UNG Universe Group Plc

TIDMUNG

RNS Number : 3743W

Universe Group PLC

23 April 2021

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

23 April 2021

AIM: UNG.L

Universe Group plc

("Universe", the "Company" or the "Group")

Board changes

Universe Group plc (AIM: UNG.L), a leading developer and supplier of retail management solutions, payment and loyalty systems, is pleased to announce the appointment of Adrian Wilding as Chief Financial Officer and Graham Bird as a Non-Executive Director.

Adrian Wilding is an experienced CFO with experience in B2B and B2C financial services, with experience of working in both listed and private equity-led businesses. Adrian has worked with the Company on a consultancy basis in recent weeks and will formally join the board on 1 May 2021. Carmel Warren, previously interim CFO, leaves with the board's thanks for her contribution as interim CFO.

Adrian's experience includes the start-up to exit, as both CEO and CFO, of CR7 Services Limited, a business supplying payment hardware and proprietary software to retailers, and SaaS payment processing services to blue chip organisations and other participants in the payments industry. Prior to this, he held senior roles within Just Retirement Group plc, Unum Limited and Riverstone Management. Adrian is a chartered accountant by training.

Graham Bird is a chartered accountant, having qualified with Deloitte, and has over twenty years' experience in corporate finance and public markets. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Escape Hunt plc, the largest international operator of escape rooms, which is quoted on AIM. From 2015 to 2019, he served as a Managing Director at Gresham House plc, where, in addition to supporting the growth of Gresham House plc, he was responsible for establishing and managing the successful strategic equity business unit which focuses on both quoted and unquoted equity investments using the principles and practices of private equity. He is a member of the investment committee for Gresham House Strategic Public Equity funds, acting in an advisory capacity.

Graham is currently non-executive director of Spaceandpeople plc and held the same position at Journey Group plc until late 2016. He has held senior positions at SVG Investment Managers and Paypoint plc, having previously been a director in the corporate finance department of JP Morgan Cazenove. He will join the board on 1 June 2021 and will chair the audit committee.

As previously announced, Jeremy Lewis will formally hand over as CEO to Neil Radley on 1 May 2021.

Andrew Blazye, Executive Chairman, commented:

"I am very pleased to welcome Adrian and Graham to the board. I am sure that their experience will be a great benefit to the Group as we look to deliver on our ambitions for the current financial year and beyond.

"We expect to report our results for the financial year ended 31 December 2020 next week and look forward to providing a further update on our outlook and strategy in the coming months once Neil and Adrian have settled into their roles."

For further information:

 
  Universe Group plc                               Tel: +44 2380 689 510 
   Andrew Blazye, Executive 
   Chairman Jeremy Lewis, Chief 
   Executive Officer 
 
                                                    Tel: +44 20 7220 0500 
   finnCap 
   Henrik Persson (Corporate 
   Finance) 
   Matthew Radley (Corporate 
   Finance)                                         Tel: +44 20 3934 6630 
   Richard Chambers (ECM) 
 
   IFC Advisory 
   Tim Metcalfe 
   Graham Herring 
   Florence Chandler 
 

About Universe Group plc:

Universe provides some of the world's leading retailers with retail management solutions, payment and loyalty systems. The Group's solutions are based on its own proprietary software and are offered out of the cloud on a software as a service model processing over 20 billion transactions every year. For further information, please see www.universe-group.co.uk

The following information is disclosed in accordance with Rule 17 and Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Mr Graham John Bird, age 51, is currently director of:

Escape Hunt Franchisees Limited

Escape Hunt Group Limited

Escape Hunt Innovations Limited

Escape Hunt IP Limited

Escape Hunt plc

Escape Hunt USA Franchises Limited

Escape Hunt USA Limited

Gresham House Strategic Public Equity Carry LP

Gresham House Strategic Public Equity Friends and Family LP

Littleroc Limited

Spaceandpeople plc

XP Factory Limited

He has been a director of the following in the last 5 years:

365 ITMS Limited

Gresham House Asset Management Limited

Journey Group plc

Mr Bird does not currently hold any ordinary shares in the Company. There are no other disclosures required in relation to Rule 17 or paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Mr Adrian Wilding, age 55, is currently director of:

Provan Management Limited

He has been a director of the following in the last 5 years:

CR7 Services Limited

Optomany Limited

ONE TWO THREE SEND Limited

ONE TWO THREE Hire Limited

Northwall Software Limited

Mr Wilding does not currently hold any ordinary shares in the Company. There are no other disclosures required in relation to Rule 17 or paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies.

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April 23, 2021 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)