Share following the issue
for the issue of the
of the Placing Placing
Shares Shares
------------------- ------------------- ------------- ---------------- -------------
João Placing
Andrade 20,000 Price 8,040,000 13.5%
------------------- ------------------- ------------- ---------------- -------------
Placing
David Bridgland 80,000 Price 332,552 0.6%
------------------- ------------------- ------------- ---------------- -------------
Placing
Lopes Gil 15,000 Price 8,035,000 13.5%
------------------- ------------------- ------------- ---------------- -------------
Placing
Graham Hine 40,000 Price 3,238,698 5.4%
------------------- ------------------- ------------- ---------------- -------------
Placing
Marilyn Orcharton 15,000 Price 150,952 0.3%
------------------- ------------------- ------------- ---------------- -------------
The notification set out below (made in accordance with the
requirements of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 ('MAR'))
provides further detail of the directors' participation.
Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons
discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely
associated with them
1 Details of the person discharging managerial
responsibilities / person closely associated
--- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Names 1. João Andrade - Chief Executive Officer
2. David Bridgland - Chief Financial Officer
3. Lopes Gil - Chief Operating Officer
4. Graham Hine - Chairman
5. Marilyn Orcharton - Non-Executive Director
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Reason for the notification
--- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Position/status Directors of the Company
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
b) Initial notification /Amendment Initial notification
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Details of the issuer, emission allowance
market participant, auction platform, auctioneer
or auction monitor
--- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Name WideCells Group PLC
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
b) LEI n/a
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Details of the transaction(s): section to
be repeated for (i) each type of instrument;
(ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each
date; and (iv) each place where transactions
have been conducted
--- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Description of the financial instrument, Ordinary shares of GBP0.0025 each
type of instrument
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
b) Identification code GB00BD060S65
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
c) Nature of the transaction Placing
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
d) Price(s) and volume(s) Name Price(s) Volume(s)
------------------- --------- ----------
João
Andrade 12p 20,000
David Bridgland 12p 80,000
Lopes Gil 12p 15,000
Graham Hine 12p 40,000
Marilyn Orcharton 12p 15,000
------------------- --------- ----------
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
d) Aggregated information 170,000
- Aggregated volume GBP20,400 (170,000 new ordinary shares at 12 pence per new ordinary
- Price share)
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
e) Date of the transaction 11 April 2017
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
f) Place of the transaction Outside a trading venue
--- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total voting rights
Following the issue of the Placing Shares the Company's total
issued share capital will consist of 59,463,867 ordinary shares of
GBP0.0025 each. As each ordinary share carries one vote the total
number of voting rights attached to the ordinary shares in the
Company is 59,463,867.
This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for
the calculations by which they will determine if they are required
to notify their interest in ordinary shares in the Company in
accordance with the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of
the Financial Conduct Authority.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit the Company's website
www.widecellsgroup.com, follow us on Twitter @WideCells_Group or
contact:
WideCells Group CEO - João Andrade Tel: +351 919
033 171
------------------- ------------------------- --------------
Smaller Company Broker - Jeremy Woodgate Tel: +44 (0)
Capital Ltd & Rupert Williams 20 3651 2912
------------------- ------------------------- --------------
Shard Capital Broker - Damon Heath Tel: +44 (0)
Partners LLP & Erik Woolgar 207 186 9950
------------------- ------------------------- --------------
St Brides Partners PR - Elisabeth Cowell Tel: +44 (0)
Ltd & Charlotte Page 20 7236 1177
------------------- ------------------------- --------------
Notes to Editors
WideCells Group PLC is building an integrated stem cell services
company, focused on making stem cell treatments accessible and
affordable. The Directors believe that the use of cord blood stem
cells for transplant will drive one of the next important phases in
medicine and is therefore developing market leading products in
complementary, strategic areas which are designed to take advantage
of substantial market opportunities in one of the fastest growing
segments in the healthcare industry. With this in mind, it has
created three divisions:
-- CellPlan: the world's first stem cell healthcare insurance
plan with financial cover for medical treatment, travel and
accommodation expenses and concierge service to manage the
treatment process.
-- WideCells: the Institute of Stem Cell Technology has been
established and is based in the University of Manchester Innovation
Centre to focus on stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
WideCells also has international cryogenics divisions specialising
on stem cell storage.
-- WideAcademy: developing an education and training division to
promote awareness of the benefits of stem cell storage across the
global general practice community.
The Group has built an experienced senior management team that
has been integral to the development of its growth and business to
date.
Stem Cell Fast Facts:
-- Cord blood (which is taken from the umbilical cord) provides
the most effective source of stem cells for families due to it
being simple, safe and painless to collect relative to other
sources of stem cells such as bone marrow - WideCells will focus on
promoting the collection and storage of this.
-- Since 2005, there has been a 300% increase in the number of
illnesses that can be treated using stem cells.
-- 82 illnesses can currently be treated using stem cell procedures.
-- Despite initial storage often costing no more than a few
GBPthousand, actual treatment can cost in the GBPhundreds of
thousands.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of MAR.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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